Cleanup is done

Everyone has left the site except for 2 guys who will be camping in the area for awhile. Still no sign of Marie.

cleanup info

update from the land: Fatt kids & Everbody's kitchens are the only ones left, bout 25 people..clean up has gone as smoothly as possible and there is only bout 2 pick up truck loads of garbage left...all garbage will be gone prob today and reseeding is to start this week also..luving our clean up crews and much thanx! there was a article printed as well on clean up that u can find on karin zirks blog.

Cleanup Update 7/29/2011

Most of the trash and recycling have gone off to their new homes. Today a bunch of dried food (things like beans and rice) was donated to the food bank in Stevenson, Washington. A huge load of left over clothing has gone off the to Goodwill in Hood River.

A cougar was spotted in on the road and lots of wild life have returned. There are still a few bridges down in the meadow left to be dismantled and some creek banks with stair steps in them to be repaired. Most of the folks at cleanup are up on the road. People will probably be there for another week. Things are looking good.

Exact wording of vision council consensus

OFFICIAL WORDING: Consensus for the 2012 annual gathering was reached
with 10 seconds of silence on July 16 at 3:55 pm, pdt. We the people
on the land at the 2011 annual gathering vision council of the
rainbow family of living light, have reached a consensus to hold the
2012 annual peaceable assembly and free speech gathering in the White
Mountain National Forest (in the N.E.), or the Appalachian states of
Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia. We Love You

Gathering cleanup from hell

Mosquitos are everywhere and hindering the cleanup crew. We're still waiting to get trash and recyclables out of the site.

Vision Council

Reached a consensus. This may not be exact, but close enough for government work.
white mt. NH, tenn, kent, nc, ga,va.

Amber's Memorial Service July 15 in Ny

Amber passed away at the gathering from a pre-existing medical condition.

July 6, 2011 Amber "Aya" M. Kellar, 28, passed on to her new life on Wednesday in Washington state. Amber was a native of Tully, NY, who lived in the Syracuse area for most of her life and was currently residing in California. She was an accomplished artist who was known by many for her artistic talents as well as for her kindness and loving nature. Her brother, Robert Mersfelder, predeceased her in 1999. S...urvivors include her mother, Dale Kellar; her father, Steven Kellar; her sister, Kimberly A. Kellar; her nieces and nephews, Michael, Robert, Stephanie, Kyleigh, Autumn and Bella; and her aunts, uncles and cousins. Everyone is welcome to celebrate Amber's life at a gathering, "Aya's Festival of Life," which will be held at one of Amber's favorite places, 3720 Tanner Road, Syracuse, NY 13215. Beginning 10 a.m. Friday, July 15, remembrance services will be held at the property, and then Amber's burial will follow in Howlett Hill Cemetery. "Aya's Festival of Life" will continue, following her burial, until Sunday at the Tanner Road property. For those inclined to do so, contributions may be made to a fund established for arrangements. Checks may be directed to Dale A. Kellar for Amber M. Kellar, 3816 Split Rock Rd., Camillus, NY 13031. Online condolences at CarterFuneralHome.com

VC

I was at the site yesterday, and as of 3pm there was still not yet any word that consensus had been reached as to the location of next year's Gathering. (I did not attend vision council however, which was still ongoing as I left the site around 6pm)
As of today, July 14th, I still have not heard anything and there is cell service onsite so I will check in w folks on the land again today and let folks on this list know if / when consensus gets reached

Vision Council

vision council is ongoing... That and
it's been raining alot again.

2 or 3 babies born this year

One for sure on site, one in a local hospital and I heard there might have been a third but no confirmation on that.

New York Steve passed at the Ovens on 6/24

New York Steve was making sticky buns at the ovens when he passed on to the earth or the sky or heavens. Family and forest service united to try to save Steve's life to no avail. Thank you to all who where there when Steve moved on or up or down.

Beautiful 4th

Two circles, one around the edge of main marsh, one in the dinner circle meadow. The children were in the center for 15 minutes with family oming. People pulling out fast as it was cold, cold, cold at night. July 1 - 4 were nice during the day. Lots of day trippers and first time gatherers.

Guy offering rides from Portland to home

I'm in Portland with my Astro Van and I'm offering rides to and from the Rainbow Gathering. I'll pick you up at the airport, train station, bus station, or wherever you're hanging, and shuttle you up to the National Forest. Fuel is expensive today, so I'm asking for some gas money. I'm not trying to make money doing this - I'm just trying to keep some gas in the tank and food in my belly. If you need help getting to or from the Rainbow, please contact me and I'll do what I can to get you up there, or back. I have very limited Internet access right now - cell phone is best for me - 518 four two four 0134. Thanks. Dan

Newspaper Article Link

Article on the gathering.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jun/20/rainbow-family-digging-gifford-pinchot-site/

Notes from Town Council Meeting on June 20

Ok, so the notes from the EMS meeting and the Stevenson Town Hall
meeting that seem the most relevant right now:

*Gravel roads must be kept clear, with only cars parked along one side
of the road for emergency vehicles – 11 feet clearance required for fire
trucks and ambulances.

*Fire danger becomes high after only 3 days of dry weather.

*The meadow after all the snow melts is still going to be very wet and
there will be lots of mosquitoes, we were warned by locals.

*Local community emergency services are already overtaxed this time of
year and there are 2 major events going on in Skamania County this
coming weekend and the 4th of July week that brings many thousand folks
through this area.

*The north east end of Swift Reservoir (for people coming in from the
west) has a lot of work being done around the Swift Dam right now, so
huge cranes and other vehicles can be in the road and often end up
taking up more than their lane. Logging trucks are up there as well, and
need to be watched for. Also, from Woodland to Cougar, and places in
between, is a heavily advertised motorbiking thoroughfare – these bikes
are often going very fast and accidents up there area very frequent – we
need to be very careful on the roads.

*Complaints about dumpster diving and spare-changing are again the
biggest complaints. Locals are really quite upset about this, so please
be respectful when you are in the towns and head up to the site after
you fuel up and pick up the last things you need before coming H.O.M.E.

*The vibe on the land is really awesome, and even though folks have had
to be very patient while the snow melts, it is really loving and warm
onsite right now. Bulldozers have plowed the last of the road into the
lower part of Skookum Meadow as of June 20, and the next couple days are
supposed to be very warm so folks should be able to move onsite today
and tomorrow hopefully.

CAUTION: There are lots of deep snowdrifts up there, and many people
have been hiking in to set up spaces for camps and kitchens. One person
(at least) got stuck over his shoulders in a very deep snow drift and
luckily a couple others who were also lost / taking a "shortcut" found
this person and dug them out. Another two folks got frostbite and had to
be sent to the hospital a couple days ago. So if you see only one set of
footprints in snow off-trail... following those prints to be sure nobody
is stuck in 6-7 feet of snow would be really cool.

One baby had been born when I left the site on Monday June 20 and
another was going to be born that day!

Folks still not on site

Hoping to start moving to the site on Tuesday, June 21. Bring warm clothes. Be prepared for snow if you're coming home in the next few days.

Directions

Keep checking back for updates to directions. Per folks I've spoken with, many roads in the area/to the site are still either snowed under, gated and locked, or both. Do not attempt alternate routes other than posted diections from trusted sources. There's lots of confusion and misinformation out there, so verify before you repeat/post anything that is word of mouth!

Hapless motorists have gotten stranded and died on forest roads in the Northwest, so please be careful! Lots of these places out here are not within cell phone service range, and map/ navigation systems can't be relied upon.

Snow Plow

Word from onsite is that there is a snow plow that can come to help clear roads. They are raising $$ to pay the operator for this but they will need a credit card holder to call in their number to get this in motion. Anybody with 'available credit' want to help with this? You can email me privately and you can get put in touch with the plow people....people have been shovelling all day by hand to clear the big drifts that still cover parts of the road...it's a huge job for the seed camp, and a short bit of work for a professional plow. Even better, does anybody knows someone within driving distance who has a real snow plow and would care to open the door for us?

Snow

Word is that the kidz in seed camp are shovelling snow to clear the roads--which gives you some idea of how cold it still is.
SEED CAMPers WILL WALK Thru SNOW!!

Scouting continues for the gathering site. Until those who look for meadows in the woods (and springs, parking, kitchen spots, wood, safe roads, etc.) are still tromping in the snow! Flow snow, flow!

It is beautiful at spring council. A beautiful location to sit in circle with gatherers and be patient.

scouting continues

scouting continues, the snow is melting and that is exciting. spring
council site has been announced, and it is a lovely gravel pit for
parking with a much lovelier meadow in the woods for when we council.
will be there!

Drive slowly up the roads in WA. They are narrow and winding. Be
patient and be prepared. The drive back to ANY store is long. Bring
the things you will need.

gifford pichot sign

thought u might like it.

spring council! more photos

Enjoy

spring council!

More photos

spring council!

Here are some photos from the spring council site.
 Update:  Road 9300 is very steep, narrow, windy road -  take it slow, very slow and remember autos driving up the hills have the right of way. Folks should really try to minimize town runs.  There are no stores close by and being prepared to stay will eliminate extra travel on the roads.  Come prepared to stay for the week.

Due to the snow still remaining and folks who were scouting not being able to get into the sites to look around, there will be no decisions about site selection before June 18.  There may be opportunities for people to go scouting.  But they need to be prepared with winter weather gear, a basic knowledge of map-reading, and a car. 
 
 It is beautiful in the meadow.  Good parking in a gravel lot, and plenty of room for buses.  The folks on the land started to dig a shitter for spring council.  The picture shows a trench, and the soil removed but notice behind the pile of soil.  They carefully removed the plants that will be used to cover the shitter when it is closed! 


You can post the above, edit or reorder as needed!  It is cold tonight, but not snowing where we are.  We are not in the snow, the sites are in the snow!!

Snow go n' flow...
later,