Sunday, November 28, 2010
Slideshow of photos from New Mexico
Great slide show of photos from New Mexico by Kent. Check it out here.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
US Marshals' Reports
A friend has obtained copies of reports made by the US Marshals for the 2009 Gathering.
Click here for a list of reports. The US Marshals reports all start with US Marshals. Other PDF documents pertaining to the New Mexico 2009 gathering are available for download as well. Please share this information widely. Please download and store on other servers.
Click here for a list of reports. The US Marshals reports all start with US Marshals. Other PDF documents pertaining to the New Mexico 2009 gathering are available for download as well. Please share this information widely. Please download and store on other servers.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Flashback to New Mexico
Some folks made a video at the Gathering in New Mexico 2009 that is getting raves reviews from gatherers I know. The video is very centered around the Warriors of the Light camp/kitchen/people and very sweet.
For part 2 of the video, click here. There are 9 parts total posted on YouTube. If you watch it from this blog, you can go from part to part very easily.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
From the Cuba News August 21
I received a PDF excerpt of the Cuba News edition for August 21 in PDF format. It contains cleanup info on the gathering. Click here to see it in PDF format.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Collection of FOIA Info
A kind brother working on various gathering related legal issues has put together a web page with all his FOIA requests and responses related to the New Mexico gathering. If you're interested, click here.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Thieves are Among Us
99% of people who come to a gathering, do so with positive intentions. Then there is the other 1%. A brother who was in New Mexcio
http://www.nerflings.org/turq/turq.html
http://www.nerflings.org/turq/turq.html
Friday, July 31, 2009
Cleanup Letter from USFS
The attached jpegs contain the clean up sign off letter from the 2009 gathering in New Mexico.
Please download and distribute this information freely. A great big shout out to the clean up crew. You are my heros.
Please download and distribute this information freely. A great big shout out to the clean up crew. You are my heros.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Odds & Ends
At the gathering, when telling various people tidbits of useful information, many of the listeners said something to the effect "everyone should know this." So here goes.
USFS and the road in - the cops are always on the road looking to bust you for anything they can. If they can't find anything else, they'll write you a mandatory court appearance ticket for something as mundane as a broken turn signal or beads hanging off your rear view mirror. This happens every year - be prepared. If you haven't read my tips for a safe journey home, click here and read it.
The tickets - the tickets the cops write for us are always mandatory court appearance tickets. Now I know that back home (where ever that may be), a broken tail light, loose bumper or even a less than perfect stop at a stop sign primarily involves mailing money to the court. But the USFS writes gatherers mandatory court appearance tickets. This means that if you do not show up to the court date on your ticket, the judge will issue a federal warrant for your arrest. IF YOU MISS YOUR COURT DATE YOU WILL HAVE A FEDERAL WARRANT! Now the cops love to come into the gathering and look for people who didn't show up and drag them off to jail. But it's not just at the gathering, any time a cop runs you for any reason, you will be on your way to jail if you did not deal with your ticket. If you go to court for a mandatory court date, YOU MUST CHECK IN WITH THE CLERK OF THE COURT AND MAKE SURE YOUR PRESENCE IS NOTED. IF YOU DON'T AND THE JUDGE/MAGISTRATE DOESN'T CALL YOUR NAME, YOU WILL BE ISSUED A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST.
Court - court is a joke. Most of the time, the court gets sick of dealing with us and is willing to drop charges or plea down the charges to something you can live with. Of the last two times I've gone, once they dropped all charges, once I had to pay $65 within 3 months. I've seen people get fined $10 and have a year to pay; or receive community service to be performed at the gathering; or have major drug charges reduced to a fine and probation. There are various gatherers who are also lawyers and are often at the court - so you can get free legal advice. At the gathering, go to INFO and ask them where to find a lawyer ahead of time so you can discuss your particular situation. PLEASE DON'T BLOW OFF YOUR COURT DATE. If you already blew things off, get a lawyer to help you untangle the situation now. If you email me your situation, I will forward it to various lawyers I know who attend gatherings and they may or may not be able to help you at this point.
USFS and the road in - the cops are always on the road looking to bust you for anything they can. If they can't find anything else, they'll write you a mandatory court appearance ticket for something as mundane as a broken turn signal or beads hanging off your rear view mirror. This happens every year - be prepared. If you haven't read my tips for a safe journey home, click here and read it.
The tickets - the tickets the cops write for us are always mandatory court appearance tickets. Now I know that back home (where ever that may be), a broken tail light, loose bumper or even a less than perfect stop at a stop sign primarily involves mailing money to the court. But the USFS writes gatherers mandatory court appearance tickets. This means that if you do not show up to the court date on your ticket, the judge will issue a federal warrant for your arrest. IF YOU MISS YOUR COURT DATE YOU WILL HAVE A FEDERAL WARRANT! Now the cops love to come into the gathering and look for people who didn't show up and drag them off to jail. But it's not just at the gathering, any time a cop runs you for any reason, you will be on your way to jail if you did not deal with your ticket. If you go to court for a mandatory court date, YOU MUST CHECK IN WITH THE CLERK OF THE COURT AND MAKE SURE YOUR PRESENCE IS NOTED. IF YOU DON'T AND THE JUDGE/MAGISTRATE DOESN'T CALL YOUR NAME, YOU WILL BE ISSUED A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST.
Court - court is a joke. Most of the time, the court gets sick of dealing with us and is willing to drop charges or plea down the charges to something you can live with. Of the last two times I've gone, once they dropped all charges, once I had to pay $65 within 3 months. I've seen people get fined $10 and have a year to pay; or receive community service to be performed at the gathering; or have major drug charges reduced to a fine and probation. There are various gatherers who are also lawyers and are often at the court - so you can get free legal advice. At the gathering, go to INFO and ask them where to find a lawyer ahead of time so you can discuss your particular situation. PLEASE DON'T BLOW OFF YOUR COURT DATE. If you already blew things off, get a lawyer to help you untangle the situation now. If you email me your situation, I will forward it to various lawyers I know who attend gatherings and they may or may not be able to help you at this point.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Cleanup Status
This email was sent out by someone involved with cleanup
*******Begin forwarded message*************
NM Rainbow Gathering Cleanup, Friday, July 18, 2009There were about 120 people onsite yesterday evening. Just about everyone was working busily on cleanup. Youngsters and oldsters moving over the landscape with the telltale signs of Cleanup Crew: a trashbag tied to the waist, falling apart gloves and a tool or bucket in hand. In the morning we had a family cleanup council. Folks came from just about every remaining campsite and we all talked about our various plans for finishing cleanup and packing ourselves out. There are five vehicles which either need help or have been abandoned. Pretty much everyone is aligned with a running vehicle for exiting. The inside of the site is looking 'almost 100%.' Regular late afternoon showers have helped the high-use areas start greening up already. Most of the trails were disappeared and all the fire pits and kitchen areas vanished, scarified and re-duffed.There is still population along the road by the trailheads and handicamp - where cleanup is still centered, but that is all planning to relocate to a different area so the trailhead/handicamp zone can be re-naturalized too.On last Monday the 13th we did a long walking tour with the FS Resource Team and together identified areas that needed work. I'd say we were in agreement about what was already done to high standards and what still required attention. Except for what's along the road, most of the walkthrough's list has been accomplished.There was probably less overall 'Trash': mixed bags that find themselves transported to the recycling areas than we've had in the past. And almost every one of those was opened, gone thru and sorted for recycling. The glass, metal, aluminum and #1 and #2 plastics have been transported to recycle stations in Albuquerque and the non-recyclable has been taken to the transfer station in Cuba, NM where we have made an arrangement to pay for the excess dumpster space used. Kitchens have set aside cases of unopened foods for the local food bank. Warm clothing and blankets left behind are being dried out, folded and accepted by a local service that can distribute these next fall. More later next week.
*******Begin forwarded message*************
NM Rainbow Gathering Cleanup, Friday, July 18, 2009There were about 120 people onsite yesterday evening. Just about everyone was working busily on cleanup. Youngsters and oldsters moving over the landscape with the telltale signs of Cleanup Crew: a trashbag tied to the waist, falling apart gloves and a tool or bucket in hand. In the morning we had a family cleanup council. Folks came from just about every remaining campsite and we all talked about our various plans for finishing cleanup and packing ourselves out. There are five vehicles which either need help or have been abandoned. Pretty much everyone is aligned with a running vehicle for exiting. The inside of the site is looking 'almost 100%.' Regular late afternoon showers have helped the high-use areas start greening up already. Most of the trails were disappeared and all the fire pits and kitchen areas vanished, scarified and re-duffed.There is still population along the road by the trailheads and handicamp - where cleanup is still centered, but that is all planning to relocate to a different area so the trailhead/handicamp zone can be re-naturalized too.On last Monday the 13th we did a long walking tour with the FS Resource Team and together identified areas that needed work. I'd say we were in agreement about what was already done to high standards and what still required attention. Except for what's along the road, most of the walkthrough's list has been accomplished.There was probably less overall 'Trash': mixed bags that find themselves transported to the recycling areas than we've had in the past. And almost every one of those was opened, gone thru and sorted for recycling. The glass, metal, aluminum and #1 and #2 plastics have been transported to recycle stations in Albuquerque and the non-recyclable has been taken to the transfer station in Cuba, NM where we have made an arrangement to pay for the excess dumpster space used. Kitchens have set aside cases of unopened foods for the local food bank. Warm clothing and blankets left behind are being dried out, folded and accepted by a local service that can distribute these next fall. More later next week.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The good the bad and the ugly
(My thoughts on the gathering in New Mexico)
The most wonderful and terrifying aspects of the Rainbow Gathering are identical – this is a spontaneous gathering of people creating utopia as each person sees it. Of course one person’s utopia can be another person’s purgatory – but in general many people who gather are committed to accepting each diverse expression of utopia and many people try to prevent their utopia from turning into another person’s purgatory.
In a world where so much of life is structured to mitigate risks and prevent “bad” from happening, we have turned our society into one of the blandness places on the face of the planet. Of course there’s no money to be made by things that can’t be infinitely duplicated and marketed like Disneyland. Lucky for us as the gathering is one of the last “happenings” that is always an authentic expression of the human condition.
Since each gathering is a direct result of the individuals who participate in it and since the mix of individuals is different every year, each gathering is a one of a kind event – never to be repeated – like the day of playing pirates in Janelle’s backyard when I was eight years old. Still one of the best days of my life and those of my playmates as well. We tried many times to recreate that one magical day, but it wasn’t possible so I’ll have to be content with one perfect day of being a pirate on a jungle gym amongst oak trees and remain open to future days that may turn out as magical but very different.
On to the review.
The Good:
The site was beautiful, fire danger was low, we were at peace with the resource branch of the United States Forest Service. Every day Main Meadow was filled with councils, workshops, games, heartsongs and children playing. I haven’t seen a gathering with this much energy in the meadow since the 1990s (before things got contentious with the Forest Service). Main Council happened every day but July 1 (when it rained). We had an amazing Warrior Women Shanti Sena Council that lasted for five hours of incredible sharing, love, and respect for each other. There were Shanti Sena workshops, an emissary from the Hopi Nation, Tepees and I was able to hang out with a bunch of the earlies whom I’d never before met.
The Om on the 4th happened during a downpour and we stood in the meadow in the rain. When the rain came down harder, the Om grew stronger, when the rain let up, the Om faded a bit. I still don’t know what it means, but in talking to some earlies, it’s the first time in 38 years that we have had serious rain during the Om. In the afternoon, people played and danced and drummed in the rain and mud. We had no major incidents with the law enforcement branch of the United States Forest Service and we were focused on peacefully interacting with them (even if we yelled Six Up a lot.).
Last year’s generation gap seemed to have disappeared as people of all ages were trying hard to connect and share. There was plenty of water for drinking and cooking. Food was everywhere. The weather was awesome - not too hot, not too cold. And thanks to the near daily rain, the fire danger was low and the air somewhat moist. Rainbows, rainbows and more rainbows.
The Bad:
The site was situated adjacent to the road in which made it way too easy for people to run back and forth to their cars every day. I’m a firm believer that that we as a family do better when it takes great effort to get into the gathering even if it means we have to carry the less mobile among us for a couple of miles. Easy access to cars and hence to town contributes to more alcohol, which has the effect of causing more social problems. When we’re closer to town, some people tend to go there and disrupt the town’s normal activities and/or ambiance. When it’s too hard to get to town, we seem to turn to each other more often for assistance (and I think that’s a positive thing).
Trade circle was on one of the main trails. Most people who know me know that I’m not a big fan of trade circle, but if we are going to have trading happen, it’s much better off when it’s to the side where it doesn’t impede the flow of human traffic and the hauling of supplies to and from kitchens. Just an FYI, just because Trade Circle is on a trail that doesn’t lead to the cars, doesn’t mean it’s not on the “Main Trail.”
We’re just starting to recover from too many years of focusing our energy on the Forest Service instead of our family. Too many people still don’t know what Shanti Sena is (peacekeepers), who the Shanti Sena are (everyone) and what Shanti Sena does (help people resolve conflicts peacefully, find lost kids, help create positive situations that prevent bad things from happening, look out for each other, etc.). Not enough people know the hipstories (stories of gatherings past) or the songs and chants of our family. In year’s past, serious Shanti Sena issues were solved by singing, song circles helped us mellow some of our wilder energy or as George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Dog guardians, dog guardians, dog guardians. human beings who travel with well taken care of dogs who stay by their side, who pick up after their dogs, and make sure they stay safe and healthy are our heroes. Unfortunately, we have too many people who think letting their dog eat out of the shitter, run amok through dinner circle, or leave poop on the trail is taking care of our four legged family. Enough said.
The Ugly:
Most of what I consider the ugly is the result of the bad taken to extreme. Too much alcohol and not enough focus on Shanti Sena resulted in a stabbing. Some dogs were brought to the gathering without appropriate shots and a Parvo outbreak ensued. At least three dogs died (maybe more). Our circle on the 4th broke before the children’s parade reached the center of the circle and all the children were there – it quickly regrouped and let them in before breaking up again. The X%&R pole was in the center of our circle on the 4th– for some reason people want to worship at an alter instead of letting the pole be part of the circle by having it along the edge of the circle. We had a few people get too high/drunk and no one looked out for them, which turned simple mistakes into a nightmares for more than one person.
The most wonderful and terrifying aspects of the Rainbow Gathering are identical – this is a spontaneous gathering of people creating utopia as each person sees it. Of course one person’s utopia can be another person’s purgatory – but in general many people who gather are committed to accepting each diverse expression of utopia and many people try to prevent their utopia from turning into another person’s purgatory.
In a world where so much of life is structured to mitigate risks and prevent “bad” from happening, we have turned our society into one of the blandness places on the face of the planet. Of course there’s no money to be made by things that can’t be infinitely duplicated and marketed like Disneyland. Lucky for us as the gathering is one of the last “happenings” that is always an authentic expression of the human condition.
Since each gathering is a direct result of the individuals who participate in it and since the mix of individuals is different every year, each gathering is a one of a kind event – never to be repeated – like the day of playing pirates in Janelle’s backyard when I was eight years old. Still one of the best days of my life and those of my playmates as well. We tried many times to recreate that one magical day, but it wasn’t possible so I’ll have to be content with one perfect day of being a pirate on a jungle gym amongst oak trees and remain open to future days that may turn out as magical but very different.
On to the review.
The Good:
The site was beautiful, fire danger was low, we were at peace with the resource branch of the United States Forest Service. Every day Main Meadow was filled with councils, workshops, games, heartsongs and children playing. I haven’t seen a gathering with this much energy in the meadow since the 1990s (before things got contentious with the Forest Service). Main Council happened every day but July 1 (when it rained). We had an amazing Warrior Women Shanti Sena Council that lasted for five hours of incredible sharing, love, and respect for each other. There were Shanti Sena workshops, an emissary from the Hopi Nation, Tepees and I was able to hang out with a bunch of the earlies whom I’d never before met.
The Om on the 4th happened during a downpour and we stood in the meadow in the rain. When the rain came down harder, the Om grew stronger, when the rain let up, the Om faded a bit. I still don’t know what it means, but in talking to some earlies, it’s the first time in 38 years that we have had serious rain during the Om. In the afternoon, people played and danced and drummed in the rain and mud. We had no major incidents with the law enforcement branch of the United States Forest Service and we were focused on peacefully interacting with them (even if we yelled Six Up a lot.).
Last year’s generation gap seemed to have disappeared as people of all ages were trying hard to connect and share. There was plenty of water for drinking and cooking. Food was everywhere. The weather was awesome - not too hot, not too cold. And thanks to the near daily rain, the fire danger was low and the air somewhat moist. Rainbows, rainbows and more rainbows.
The Bad:
The site was situated adjacent to the road in which made it way too easy for people to run back and forth to their cars every day. I’m a firm believer that that we as a family do better when it takes great effort to get into the gathering even if it means we have to carry the less mobile among us for a couple of miles. Easy access to cars and hence to town contributes to more alcohol, which has the effect of causing more social problems. When we’re closer to town, some people tend to go there and disrupt the town’s normal activities and/or ambiance. When it’s too hard to get to town, we seem to turn to each other more often for assistance (and I think that’s a positive thing).
Trade circle was on one of the main trails. Most people who know me know that I’m not a big fan of trade circle, but if we are going to have trading happen, it’s much better off when it’s to the side where it doesn’t impede the flow of human traffic and the hauling of supplies to and from kitchens. Just an FYI, just because Trade Circle is on a trail that doesn’t lead to the cars, doesn’t mean it’s not on the “Main Trail.”
We’re just starting to recover from too many years of focusing our energy on the Forest Service instead of our family. Too many people still don’t know what Shanti Sena is (peacekeepers), who the Shanti Sena are (everyone) and what Shanti Sena does (help people resolve conflicts peacefully, find lost kids, help create positive situations that prevent bad things from happening, look out for each other, etc.). Not enough people know the hipstories (stories of gatherings past) or the songs and chants of our family. In year’s past, serious Shanti Sena issues were solved by singing, song circles helped us mellow some of our wilder energy or as George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Dog guardians, dog guardians, dog guardians. human beings who travel with well taken care of dogs who stay by their side, who pick up after their dogs, and make sure they stay safe and healthy are our heroes. Unfortunately, we have too many people who think letting their dog eat out of the shitter, run amok through dinner circle, or leave poop on the trail is taking care of our four legged family. Enough said.
The Ugly:
Most of what I consider the ugly is the result of the bad taken to extreme. Too much alcohol and not enough focus on Shanti Sena resulted in a stabbing. Some dogs were brought to the gathering without appropriate shots and a Parvo outbreak ensued. At least three dogs died (maybe more). Our circle on the 4th broke before the children’s parade reached the center of the circle and all the children were there – it quickly regrouped and let them in before breaking up again. The X%&R pole was in the center of our circle on the 4th– for some reason people want to worship at an alter instead of letting the pole be part of the circle by having it along the edge of the circle. We had a few people get too high/drunk and no one looked out for them, which turned simple mistakes into a nightmares for more than one person.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
My letter to Lisa Law
Hi Lisa,
It was with great dismay that I learned you participated in signing a permit for the recent Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico. I would have hoped that with your years of counter culture experience you would know better than to butt you nose into issues that are none of your business. Furthermore, the people who have been gathering for many years were engaged in a plan to force legal action and allow us our day in court. Your complete ignorance of the problems you caused left us without legal recourse at present and undid years worth of work.
I can only hope that someone will prosecute you for falsifying the permit application you made since it is clearly a violation of federal law to lie on the permit. In no way are you or have you ever been a "duly authorized representative of the group."
At this time I would like to request a fax number so I may send you a bill for the services I rendered at the gathering. Since you were the permit holder and since I did not agree to work for free for you, I think it's only fair that you reimburse me for the time I spent performing Shanti Sena at your event.
I would also request that you remove my image from youtube - you filmed me walking with the cops of the 4th of July - without my permission. Since you have copyrighted that video, I am refusing to allow my image to be used. Nothing I do at the gathering is for personal gain. Either immediately place all video footage of my person into the creative commons or remove it from public use immediately.
With no respect for you or your actions,
Karin Zirk
It was with great dismay that I learned you participated in signing a permit for the recent Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico. I would have hoped that with your years of counter culture experience you would know better than to butt you nose into issues that are none of your business. Furthermore, the people who have been gathering for many years were engaged in a plan to force legal action and allow us our day in court. Your complete ignorance of the problems you caused left us without legal recourse at present and undid years worth of work.
I can only hope that someone will prosecute you for falsifying the permit application you made since it is clearly a violation of federal law to lie on the permit. In no way are you or have you ever been a "duly authorized representative of the group."
At this time I would like to request a fax number so I may send you a bill for the services I rendered at the gathering. Since you were the permit holder and since I did not agree to work for free for you, I think it's only fair that you reimburse me for the time I spent performing Shanti Sena at your event.
I would also request that you remove my image from youtube - you filmed me walking with the cops of the 4th of July - without my permission. Since you have copyrighted that video, I am refusing to allow my image to be used. Nothing I do at the gathering is for personal gain. Either immediately place all video footage of my person into the creative commons or remove it from public use immediately.
With no respect for you or your actions,
Karin Zirk
The Permit
I submitted a FOIA request for the permit information before I left for the gathering. I've attached the responses I have received in PDF format. I have also challanged the redaction of the permit signers mailing addresses and telephone numbers as I have decided to submit a bill to them for services rendered.
All files are in PDF format.
Email Cover Letter
Word Cover Letter
Permit
All files are in PDF format.
Email Cover Letter
Word Cover Letter
Permit
Friday, July 10, 2009
Vision Council Consensus
Consensus at 4:40 pm July 9th, 2009 in Vision Council at Venado Parque meadow, New Mexico for the annual Rainbow Gathering, July 1-7 2010:
New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky.
Visit my blog for the 2010 gathering here.
New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky.
Visit my blog for the 2010 gathering here.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The USFS Side of the Story
In case you haven't seen it yet, the Forest Service has their annual Rainbow gathering page up on their website.
Click here to see it.
They also have a: Rainbow Information Center at (505) 438-5685 where they give out info on the management of the gathering. Anyone got a question to ask? like why all the harrassment/intimidation...call them.
Contact the Public Affairs Officer
Lawrence M. Lujan
Public Affairs Specialist
Santa Fe National Forest
Ph: (505) 438-5321
Fx: (505) 438-5390
E-mail: lmlujan@fs.fed.us
Click here to see it.
They also have a: Rainbow Information Center at (505) 438-5685 where they give out info on the management of the gathering. Anyone got a question to ask? like why all the harrassment/intimidation...call them.
Contact the Public Affairs Officer
Lawrence M. Lujan
Public Affairs Specialist
Santa Fe National Forest
Ph: (505) 438-5321
Fx: (505) 438-5390
E-mail: lmlujan@fs.fed.us
Friday, June 19, 2009
Public Transit to Cuba from Albuqurque
Just an FYI, the New Mexico Rail Runner will get a person out of Albuqurque and to US Highway 550. Here's the link http://www.nmrailrunner.com Call the Rail Runner for transit info 1-866-795-RAIL (7245).
From the Sandoval County/US 550 Station, you can catch Bus # 8 to Cuba on US Highway 550. There's not a lot of runs of route 8 so you should call head for details Sandoval Easy Express information: 1-877-660-1110 or click here.
There also seems to be a lot of ride activity on the ABQ Craigs List - Including a local offering rides to the gathering for $$.
From the Sandoval County/US 550 Station, you can catch Bus # 8 to Cuba on US Highway 550. There's not a lot of runs of route 8 so you should call head for details Sandoval Easy Express information: 1-877-660-1110 or click here.
There also seems to be a lot of ride activity on the ABQ Craigs List - Including a local offering rides to the gathering for $$.
Gathering with Kids by Info Karen
My good friend, Info Karen, put together today's guest blog post -- not to confuse anyone but there are two of us living in San Diego. Karen with an "E" and me - Karin with an "I". Since Info Karen has kids, she graciously agreed to put together today's guest post for those of you coming home with kids. If this helped you, please stop by Info when you're at the gathering and thank her.
Here is some advice for folks wanting to bring young kids to the Gathering. It is especially directed at first time Gatherers since a few requests of this type have come my way, but there is lots of good advice for anyone with kids. More ideas? Add them in the comment section.
I have three sons, one is 6 years and twins who are 3. This will be my first time attending a Gathering with all three, but I have gone with my eldest when he was an infant and when he was 3.
ARRIVAL AND HIKING IN:
When you get first arrive at the Gathering, you will be shown a meadow to park in, and you will likely need to hike in with your first load. Get a baby backpack to carry your littlest ones in. We personally plan to bring the kids, the tent and our plates, cups and utensils on the first load, plus whatever else we can manage. We each will wear a kid on our backs. I will stay at the tent site while the hubby goes out for another load. While he is gone I will put the tent up.
KID VILLAGE:
You can camp anywhere with kids, but it is especially nice to camp at Kid Village. It is a drug-free, peaceful area that serves three good kid-friendly meals every day. Kid Village is easy to find. Ask anyone. When you get to Kid Village ask the folks there where there are some good tent spots. They will direct you.
At Kid Village, they serve three kid-friendly meals a day, and usually have a little play area with seesaws and swings made from downed trees and rope. There is also usually a sit-down potty there (people just call toilet areas "shitters" so sorry if your child goes home spouting that word!! For adults, shitters are long trenches that you straddle. It’s nice to wear skirts if you want to have a little privacy cover! :)
DAILY LIFE:
You will want to bring, for each of you, a dish, a spoon and a cup. If you drink coffee, make it a thermal one with a lid. If you can put a carabineer on your cup, it’s nice to always have it hanging from your belt. Each of you adults will want a day pack to carry around all day with the stuff you need. Usually, you pack your daypack for the day and go out wandering. You may head back to the tent for naptime, but you will want to take your dishes, your water bottle, and whatever diapers or things you need for the day with you when you leave your tent in the morning.
For dishes, most people bring just a bowl. But after many years of gathering, I have discovered that the very best bowl is a tupperware or similar container with a lid. This way, if you can't get to a dishwashing station right away, you can pop the lid on and toss it in your bag without dirtying anything inside. We found plate-shaped containers with three divided sections which is nice if you get soup and something else. It keeps them divided.
DIAPERS:
If you use disposable diapers, I would bring a double thick bag (one inside the other, to damper the smell) with some kind of clasp that can be put on and taken off numerous times, to keep your dirties in. You will need to hike this heavy bag out at the end, as
there are no trash stations inside the gathering.
Everyone carries their own trash out. Depending on how long you stay, a full bag of dirty diapers can be one whole load! If you use cloth diapers, I have seen people wash them out in five gallon buckets and hang them on clotheslines hung between trees. Bring rope and a bucket. Kid Village might have a community bucket to wash dirties, but I don't know if they do or if folks bring their own.
DINNER CIRCLE:
Stop in at the Info Booth for a map of the site and any questions you have. Every evening you will see a large circle gather in the main meadow for dinner. Most kitchens will bring their food down to the dinner circle and serve there. Bring your dishes! Pregnant or nursing Mamas and folks with children are asked to come to the center of the circle before the food is served to get first dibs. Don’t be shy. Come forward when it is announced and get your kid a plateful of good food!
NAPS:
For small babies, it’s not common, but I have seen people bring a playpen and hike it in. That way you can set the baby down somewhere clean for awhile. You might consider bringing one and leaving it in the car. Then you can decide if you want to hike it in or not. A lightweight bouncy chair might be a simpler idea, or perhaps a Moses basket?
Another nice thing to have is some kind of pop-up kid's backyard tent. They pack down
tiny and could be used to lay the baby down to sleep if you are out wandering and want to take a break, or give him/her some shade. We also napped our three year old in one the last time we went. It was handy, and kept us from having to go and sit quietly outside the tent for 3 hours every day. We are using two this year to nap our twins separately during the afternoon, because if they nap together, they will just play in the tent.
NECESSITIES:
You should have water bottles you can carry around for your family. You can fill them up at any kitchen. Look for a giant cooler on the kitchen counter with a spigot. Bring sun block, wide brimmed children’s hats, bug spray and sun glasses. We are bringing those new 200 hour LED flashlights for our littlest boys who will of course want to have one of their own when they see ours. They can accidentally leave it on for hours and it won’t use up the batteries. Sandals that can get wet or water shoes are great for playing in the stream.
TENT SLEEPING:
Also bring warm sleeping bags. It gets down to 40 at night. We always bring thermal underwear to sleep in. When our son was a baby, and we worried about the safety of sleeping bags, we slept him in a down-filled, winter outdoor snow suit, wearing a hat, with a blanket over him. That way I wasn't worried about losing him down in the sleeping bag or have him scoot out into the cold at night. Beware of using any kind of gas heater inside your tent as the fumes inside a closed tent can be deadly.
LASTLY:
Have a blast! It’s a great way to immerse your kids in wild nature!
-Info Karen, Mom to three exuberant boys-
Please comment below with any questions or great ideas or parent-hacks of your own!
Here is some advice for folks wanting to bring young kids to the Gathering. It is especially directed at first time Gatherers since a few requests of this type have come my way, but there is lots of good advice for anyone with kids. More ideas? Add them in the comment section.
I have three sons, one is 6 years and twins who are 3. This will be my first time attending a Gathering with all three, but I have gone with my eldest when he was an infant and when he was 3.
ARRIVAL AND HIKING IN:
When you get first arrive at the Gathering, you will be shown a meadow to park in, and you will likely need to hike in with your first load. Get a baby backpack to carry your littlest ones in. We personally plan to bring the kids, the tent and our plates, cups and utensils on the first load, plus whatever else we can manage. We each will wear a kid on our backs. I will stay at the tent site while the hubby goes out for another load. While he is gone I will put the tent up.
KID VILLAGE:
You can camp anywhere with kids, but it is especially nice to camp at Kid Village. It is a drug-free, peaceful area that serves three good kid-friendly meals every day. Kid Village is easy to find. Ask anyone. When you get to Kid Village ask the folks there where there are some good tent spots. They will direct you.
At Kid Village, they serve three kid-friendly meals a day, and usually have a little play area with seesaws and swings made from downed trees and rope. There is also usually a sit-down potty there (people just call toilet areas "shitters" so sorry if your child goes home spouting that word!! For adults, shitters are long trenches that you straddle. It’s nice to wear skirts if you want to have a little privacy cover! :)
DAILY LIFE:
You will want to bring, for each of you, a dish, a spoon and a cup. If you drink coffee, make it a thermal one with a lid. If you can put a carabineer on your cup, it’s nice to always have it hanging from your belt. Each of you adults will want a day pack to carry around all day with the stuff you need. Usually, you pack your daypack for the day and go out wandering. You may head back to the tent for naptime, but you will want to take your dishes, your water bottle, and whatever diapers or things you need for the day with you when you leave your tent in the morning.
For dishes, most people bring just a bowl. But after many years of gathering, I have discovered that the very best bowl is a tupperware or similar container with a lid. This way, if you can't get to a dishwashing station right away, you can pop the lid on and toss it in your bag without dirtying anything inside. We found plate-shaped containers with three divided sections which is nice if you get soup and something else. It keeps them divided.
DIAPERS:
If you use disposable diapers, I would bring a double thick bag (one inside the other, to damper the smell) with some kind of clasp that can be put on and taken off numerous times, to keep your dirties in. You will need to hike this heavy bag out at the end, as
there are no trash stations inside the gathering.
Everyone carries their own trash out. Depending on how long you stay, a full bag of dirty diapers can be one whole load! If you use cloth diapers, I have seen people wash them out in five gallon buckets and hang them on clotheslines hung between trees. Bring rope and a bucket. Kid Village might have a community bucket to wash dirties, but I don't know if they do or if folks bring their own.
DINNER CIRCLE:
Stop in at the Info Booth for a map of the site and any questions you have. Every evening you will see a large circle gather in the main meadow for dinner. Most kitchens will bring their food down to the dinner circle and serve there. Bring your dishes! Pregnant or nursing Mamas and folks with children are asked to come to the center of the circle before the food is served to get first dibs. Don’t be shy. Come forward when it is announced and get your kid a plateful of good food!
NAPS:
For small babies, it’s not common, but I have seen people bring a playpen and hike it in. That way you can set the baby down somewhere clean for awhile. You might consider bringing one and leaving it in the car. Then you can decide if you want to hike it in or not. A lightweight bouncy chair might be a simpler idea, or perhaps a Moses basket?
Another nice thing to have is some kind of pop-up kid's backyard tent. They pack down
tiny and could be used to lay the baby down to sleep if you are out wandering and want to take a break, or give him/her some shade. We also napped our three year old in one the last time we went. It was handy, and kept us from having to go and sit quietly outside the tent for 3 hours every day. We are using two this year to nap our twins separately during the afternoon, because if they nap together, they will just play in the tent.
NECESSITIES:
You should have water bottles you can carry around for your family. You can fill them up at any kitchen. Look for a giant cooler on the kitchen counter with a spigot. Bring sun block, wide brimmed children’s hats, bug spray and sun glasses. We are bringing those new 200 hour LED flashlights for our littlest boys who will of course want to have one of their own when they see ours. They can accidentally leave it on for hours and it won’t use up the batteries. Sandals that can get wet or water shoes are great for playing in the stream.
TENT SLEEPING:
Also bring warm sleeping bags. It gets down to 40 at night. We always bring thermal underwear to sleep in. When our son was a baby, and we worried about the safety of sleeping bags, we slept him in a down-filled, winter outdoor snow suit, wearing a hat, with a blanket over him. That way I wasn't worried about losing him down in the sleeping bag or have him scoot out into the cold at night. Beware of using any kind of gas heater inside your tent as the fumes inside a closed tent can be deadly.
LASTLY:
Have a blast! It’s a great way to immerse your kids in wild nature!
-Info Karen, Mom to three exuberant boys-
Please comment below with any questions or great ideas or parent-hacks of your own!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
LEOs on the prowl
Message from a friend at the gathering
**********************
Resource is best ever. Leo is as bad as ever cat and mouse despite the permit as we stated permits are no easier on us. As years past they follow you find any reason to stop you even if need to invent one then sorry if find you in compliance. Then once stopped they get the dog out claim it gave the positive hit sign thus do not need permission to search. If find nothing after making a mess and a lost hour and traffic jam they say you must have at one time picked up a passenger who at one time was holding. Totally bogus. I saw the dogs a few times and I happen to know the positive signal No such signal was present. Just excuse to search illegally feeling that some will be a positive HIT. Total scam. PS town is very friendly. Road is nice but SCARY thin and blind curves and killer drop off edges if on coming car swerves. I take 103 then 70 better rd few miles longer.
**********************
Resource is best ever. Leo is as bad as ever cat and mouse despite the permit as we stated permits are no easier on us. As years past they follow you find any reason to stop you even if need to invent one then sorry if find you in compliance. Then once stopped they get the dog out claim it gave the positive hit sign thus do not need permission to search. If find nothing after making a mess and a lost hour and traffic jam they say you must have at one time picked up a passenger who at one time was holding. Totally bogus. I saw the dogs a few times and I happen to know the positive signal No such signal was present. Just excuse to search illegally feeling that some will be a positive HIT. Total scam. PS town is very friendly. Road is nice but SCARY thin and blind curves and killer drop off edges if on coming car swerves. I take 103 then 70 better rd few miles longer.
Review of tonight's town meeting
This report was sent to me by a friend who was at the town meeting tonight.
*********************************
Just got back.
From my perspective the meeting went very well. Several of the people I spoke with in the town had already seen some of the YouTube videos-- the same ones that G brought on DVD -interviews with town folk from previous gatherings...
The questions were reasonable-- ranging from asking about Emergency services, and if town folk would be left high and dry (they won't) to how security is handled and trash and traffic. Everyone seemed pleased with the answers provided from all.
One of the LEOs from DC I think seemed a little aggitated, but I talked to him after and he was ok. He knows you, says you're "a nice lady" his name is Gene Smithson a good ole boy from W. Virginia.
The guy that was with the USFS in Tres Piedras during the last Gathering was very positive about their experience... had a slide show presentation and talked a lot about how the forest was
rehabilitated... even a couple of months after the event. And that a year later if you didn't know thousands had been on the land, you never would know.
Lawrence Lujan is the Information officer. I got on the press release update list, and will forward his info to you as well. He is very nice. Getting his masters in public policy and just finished his thesis on core values in public policy.
*********************************
Just got back.
From my perspective the meeting went very well. Several of the people I spoke with in the town had already seen some of the YouTube videos-- the same ones that G brought on DVD -interviews with town folk from previous gatherings...
The questions were reasonable-- ranging from asking about Emergency services, and if town folk would be left high and dry (they won't) to how security is handled and trash and traffic. Everyone seemed pleased with the answers provided from all.
One of the LEOs from DC I think seemed a little aggitated, but I talked to him after and he was ok. He knows you, says you're "a nice lady" his name is Gene Smithson a good ole boy from W. Virginia.
The guy that was with the USFS in Tres Piedras during the last Gathering was very positive about their experience... had a slide show presentation and talked a lot about how the forest was
rehabilitated... even a couple of months after the event. And that a year later if you didn't know thousands had been on the land, you never would know.
Lawrence Lujan is the Information officer. I got on the press release update list, and will forward his info to you as well. He is very nice. Getting his masters in public policy and just finished his thesis on core values in public policy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Stocking up on medical supplies for the gathering
CALM (Rainbow speak for first aid) is trying to gather supplies to provide free health care at the gathering. Just now, your donation of $10 or more would be much appreciated.
It's much easier to buy supplies ahead of the gathering and if you're at the gathering, you'll be much happier if CALM has that tampon or bee sting kit or other various and sundry supplies. Gathering healers save people's lives when they have heart attacks, help them survive all sorts of allergic reactions and even patch up bo bos for children and grownups alike.
If you can spare $10 or $100, you can donate here.
On my word, any funds donated here will go to purchasing CALM supplies. If you want details on what will be purchased and who is focalizing this efffort, click here. If you would prefer to bring supplies, there are some great wish list items on the website, so check it up and then get shopping. Please don't use the donation link on the website as the account has been closed. Use the link above to donate.
It's much easier to buy supplies ahead of the gathering and if you're at the gathering, you'll be much happier if CALM has that tampon or bee sting kit or other various and sundry supplies. Gathering healers save people's lives when they have heart attacks, help them survive all sorts of allergic reactions and even patch up bo bos for children and grownups alike.
If you can spare $10 or $100, you can donate here.
On my word, any funds donated here will go to purchasing CALM supplies. If you want details on what will be purchased and who is focalizing this efffort, click here. If you would prefer to bring supplies, there are some great wish list items on the website, so check it up and then get shopping. Please don't use the donation link on the website as the account has been closed. Use the link above to donate.
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