This past summer, I travelled about an hour West of my house to Michigan’s International Speedway for the Faster Horses Festival. The day before the festival, one of my friends called me asking to purchase these reasonable tickets and go to the weekend getaway with her. I was hesitant at first, considering I’ve never been to the Faster Horses Festival. I knew I would be living out of tent, a roll-away shower, and no air conditioning for a weekend. Although, I was determined to make my last few weeks of summer spontaneous, so I said yes.
Packing the night before was stressful. I threw half of my summer clothes into a suitcase, a couple snacks, water bottles, and a pillow. I knew that people prepared for this festival with weeks in advance so the pressure was starting to build up. Although at the same time, it was only a weekend getaway so I could survive off whatever I didn’t bring. I slept over with my friend the night before and made a last minute checklist of items to bring. The next day we woke up early, packed our items in the car and headed to Michigan’s International Speedway.
Once we arrived to the campgrounds, the speedway was surrounded by huge campers, canopies and tents. I continued to become nervous knowing we only had a little tent. The heat index this weekend was also at the hottest point Michigan had all summer. After setting up our tent, the heat was almost unbearable. We knew sleeping would be dangerous if we didn’t have at least a fan on. All the campers around us had generators and outlets for fans, while we had nothing. One family was nice enough to let us share an outlet and one of their fans for the weekend. We realized we should’ve brought a fan and extension cords…
Trying to not let our living situation bring us down, we made our way over to the concert grounds. Besides the intensive heat and large crowds of sweaty people, the concert was fun. Although, I knew what happens after the concert in the “infield” of the speedway. Midnight rolled around and party started to begin. We made our way to my other friends camper in the infield. All my troubles went away after seeing multiple people from my hometown having fun and enjoying the night. I let loose and enjoyed the moment I was in.
Although the next day crept about and continued to give us hardships. Since the weather was so hot, a tornado was supposedly forming about 20 miles outside of the grounds. My friend and I knew it wasn’t safe to stay in our tent, so we packed up all our gear and went to a nearby camper. Our friends in the camper let us stay till the intense storm blew over and it was safe to head back to our campsite. Once we got back to our campsite, our tent was gone.
Many people always try to plan spontaneous adventures without any knowledge on the designated area. Although I did have fun with my friends at the festival, I knew I should’ve planned in advance. If I would’ve ordered the tickets earlier, I would’ve known to bring necessary items such as a generator. I also lost money on top of the tickets considering my tent blew away and we had to get ice everyday for drinks. Before partaking on an adventure, make sure you have the necessary items for living. This way you won’t be worried and it will make your experience more enjoyable.
Chloe West.
Chloe's Travel Blog 