We Came, We Partied, We Camped, We Loved: 72 Hours With Desert Hearts

Hippies and hipsters alike descended on Los Coyotes Indian Reservation last weekend for 72 hours of self-exploration known as the Desert Hearts Two Year Anniversary Festival. For me, the weekend brought a sense of freedom previously unattainable at any other music event. It was a place where people could truly leave their inhibitions behind. An all-encompassing experience, Desert Hearts showed the true beauty that a large gathering of different yet open-minded people could attain. And it was awesome.

It was not easy going for our group in the beginning. Our plague-filled journey to the reservation included backing our massive van into a wall, getting stuck behind a high-speed car chase on the 210, and stopping off at not one but two Walmarts straight out of the Walking Dead. We did not get to the venue until sunrise on Saturday, but rather appropriately, this only served to bring us closer together as a group.

Nestled in a valley in the high desert, the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation is a beautiful location to host the event. Wasting no time with responsible things like setting up camp or figuring out logistics, we headed straight to the dancefloor to groove to the sultry sounds of Deep Jesus. It quickly became apparent that this weekend would be like no other I had ever experienced. People spared no expense in showcasing their inner creativity, and the weekend seemed more about expressing oneself than the beats coming from the Function One sound system.

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