hippiehillbilly
06-25-2006, 03:33 PM
http://www.thesteamboatlocal.com/arch/local/li/0613_li.php
Paulie Sez More: Rainbow Fact and Fiction
Paulie Don't Call Me a Hippie Anderson
The past weeks' rumors regarding the Rainbow Family of Living Light and
their gathering here in lovely Routt County were beginning to get me down.
Everyone and their sister was telling me how they heard the hippies were
threatening life as we know it in our fair Valley, and I was beginning to
believe that we were all going to drown under a sea of smelly, hitchhiking,
funk-soaked hippies. From the sound of the rumors, Steamboat would not have
any clean bathrooms, drinking water or edible produce until sometime in
August. Routt National Forest would never recover, and more than likely,
we'd have a forest fire that burns more acreage than the Hinman fire a few
years back. Never mind that we're all probably going to end up with
hepatitis or some other communicable disease from being in such close
proximity to these anti-societal peace heathens.
I couldn't stand for this, so I had to do a little investigation to see what
I could believe in and what I could debunk. Last Sunday, June 18, Courtney
and I loaded up our Toyota with the camera, a few bottles of water and an
open mind to go see the gathering in it's setup stage.
Because I was fresh off of the surgical table and home from Tucson (See
Paulie Sez, Issue 6.12), we were unable to hike up to the actual site.
However, we were able to drive all the way to the footpath that leads to the
main gathering area to get a good view of where and what the site would look
like when the gathering was in full swing. We got the skinny on where the
main parking lot and drop off points would be from one of the elders and the
gatekeeper, Gigi. On our way past the official parking lot and Welcome Home
banner, we were stopped by one of the old-timers at "A" camp and had a very
pungent chat regarding where we could leave our booze and how far we could
drive in. For those of you who haven't been to a gathering or the Rainbow's
website yet, "A" camp is often the first camp you run into outside the
perimeter of the true gathering and is the only place that alcohol is
condoned.
As we cruised along the road we were greeted with many a smile and a lot of
"Welcome Home!" (The "official" Rainbow greeting.) All in all, it was not
too dissimilar from a Grateful Dead parking lot scene back in Jerry's day.
Everyone was in good spirits and gearing up for a long stint in the woods
with family and friends.
We hung around for about an hour or so and saw no sign of disregard for
safety or respect of the forest more than some parking issues along the
roadway. Forest service presence was not visible until we were on our way
out of the area and were passed by two forest service vehicles going towards
the gathering at a rather remarkable velocity. Their intent was unknown as
we were well on our way out of the area and they were past us before we
could flag them down or talk with them.
On our way home we stopped in at Hahn's Peak Café to see how they were
fairing so far and found no complaints regarding the Family. There was an
air of fear from some of the locals who had found that their appearance had
become suspect as a result of the gathering. One man was refused ice from a
local vendor because of his appearance, and another was hesitant to shop at
th Clark Market because of his ponytail and rumors of vicious security.
At other stops on the way back to town, we heard things ranging from hippies
poking meat at the grocery stores to thousands of dollars in theft from Ace
at the Curve. When I compared notes back at the office with Scott, he let
fly with yet more rumors of evil misdeeds by the Rainbow that warranted some
phone calls. The following list is what I was able to gather from some calls
around town. I hope these help to ease the adjustment of the coming wave of
visitors from around the states for what is shaping up to be one of the
busiest Julys in Steamboat's history.
continued next post...
Paulie Sez More: Rainbow Fact and Fiction
Paulie Don't Call Me a Hippie Anderson
The past weeks' rumors regarding the Rainbow Family of Living Light and
their gathering here in lovely Routt County were beginning to get me down.
Everyone and their sister was telling me how they heard the hippies were
threatening life as we know it in our fair Valley, and I was beginning to
believe that we were all going to drown under a sea of smelly, hitchhiking,
funk-soaked hippies. From the sound of the rumors, Steamboat would not have
any clean bathrooms, drinking water or edible produce until sometime in
August. Routt National Forest would never recover, and more than likely,
we'd have a forest fire that burns more acreage than the Hinman fire a few
years back. Never mind that we're all probably going to end up with
hepatitis or some other communicable disease from being in such close
proximity to these anti-societal peace heathens.
I couldn't stand for this, so I had to do a little investigation to see what
I could believe in and what I could debunk. Last Sunday, June 18, Courtney
and I loaded up our Toyota with the camera, a few bottles of water and an
open mind to go see the gathering in it's setup stage.
Because I was fresh off of the surgical table and home from Tucson (See
Paulie Sez, Issue 6.12), we were unable to hike up to the actual site.
However, we were able to drive all the way to the footpath that leads to the
main gathering area to get a good view of where and what the site would look
like when the gathering was in full swing. We got the skinny on where the
main parking lot and drop off points would be from one of the elders and the
gatekeeper, Gigi. On our way past the official parking lot and Welcome Home
banner, we were stopped by one of the old-timers at "A" camp and had a very
pungent chat regarding where we could leave our booze and how far we could
drive in. For those of you who haven't been to a gathering or the Rainbow's
website yet, "A" camp is often the first camp you run into outside the
perimeter of the true gathering and is the only place that alcohol is
condoned.
As we cruised along the road we were greeted with many a smile and a lot of
"Welcome Home!" (The "official" Rainbow greeting.) All in all, it was not
too dissimilar from a Grateful Dead parking lot scene back in Jerry's day.
Everyone was in good spirits and gearing up for a long stint in the woods
with family and friends.
We hung around for about an hour or so and saw no sign of disregard for
safety or respect of the forest more than some parking issues along the
roadway. Forest service presence was not visible until we were on our way
out of the area and were passed by two forest service vehicles going towards
the gathering at a rather remarkable velocity. Their intent was unknown as
we were well on our way out of the area and they were past us before we
could flag them down or talk with them.
On our way home we stopped in at Hahn's Peak Café to see how they were
fairing so far and found no complaints regarding the Family. There was an
air of fear from some of the locals who had found that their appearance had
become suspect as a result of the gathering. One man was refused ice from a
local vendor because of his appearance, and another was hesitant to shop at
th Clark Market because of his ponytail and rumors of vicious security.
At other stops on the way back to town, we heard things ranging from hippies
poking meat at the grocery stores to thousands of dollars in theft from Ace
at the Curve. When I compared notes back at the office with Scott, he let
fly with yet more rumors of evil misdeeds by the Rainbow that warranted some
phone calls. The following list is what I was able to gather from some calls
around town. I hope these help to ease the adjustment of the coming wave of
visitors from around the states for what is shaping up to be one of the
busiest Julys in Steamboat's history.
continued next post...