June 30 til July 6

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
We stay overnight near Ojo Caliente and go there the next morning. Nice spa facility with natural hot baths, massage, etc. We hook up with Mike on the phone and agree to meet up with their 4 cars and Urantia People who are all going to the Gathering to let people know about the Urantia Book. Then we all caravan down together. We are so grateful to have experienced people who have been to the Gathering before to guide us in. We go past several police encounters as we head the 20 miles up on dirt roads. Gratefully we all get by easily.

We get near the site where we begin our hike to the Gathering. We decide to stay up at the parking in our van the first night to see how it is. Everything that goes down has to be carried, pulled, pushed etc. over the 2 plus miles thru streams and over logs, up and down the trail. Everyone is carrying all their food, musical instruments, tents, bedding. Everyone has already made the difficult journey to get to the trail, so we all help everyone we can who needs it as we go.

It is such a joy to get to the “Meadow”. We see all the multicolored people gathering in this huge grassy field in the mountains and sunlight. A seeming Utopia. Every Rainbow Gathering has a main meadow where everyone gathers. We stop at info and look at the developing map. And then the Orantia Group has to find their best place for their camp. Somewhere they can be found easily so they can share with other “Rainbows”. The Gatherings have been happening for some 20 years now. They have an “anarchist” philosophy and believe in the rights of each person to camp on public land. The Gathering has no leader, only people who act to help. Each Gathering is an experiment to see how 5-15,000 people can gather together, feed themselves, take care of themselves without direct authority for a week to 3 weeks. And everything is Free! Volunteers have gathered before the opening to build water systems, kitchens, trails and toilets. We come back to the meadow and miss the dinner gathering. We are happy to get some simple food at the The Kid’s Village. We get back to our van before nightfall and are happy to have a place to sleep.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
We wake up to meet the lovely lady in the van next to us who invites us to espresso she is making on her stove. Miriam has been at many Gatherings over the years and we discuss life, the Gatherings, etc., etc. Nice to meet new people and share with. We then get all our gear and our newly purchased tent together and head down the trail to set up camp. Before we leave there is a cloud burst/thunderstorms and we wait til that clears. We get down the trail, an hour hike with fully loaded backpack, and set up our tent just before another thunderstorm hits and we pile in to our newly setup tent to wait it out. While we relax we notice we have a flood! Inside the tent! We dam it with some towels while the rain continues to pour outside. After a short while it is clear that the new tent is raining thru at the zipper and seams all over! We conclude that we will not be able to stay in the tent if there is any more rain! Saddened, after the rain stops, we pack up everything and head back up the mountain. As we head thru the meadow we arrive in time for dinner. There are three large concentric circles of 2 lines of people facing each other waiting for dinner. The food arrives and slowly everyone is well fed!! Quite an operation.


Thursday, July 2, 2009
This day we are determined to stay the day and night at the Gathering. We again hike down to our friends’ camp and visit for awhile, find some breakfast at one of the kitchens and then listen to a women’s circle while they pass the talking feather around sharing what they think is important to say. This includes some important concerns about alcohol, violence and problems at the Gathering. While we are sitting there our friend from Maui we have been looking for, Shiner, walks by! This is an exciting meeting that in the 10,000 people to find him. He invites us up to his tent and explains that the Aloha Camp, which we have been hearing about for years, is not happening this year. And he hosts us with some snacks and some songs as we chat about Hawaii and Holland – he has visited several times. His tent mate nearby comes over and joins in with flute and sax. Now this is what we thought the Gathering would be like! We go off to find some dinner in the meadow again and afterward participate in the “Angel car wash”. If you have never done this it is fantastic! First you get in a line that is massaging each other’s shoulders. Then people have lined up across from each other and whisper loving positive things to you as you go thru with closed eyes and giving you hugs and massages as you go along. Then you join the line to become one of the givers! Really fun with tears and joy by participants. We continue to stay out at night looking for fun and song. And after walking up and down thru ALL of the camp – a very long tiring way – we find very little really going on and virtually no singing. Saddened we head back up the trail to sleep.

Friday, July 3, 2009
We had been looking forward to July 4th at the Gathering. We heard the first half of the day is spent in silence contemplating peace. And that after that there is much merriment and song. Sounds good. But today we wake up to rain and cold. Myia thinks about staying in bed and reading. And Gerrit has a better idea – we decide to leave! We have looked at the weather reports and know that the only place with better weather when the thunderstorms come like this is the Moab/Arches area. We say our good byes in the rain and head to Moab - Canyon lands and Arches!

Saturday, July 4, 2009
Early on July 4 we get to Moab and the heat! Myia is wanting to show Gerrit a typical American July 4th. And the Visitor Center tells us that the parade is only small and for kids. We go to Arches National Park just outside of town. It is very hot by the afternoon – over 100 degrees - and take refuge in the Park Visitor Center before heading up to see, what else, the Arches! They are magnificent and we take a hike out to see the largest in the US, the Landscape Arch and some others. Then with dark and cooler temperatures arriving, we join the rest of the town to watch Fireworks on this typical 4th of July while drinking wine with snacks!

Sunday, July 5, 2009WE are up early before it gets hot today to go first to Dead Horse point state park. This is an amazing place where the Colorado has carved into the mesa, similar to the Grad Canyon. And it reminds us of that. WE think go to northern Canyon lands and hike around to see the views. We then drive to the Needles Outlook Area of the Canyon lands. Here we can see an overview of the surrounding area. Amazing! It is now 12 noon and unfortunately it is too hot ot hike further so we decide to start out of town hoping it will cool down so we can find a more comfortable place to sleep. We have found this can be found at higher elevations. We find a lovely road off the main road as it finally cools down at 8pm. And we are treated to a fantastic sunset with rain in the mountains and almost full moon rise!!

Monday, July 6, 2009

We wake early and head toward The Teton National Park via Orem and Costco, our favorite gas and supply shop…. Driving all day we arrive late to the Tetons, seeing mostly their shadows before the almost full moon rises, and they have a campsite for us!