So, I couldn't find the list of past Annual Gathering sites on Welcomehome, and had to rely on Welcomehere. I guess rob's hardware is, like the rest of us, getting old and forgetful. I assigned a quadrant to each state, somewhat arbitrarily up the middle of the country, I admit. Some might take exception to me placing the Texas site in the southeast, but that site was a lot closer to Vicksburg, MS than El Paso. The part of Texas where the "Buiscuit eating Baptists live", as Robert Penn Warren, a man who knew the South, said. I believe the AR and MO sites were east of there, or more or less on the same merridian, so they're also SE. MN and MI are in the northeast. I put WV in the NE, but I guess it could go either way. The southwest is the four corners states. I placed NV in the NW because the site was so near the ID border. As I recall, the only access to the site was from ID. CA is the NW, 'cause those sites were way up north in CA. Anybody that doesn't like the way I did this can come up with their own table. Southwest is quadrant 1, and they're numbered clockwise. 1972: Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado 1 1973: Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming 2 1974: Dixie National Forest, Utah 1 1975: Ozark National Forest, Arkansas 4 1976: Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana 2 1977: Gila National Forest, New Mexico 1 1978: Umpqua National Forest, Oregon 2 1979: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona 1 1980: Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia 3 SW 4 NW 3 NE 1 SE 1 No alternating anything the first 9 years. 1981: Kanisku National Forest, Washington 2 1982: Boise National Forest, Idaho 2 1983: Ottawa National Forest, Michigan 3 1984: Modoc National Forest, California 2 1985: Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri 4 1986: Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania 3 1987: Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina 4 1988: Angelina National Forest, Texas 4 1989: Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada 2 SW 0 NW 4 NE 2 SE 3 What's this? Not in the southwest since 1979? And what's that run '85-'88? OK, a couple of my questionable border states are there. 1st Half: SW 4 NW 7 NE 3 SE 4 I were an English major, but that looks like 11 west, 7 east when I add it up. 1990: Superior National Forest, Minnesota 3 1991: Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont 3 1992: White River National Forest, Colorado 1 1993: Talladega NF, Alabama, Daniel Boone NF, KY 4 1994: Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming 2 1995: Carson National Forest, New Mexico 1 1996: Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri 4 1997: Ochoco National Forest, Oregon 2 1998: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona 1 SW 3 NW 2 NE 2 SE 2 There's an east-west thing going on '91-'97 1999: Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania 3 2000: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana 2 2001: Boise National Forest, Idaho 2 2002: Ottawa National Forest, Michigan 3 2003: Bridger-Teton National Forest, Utah 1 2004: Modoc National Forest, California 2 2005: Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia 3 2006: Routt National Forest, Colorado 1 2007: Ozark National Forest, Arkansas 4 SW 2 NW 3 NE 3 SE 1 2nd Half: SW 5 NW 5 NE 5 SE 3 10 west, 8 east since 1990. 11 west , 7 east before 1990. But I don't see any east/west alternating trend except for brifly in the '90s I think the Myth is BUSTED!
I don't know about all that, buy '94 is way up there on my list of favorite Gatherings. My 3rd Annual, and the one where I hoked up with, or maybe I should say fell in with, the tribe I've been working with pretty much ever since. And, of course, there was fire on the 3rd, and snow on the 4th.
yaya , ok , we're going to Wyoming ! it was a two-day council , and i felt the consensus was thoughtful . three considerations came to the fore : . regional centrality . a proximity to native-american reservations (and the great medicine wheel) . a humble request from some dying elders that it be , um , 'north and westerly' the arkansas gathering had a wonderful feeling of fine nature , balance and intimacy . like , the woodland sprites flit among and through the people with a sense of purpose . spirit leads us on ....
Hey there, Just my two cents about the "NE". I started my rainbow experience in the northeast, after Vermont I only went to NERF regionals for almost a decade. I have sat in many councils and have first hand experience why there are no regionals. It is a long, complicated, often painful story that involves deaths, births, fears, and olders who are tired, untrusting, and unwilling to pass along the equipment for the youngers to work with. I have always felt that the regional was the place where most of the learning happened! A smaller, yes more intimate setting, where, in my experience, NERFLINGS passed along their skills for serving wholesome and healthy food (vegan kitchen for many years!!), hot coffee and plenty of Hot TEA, great wash dish wash stations, great water, great shitters, great discussions, and loving family. Unfortunatelyl, this has changed over the last 6-8 years. The NERF kitchen has not even been to a gathering for many of those years: a few years by consensus not to bring the kitchen, and a couple of years the kitchen equipment was basically kidnapped. Disregarding a consensus to bring the kitchen to the annual, a few called a council on private land prior to an annual gathering. There they decided that they should go to another site because of some "family consensus" they felt was made at TGC "not to go to Pochahontas County" - (which was inaccurate, and not the consensus) This was very painful for those waiting at the Cranberry site for the equipment and the money to arrive! Some money, and equipment was kicked down - but the damage was done, and the stuff arrived too late! More pain...but hopefully growth and understanding. Basically things have fallen apart for NERF. But some of us say now, which NERF? or What NERF? or What is NERF? Some of us like to answer this question like this: Now Everybody's Rainbow Family! Hopefully we are pulling the old NERF trailer - once we get the axle fixed (any helpers around??), with what is left of the old NERF kitchen equipment, and we are going to see what happens at the PA multi-bio-regional Aug. 10-20. I am certain it will be wonderful...and we can hash this stuff over once again as we dig, chop, haul, and commune together. lovin you areola moon
Colorado, someplace stoopid, Wyoming--It's a Sacred Rainbow Family Tradition, and and fulfills the Vision of the Holy Fnukawi Shaman Farting Marmot. It's just the way things should be, in this, the best of all possible worlds, SO DON'T MESS WITH IT!
Centrally would work for almost everyone- because almost everyone has to come together in the middle and i think that there is something really beautiful about people coming together in the middle. don't ya think ?
also at the council was some serious comments on ranbO!consensus being manipulated through devious babylon ways ; also the question of how to know when spirit has spoken ... oops
I'm hoping for it to be somewhere near the rockies, I love the blue moutains. I wasn't able to make it to the national this year but I definatly got high hopes it'll be closer in 2008
Long time no post family......lost my steady connection but i'll have it again in a bit.........doing the moving thing... Anyway I don't want to place blame anywhere specifically because I think it's a combination of alot of factors, but Pete is right, NE family IS falling apart........for whatever reason....doesn't matter but we need to get our shit back together....just so everybody knows their is still a healthy dose of family in NE but we are definitely alot less connected. Around the weekend of the Summer Solstice we had a small celebratory gathering here in the NEK of Vermont, it was on private land owned by a brother from Mass, their were about a 100 or so kids there and it was a great time to reconnect, with any luck we'll get our shit together....We're still out here, but alot of us are holed up out in the woods all over the NE.......not so much in the cities anymore.
i heard rumors of wyoming. if thats true i was told be someone whos been there that laws are strict. NO hitchhiking, and pots very illegal. again I ALONE dont know if this is true but if it is it should be considered. who knows what other laws they are strict about. and we want to protect the family first. if anyone knows one way or another if this is true i would love a response. luvin you family!
i do know that years ago hitchin was illegal in wyoming.. ill never forget bein rousted,,all my shit strode all over the side of the road an then bein told to cross over the interstate,jump the fence and walk out of the state,,.. i was in rock springs,, wtf? walk 200 miles out of there state?? yeah ,well i waited till the trooper was out of site an hitched the fuck outta there...
You can look up marijuana laws by state on the NORML website, and digihitch.com has hitchhiking laws by state. I don't recall bad problems fron State or County law enforcement in '94, but that was a long time ago. I do know USFuSs isn't too popular in Wyoming, but that's because USFuSs won't let powerful buisness interests rape Federal land as thoroughly as they would like. There are powerful Western Senators that would like to do away with USFuSs altogether, so we can expect their actions to be watched rather closely next year.
I heard Wyoming also. Hippiehillbilly is right: gotta have local gatherings, full moon circles, drum fests whatever.
Well... Feed the local gatherings as much as you can with energy and (hopefully) some wisdom. We have a little going on here in Utah, but we are healthy, it seems. Had 6 parental units and 30 kids (High school and college age) in Colorado and about ten of us in Arkansas, from Logan Utah. Arkansas was good, very good for me and my family. Had some blown tire tragedy/death/injuries coming for us on the drive out from Steamboat and was somewhat healed in the muddy trails of Arkansas by Phil and friends (thank you thank you thank you - Phil, Popeye, you'll never see this I'm afraid and I'm afraid that you old hippie toothless hick redneck, how wise you are - I do love you - will never make it out here to the west, and I do love you, and I miss you and your straight ahead honesty and by God, your suffering humbles me and helps me love God and accept the cross I bear, or is that the Cross-Eyed Bear?). To the subject of this thread, YIPPI!! Wyoming is close and beautiful. I'm planning to bring my Ford 150 FWD as a supply vehicle and get myself insulated with the better parts of A-Camp. See you all there. Arkansas was a good place: a mix of hardcore family (Warriors of the Light, Montana Mud, Rainbow Zion, Phat Kids, Ozz and such) and locals, very good folks from around the area States. Only about 8 thousand people. Instant Soup had half the space and maybe half the people that were there in Colorado, but it went very well indeed, thanks to John, Paisley, Rich In Spirit, not to mention Garrit and that wonderful woman who made the organic chocolate cookies and all the good vibes from Paul and all them good folks. Oh |edit|, the vision thing, uh, don't you have to be willing to be there, at the meeting? No use bitching about the (lack of) wisdom, if you aren't there to begin with. I remember how impressed I was with the first National I went to in Idaho when Vision was held at NOON in the BAKING SUN! If you weren't ready to pay the dues and cook along with the Holy Holies and commited fools, the that's just too bad, huh?
try everybody? are those people your gathering? im talking about making it easier for everybodyto get home..right? again arguing my pint without realizing it mostly new folks, mostly comming fropm where? nearby especialy the new folks make shorter trips the gathering lands in your neighbourhood 500 new rainbows are born in your back yard this is how areas get new blood to replace old west coast is strong cause west coast has constant influx of new folks east coast falls apart as no new blood comes in & old drift away the pattern was never stricty so not easily seen as a right left right, but care was put into fairness, & a legit attempt was made to go east central west as much as possible im way too tired to follow your lil chart above but seems to me approx 8 years orso would seem about right lets see the last east were pa & wv..michigan would be central unless you concider dead center nearly an east coast gathrring..so when was the last 1 east of central before pa? how many years? after utah cali was chosen over an east location because of the concensus for a no permit gathering in the region that was ruined by the utah permit, but if it hadnt been for that reason alone from what i hear it would have gone east then nyc had some of the biggest potlucks a few years back & the best focalization anywhere, raising a lotta $ every year with benifits & stuff all goin into the nationals if a city that size with that record of excelent focalization is havin trouble getting 5-10 people these days after no east coast gatherins in years how can u blame an entire 1/3 of the country for every area being weak? weak or weakened? weve been weakened only by lack of support, lack of new blood 2 east gatherins in the next 6 years would make a huge difference..none & were done
