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.