Back from the gathering...

so i didn't see a lot of positive info on the gathering up here, so here is my take.

the site kicked ass. blah blah blah too small, road through main circle (not)....main meadow was/is this main meadow is a magical place ...the moss and ferns. the energy from the prayer circle was amazing brought tears to my eyes.
not good they pushed the site on us but lets be real, what a good choice!
yes, close to main roads but that benifited family too. i would rather look at the positives.

the love is there. excellent gathering.
weather was blessed
0 bugs except lightning bugs which gave a magical fairy effect at night.
the kitchens are cranking out some amazing food (instant soup rocked!)
everyone cooperated, help seemed abundant
water system rocked
athorities were cool, presence is there (they walk through daily) but they are respectful as we are to them
beautiful beautiful family. i am over full of love right now

if i had a complaint it would be drum circle had a weak fire. circle was too small not enough dance room.
but with that said, after the first night i could've dragged some wood myself but i did not...too busy galavanting. so i have no room to complain

love you all

 

i am glad you got out and had a breather! you deserve al the light and love you received

 

it certainly wasa beautiful gathering despite all the rumors..its 6 am sop wont give my full report till i've slept & come down from all the bliss..but i promice yas i'll give my full report in the morn..& yea i haveto agree..the site wassmall..but very beautiful & freindly..& ..well being this tired all i can say is..it was an amazing gathering..& i'd rank it in my top 10 list

 

man, i am so super sad that it wasnt in my cards to make it....esp after hearing it would be in your top ten. well i am stoaked that you all have been so blessed. look forward to hearing your words. did any of you hipforumers meet up with one another? how many people would you suppose were there all total?

 

t'was my first gathering, and i, too, found it to be delightful! and about that fire in the drum circle, god, it was a freaking inferno! i was praying it'd die down because we were all stripped as bare as possible and ready to pass out from all the sweat. perhaps if it were bigger, there would have been a bigger circle of people, which would've been nice, rather than bumping elbows all night. (esp. the beginning of july 3rd night)
but i was very very pleased with my first experience. i was truly amazed by the amount of talented people at the gathering - as seen at granola's july 4th talent show. and just in general. i hadn't known what to make of these brothers and sisters at first - but, for the large most part, they proved to be intelligent, giving folks. now i'm home and i'm really really craving to be back there. now i know what they all mean by 'welcome home!'

 

ok..this may be semi incoherent & totaly full of typos..since in babylon i have alot of probs sleeping (grrr none last night) & at thre gatherings i sleep sooooo wonderfully (2nd night there i slept from midnight till 2 hours before dinner circle..wow i must have really needed that)
well i arrived around the 26th i think, & within hours felt like i never left
i was sort of surprised when we found the site that parking was along a paved road, & so was A camp, but in a way that turned out to be sort of a blessing in disguise..28 miles of easy access parking not to mention the only relatively easy access to main meadow from the lower gathering areas for any of us less mobile types
the main trail in to the site from 150 was easy & not a bad lil walk at all, all the trails from there to the main meadow however sucked unless you went around the road..or took 1 semi good trail that followed the road
the meadows were all very beautiful, & there was something there that the last 2 lacked (which got me sick at both) HARD WOOD!! having something other then pine to burn sure cut down on the coughing..ok..water..water was everywhere & good & clean..there were about 6 or 12 actual wells..& they were there from (and this may be part of the reason spirit sent us to this place(always remember..the forresst service may "suggest" we go somewhere..even forcibly..but if spirit doesnt guide us there..we will always follow spirit)) when the site had been used as a prison camp for conciensus (told u i cant spell when tired) objectors in either ww1 or ww2 (i heard both) it wasa farm camp , mostly quackers & mennonites..1 brother i met's parents met fell in love & were married in that prison camp.
the locals in the area loved us even hanging huge banners in the 1 town saying "richwood welcomes all rainbows"
if anything, the rumors & craziness with the move may have had 1 affect..some kitchens didnt show..or didnt set up as big as usual..granola only set up the stage, not the kitchen (the fs requested they leave the stage there after) & many elders seemed to have not come..however, tons of people, many new faces..did come..on faith alone..& made it a wonderful gathering
i never heard sante sena called once, there seemed to be few health probs (except parvo for the dogs) oh..about the permit issue.. 700 people were ticketed the court was moved to right across the street from the gathering, most who pled non contention (neither guilty or not guilty) the fines were drasticaly reduced from 500..to 30 or 8 hours rainbow cleanup..if they pled not guilty they got 250$ or 2 days cleanup effectively, they were sentenced to continue being rainbows
several i talked to paid the 30 cause they didnt want to be "watched over" while cleanning up..but i was told that was a misconception..& they wouldnt have been, they'd just need somebelly to say they did it
also on permits..1 wassigned..by a junky..at his 1st gathering..this is how they try to get us..target our weakest link
from here on i propose we attack the issue agressively, the very 1st thing people should see no matter how they come in to the gathering is a huge banner saying "do not sign any permits" & an explanation as to why...in addition every single person there..wether rainbow, local, A camper..or whoever should be given a lil pamphlet on the permit issue, & how to respond when approached by leo's or fs on that..it should also say in it something to the effect that getting a ticket for not signimng shouldnt be looked at as a bad thing..cause every single ticket is a day in court..every one represents 1 more possibility to take it to the supreme court for any brave souls willing to take it that far..& sooner or later the supreme court will be unable to continue ignoring the issue
imagine if all 700 ticketed this year decided to take it that far? 4 cases they can ignore & noone would notice..but 700? how about if it was 5000?
ok..forgive my rambling..& back to the site.. main meadow was huge..& the area we circled in was far enough from bus villiage & the road that the sillence wasnt really disturbed except maybe twice by louder vehicles (a harley..& i think a very loud bus) the energy on the 4th is what i generaly rank gatherings by..so ofcourse vermont was & still is #1 but the energy in this years circle put it in the top 10..probly around #4-5 of my favorites i've been to
oh..1 interesting thing i noticed was how many i ran into who hadnt been to a gathering in 15-20 years, but decided this was the year to come home again..
another thing i noticed is how many 1st timers decided to stay for cleanup..& really got involved in the whole proccess of making the gathering reality..
i took like 300 pictures..most from the 4th ..so if ya want to seeany i will be putting em online soon
well..i'll think of more to say after i sleep
lovin ya all

 

for better or worse,, here go's..

was a fuckin weird ass gatherin full of pros an cons..

still on rainbow time an a bit looney so please exscuse me ..

As gathering gos this was the mellowest annual by far ive ever attended,..

parked at front gate with NO flack,, a 2 dollar kick down an was welcomed an gave directions to the katuah kitchen with blessins,,allbeit he directed us down the stairs,(err mud slide),but he did tell us where the easy trails were as well.. (thnx spider monkey) but it was working on dark and we didnt wanna waste time finding a campsite..

the gathering site itself,,, well because of the bog an the main meadow location,,i found it dysfunctional.We got there wensday an sites were already at a premium down by most the kitchens.Although we had a brother who saved us a sweet spot way downby monterey mud..
Because of the site layout there seemed to be no real communal circle the whole time,,sept from seperated groups,,the serving at main meadow 1/2 mile up the hill from 80% of the kitchens,,made shit hard on the kitchens as well as the gutter kids..An yes i heard more than a few grumbles from the kitchens about haulin the food up to main meadow..

So that kept even the dinner circle limited to a 1/4 to at best a 1/3 of the family on the land.

Also there seemed to be some real miscommunication the morning of the 4th when the kids parade came up to the main meadow,seemed many were so far away in the meadow they didnt know when or if to break there silence..,but yes the energy brought tears to my eyes as well..

On the topic of the 4th celabration,,
As far as it bein the best show or whatever,,that makes my 5th or 6th national,,and i dunno,,i found it a bit weak on energy.. dont get me wrong was great for the locals,,bein they had never seen us celabrate our birthday..
But as far as high energy,,once the circle broke and that energy was released i found it a bit lackluster..

seemed a full 1/3 of the family never even came up to welcome the kids,and of those that did over half were back down in the holler whithin a couple hours..

Although the watermelons an apples were a blesin...

the kids were awesome,(the ones who had been in the woods for weeks already),every last one of them sept that punk ass that was rumored to be punkin people at nick at nite..
Seemed small,,an very spread out,,but all the same was very peacefull,,course i like peacefull bein most the gatherins i attend are katuah..

the leos,, wernt no problem,,although they were present,,guess they pick an choose,,still that shits gotta give,,they creeped me out by there antics more than once.. twas a definate energy drain for the gathering..

We did see shante sena called once when the leos were trackin a brother from up top,,the drum circle moved he hit the creek an was gone,,he he,,, was back at the drum circle 15 minutes after the leos left..(the pick we have of the leos bein taunted was in the middle of that incedent)

All in all i think it was a good P.R. type gatherin for the family..

Was it the old school national i remember?? no way,,,Was it better??I dunno,, ill have to sleep on that..

Luv N Lite

 

rather than retype,, i just edited the above post,,

luv n lite..

 

this was..hmm..not sure..maybe 15th national? no idea..lol but yea the energy after the silldence was somewhat lacking..when i compare it to like new mexico ..& the energy durring the sillence also was lacking when compared to vermount
but the general impression i got..although not nearly as high as some..was very peaceful & focused

as for thesite..admitedly i didnt get around to seeing much of the out of the way camps, but being as small & cramped as it was, it seemed to work just fine.....i remember pa when we moved the circle to protect the meadow..& had the same issueswith distance to main meadow
and as for this bog...i never even really noticed it
yes the site had some major issues..& wouldnt have been my 1st choice if i wasat council..however it did prove 1 thing..we can make due with a less then perfect site & still have a beautiful gathering.
not sure..but possibly why i rank this one so high is simply because of howwe overcame all the issures & still kept things generaly blissful.

 

hhb! i was lookin for you and dill...damn it! was lookin around for you too soaringeagle, although we never "met" i checked this forum before i left for updates and caught your posts.
anyway, glad i shared that circle with such fine family...we did hold hands and share electrical charge though, didn't we!?
i've only been to one other national...pa in '98 or'99? back then i could not engauge like i can now. although i was pretty open, back then i felt a little uncomfortable with so many people telling me they loved me. now i see how critical the gatherings are...for all of us, but personally for my soul.
livin in babylon with the kids wears on me. running my business and just keepin it all goin on my own. i seek out or am sought out and connect with my kind more and more but at the same time i find more and more people are closeing up or just appear to be real and family but are too consumed by ego...there full of shit.

my whole stay was amazing. straight away i wandered into the instant soup camp during a sharing circle. i met some great brothers and sisters right then and camped there. the musicians and talant that wandered into that camp over the weekend blew my mind...amazing guitar, fiddle, sax, drums, classic violin, poets. this was a 24 hr kitchen and it never slowed down. and the food they kicked out...breads, cookies, cakes, and of course soups. amazing!
i didn't eat at many other kitchens.
i'd say a highlight for me (and there were many) was on the fourth, as insignificant as it sounds, i carried a big basket of nectarines to the center circle...because well they needed to be carried. i figured there was a central place to bring them and get distributed. but as i got closer brothers and sisters came up asking if they could please have one. "of course please do" thank you" no, wow thank you....we were all hot and thirsty from standing in the sun while the circle slowly found its way to be the amazing energy it was. so now i was blessed with the honour of making all these brothers and sisters happy and getting hugs and kisses. it was about 6 minutes of a barrage of love directed at me which after the first few, i embraced my role fully.

after the prayer circle i ran into a brother from kansas...lotus. we never really comunicated before, just acknowledged, but we embraced and said goodbyes cause i was heading out and he put out and invitation to visit him, and we huged again...just all real pure and true, still riding the energy of the circle. i said something about he or this is the way it's supposed to be and hell if we didn't both start crying like babies...not dramatic mind you, just real, right from our souls.

and that is what its about.

i also want to mention the pow/mia flag pole at the prayer circle.
i noticed it straight away but didn't think much. then after i gave out all the fruit and i was laughing with some friends and wound up ten feet away. i realized the pole was not in the ground so the brothers that were around it, one arm extended, were actually holding it up... in silence, sobbing. i felt drawn to it and found a spot to hold on and show my respect. as i closed my eyes i guess i was so open from the circle but i felt my soul go right threw the pole and i felt all the pain and fear. it was as if i was in vietnam lonley and cold and then the son of a lost father again lonley and cold. aching.
i cried with my brothers. i can't really explain how that effected me or the trip i was on (tried for the last 1/2 hour and deleated it)

loving you all~

 

ah we looked on the map and info board for forum folks n shit but me bein me i was not gonna put my camp as the meetin place,,, i aint quite rainbow enough to be rainbow nice to a person that i truly dont care for,,,, however we didnt see anyone else doit either,,,,, we did meet soarin eagle, had makno as a rider and wandered to horse of a different color and met earthmother, her ol man n grampa and spent a couple evenins with them, met several folks we have only heard about and met many others we wont ever forget....

yes the energy of those of us that actually circled at main was definitely intense and i too saw that same pow mia pole and i have a pic of them because it moved me, another that moved me deeply emotionally was the quilt being made by family for a sister that is dying, i sat n made a patch for that quilt with others that it also moved and the energy there was so intense it wasnt funny,,, although like you was on a trip of i cant explain either,,, thought it was just weed ,,, but well it was rainbow land so noone truly knows ,,,, was amazin is all i can say,,,,
the energies i felt from the kids was amazing too, although tis a bit strange for a newcomer for me to imajin combat boots, black camo n piercings as up n coming rainbow,,,,,,, the different cultures of the folks impressed me as well although i knowing how this country is now and will continue to be in the future missed the hispanic family there,,, something i truly longed to see ,,,, the young kids with with braces , crutches, wheelchairs etc etc also tugged at my lil yankee ass heart strings too,,, n even then it wasnt just the young,,, watching folks just help others when it was needed was awesome as well, knowing that in babble-on it just aint that way no more,,,
after circle you by chance ever git ya paws on some hella good jolly ranchers?
I think though the best night for any of us camped in our lil encampment was when we took some of our snack things( took way toooo many) to the roadside and handed them out to people walkin by, twas like we were handin out gold and had an awesome evening just chatting and gettin to know so many of our brothers n sisters we had only saw in passing,,,, something we have decided from now on to do while rainbowing when we can and keeping life going in babble on and here at the farm,,,, all the while gettin further behind on the farm,,, tis all good though n we both realize we hafta ,,, tis the only family we got where we can be what we are n wanna be all the time n yet cant quite yet,,,, so when we can we can devote more to the farm,,,,
aw shit i am babbling n tis gettin gushy n gooey n makin me wanna cry n shit,,, so til nex time LUVVIN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

wow, hope ya undersood all that, i am all sortsa stoned n still acclimatizin to the real world again, n it SUX n i aint doin very well

 

heehee well actualy the words just swirled around alot in my head sorta forming this multi colored puddle.. but the emotions & impressions were crystal clear.
ok..some magical momments for me..& they may be silly but still they left an impression
1..a sistter walking by on the patch with a smile so incrediby big it really seemed like her ears were directly connected to the corners of her mouth..i mean litteraly her smile was so huge i remember thinking if i just gave her any little gift of love her entire head would disapear & shed just have like a floating cheshire cat like smile ..you just never see a smile like that in babylon..

2 & keep in mind i'm not at all gay or anything.. but something about this just touched me..on the 4th i saw someone..who i had met earlier & had assumed was a normal sister (only really talkjed to her asecond though) & after the sillence i saw this person dancing naked with some brother..dancing with total joy beamming....well..like i said this person was nude..so..it was pretty odvios that this wasnt just any other sister..since..well..lets just say it wasa he in the process of becoming a she..something u dont really see everyday
now in normal society if you saw someone with both male & female parts youd expect stares, & whispered comments & maybe even mean remarks.. however there was none of that there & it really just seemed like noone even noticed..or if they did it was just like "hmm well thats something u dont see often" but was just part of the rainbow scenery..& this person wasso filled with the joy of the unconditional acceptance & the freedom to just be who they are that the joy was like a flood flowing through him/her

3 k this magical momment was i think during the sillence
a sister i never met or sawagain came drifting by..our eyes met & her lips sillently formed the words i love you..& in that momment i saw her eyes fill with tears....we didnt know eachother or anything at all about eachother..but yet i felt she loved me so much shecouldnt contain it..
that capacity to love is the magic that is rainbow..
we go home not only to share the love we feel..but also to learn to be even more loving..
& that sillent momment with this unknown sister who i dont think i'd even recognize..the emotions of that momment will always be with me & will be an inspiration to be even more loving.

4 this isnt really a magic momment..just typical rainbow..but i thought it was worth mentionimng
meditating in the hot sun on the 4th i wasnt very aware of what was going on around me.. but everytime i'd open my eyes for adrink of watrer or to just look around at the beautiful people.. everytime i found a different small crystal lying on my lap wiyth no idea how it got there.. i'd hold it awhile..then put it in my bag so i wouldnt lose it..aftera bit i'd close my eyes again & yet another crystal would appear

oh & as for all of u i was looking for but never ran into..next year lets plan a popcorn & coffee kitchen. or something..
lovin you

 

What was Council's consensus on next year's location?

East? West? North? South?

 

wernt there for the council,, but so far the rumors are flyin colorado,, i heard "midwest region" an i left on the 6th..

never heard a conscensus on a state before,..???? hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

flat land gives me headaches .....

 

@

 

there are tons of pics in dilligafs gallery n in another thread here in rainbow

 

Welcome back everyone! Thanks for sharing stories & Rainbow possivibes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i put 1/2 my pics in my gallery, but if u want the full set..full size theres a 72 meg xzip that i uplloaded (i think the server only keeps them a weekk though
http://s48.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0AIISVVPEZOD02AH61841Q86RO

they will all be on my website eventualy too