Westbound Clinton Parkway turned into a parking lot with a tailgate party Thursday afternoon, the first day of the 2006 Wakarusa Music Festival. That didn’t stall the fun for the rest of the festival though.

Vehicles jammed the two-lane street all the way from Wakarusa Boulevard to the festival’s entrance, taking up to five hours to move through it all.

People stepped out of their cars to pass the time by playing Hacky Sack, throwing footballs and Frisbees, riding long-boards down the deserted eastbound lane, drinking beer and anything else they could to distract them from the trying situation.

Nate Stedman, Overland Park junior, sat on the street’s curb, taking in the hot sun with a cold beer in his hand, something he called a necessity.

“I’m just dealing with it,” he said. “I knew there would be a wait, not this long though.”

Meghan McRilhey from Boulder, Colo., said the traffic made sense based on her previous experiences.

“It’s typical of any festival,” she said. “I have friends who’ve waited up to 32 hours to get in.”

Nearly everyone kept a good attitude, even the ones having extra trouble with the traffic, like Dave Mills from Nederland, Colo. His car stalled at the foot of a hill, so he had to gather people to help push his car when the line moved. Mills didn’t complain, except about the heat.

“It’s hot,” he said, “but not too bad.”

Cole Pranger from Fayetteville, Ark., was one of the people who helped Mills push the car. He said he did it in the spirit of the festival.

“Wakarusa is all about helping people,” he said.

Other stories of strife include one from Al Sullivan, a Toledo, Ohio, resident. She was near the front of the line with her friends when their car’s gas gauge passed the empty line. She was forced to walk with a gas can to the gas station on the corner of Wakarusa Boulevard and Clinton Parkway, filling it up at the station.

“The walk wasn’t too bad,” she said. “At least I’ve got a cigarette, but it’s damn hot out here.”

Although the wait was slightly enjoyable for many, it was enduring for Jeff Simcox and his daughter Elise from Lockport, Ill.

“I demand that your chief of police get fired,” Simcox said jokingly. “Wrigley Field holds 38,000 people and you can be in and out in 30 minutes. With all the Jayhawk games, this town should be use to crowds like this.”

The two were frustrated with the wait because they arrived at 11 a.m. They said they thought there would be plenty of time to set up camp and see one of their favorite bands, Wood Box Gang, which took the stage about five and half hours later. They said they weren’t sure whether they would make it.

“Thank God I peed at Wal-Mart before I came,” he said.

As much of a party as the traffic jammed seemed to be, it was merely a mild get-together compared to the atmosphere inside the festival.

“The great thing is you can camp out as much as you want and see shows whenever you want, there’s always something going on,” Brandon Schaffer, Hays junior, said. “It was nutty.”

One of the most popular spots of the festival was “shakedown street,” where vendors set up their shops. Schaffer said it was also a popular spot for drug deals.

“Wakarusa is the easiest time to get anything you want drug wise,” he said.

He said people would come up to him as he walked through the grounds and offer him “doses, chocolates, x and nuggets,” euphemisms for acid, mushrooms, ecstacy and marijuana. Even though he saw police officers, one time with night vision goggles, he was not discouraged from smoking marijuana wherever and whenever he wanted to.

“I still had a solid time and had no problems with the law enforcement, maybe it’s because I’m not a hippie,” Schaffer said.

As for the music, Schaffer said “they love to jam, you couldn’t help not to dance.”