all good things must come to an end......

Rendezvous came....and...sigh.....went......

Hallooooow the camp!
Fort Bridger Rendezvous is a Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Rendezvous. Where folks dress in pre 1840's clothing from head to foot, and sell and buy pre 1840's things. It's held every year on Labor day weekend, inside of Historic Fort Bridger Wyoming, which is also in the town of Ft Bridger Wyo. Most of our family dresses in mid 1750's era, or as colonials and long hunters, which isn't really rocky mountain fur trade, but it is pre 1840 and we love it. Our one daughter and her family dress southwest, or more in the style of Taos traders. We are still learning and researching and that's 9/10's of the fun for us. Our teen took first place on Friday's tomahawk throw, which won him 30 dollars in traders bucks, We were all excited for him. He didn't do so hot the next day, but it still gave him some ump to keep practicing for next year.
Here's our family. We were all here!!!!! You can tell we're in Wyo.... the w.i.n.d. was blowing! LOL We had a really good time and are already talking about next years rendezvous. We camp out of the fort in the "tin tepee" area in our campers and tents. In order to camp in the fort, or in the "primitive camp" as it is called, everything we would use and wear would have to be pre 1840. Tents, bedding, chairs, tables, dishes, clothing all the time, our coolers in wooden boxes, etc. We have talked about doing that, but then we always decide we like our campers and it would cost a ton to go 100% primitive. But we still talk about it. Maybe someday we'll just do it.

The next picture was taken on traders row inside the fort. Men and women come and set up their period tent's and sell pre 1840 type goods from them, and it's called traders row.

This young man and his brothers are Kirkmount. They play Celtic music which is mostly composed by themselves. They are really gifted.

These next pictures are just random shots of family

sorry this next picture is blurry. Kids met while they were out shopping, an I enjoyed seeing them visiting.

more of traders row....

I met this lady on Monday morning. I loved her outfit and her broom. You can see she's trying to ride it! LOL I'll tell you more about her broom in another post and give you a web sight whee you can buy handmade pre 1840's brooms and whisk brooms.

This is a daughter, tossing a frying pan in the frying pan toss. ( she is the one in front bending over )

Bath time rendezvous style

I love love love to watch the Native American dancers. In fact I don't feel like I've really been to Rendezvous if I haven't seen them dance, nor heard the bag pipers play. Two of my favorite things about rendezvous.

a couple of "longhunter" sons looking at a traders wares.

Back at camp, a daughter getting ready to go to the Fort. Over 40,000 folks come to Rendezvous. And sometimes it feels like that many are camped right next door! LOL For the most part, we circle our wagons so to speak, and our little kids play inside our circle and we don't notice so much that there are a ton of people camped right next door!

The Mr. trying out a rocking chair....we came very close to buying it...... it was a folding one, no nails nor screws holding them together. Very comfy to sit in.

Another view from traders row. AND my next rendezvous love, Indian clothing..... I have been talking about "moving" the Mr and I up 100 years and trading in my linen and buckled shoes for leathers and hawk bells instead!

All 5 grandsons.

That's my back. We're inside a traders tent having a look see. I'm wearing a linen petticoat (skirt) and a linen short gown (jacket) a shift, socks that go to my knee, buckled shoes and yes, stays. Oh also, a linen cap and a cotton kerchief. I'm carrying the Mr's haversack because I left my "pocket" back home in Utah lol

This is our oldest son and his little family.

They didn't know we were spying on them. :-)
( son is the one holding his long bow, dil is holding on to the wagon, gs's are in front left side of pic )

Well, can you believe it's early fall? Heavens I really can't! I have bottled peaches and salsa and frozen some ( very little but some) zuk. I'm helping a daughter make salsa this week, going to a fun fabric store with a good friend, going to book club, and planning cub scout pack meeting!

I have been called to be the Cubmaster in our ward. No more nursery for me, in fact today was my last day. I was pretty sad. It's so tender. But on to cubs. I've been there before, some 20 years ago...... but I am looking forward to it and all the fun that it will be.

I've been walking every day but Sundays since March, and my word, I have even lost weight! Just simply walking. I am still amazed.

I have enjoyed visiting your blogs but haven't been much of a blogger or commenter. Just busy like all of you. All of our projects DID NOT get done this summer, and so I have to hope for the next. However, I have enjoyed doing so many things that I can't or shouldn't complain. The fall is beautiful and this after noon we went for a drive up Rock Creek to view the beautiful fall colors first hand. It was pretty.

So everyone, have a great week, and keep yer powder dry!

Carpe diem.......Seize The Day

I'm here, just holding onto the summer!

I know you who live in the mid west or the south , east or the south west are NOT going to feel sorry for me, and I don't feel sorry for myself either. I do feel sorry for the Mr. and my sons who have to work out side in the heat though. But we have been HOT here in our neck of the woods! My skin is drying up and peeling away! But I am still in love with SUMMER, and am fast holding on to every moment of it, because soon enough it will look like this again! Ugh.

Remember wayyyyyy back when I told you we were BBQing a goat on a rotisserie? Here it is.

and here's the "vultures" waiting for a bite! LOL It was tasty.

The Mr and I went on a road trip not too long ago. We had planned on maybe going up to Jackson Hole Wy, and going to the Bar J and enjoying ourselves, but I just didn't like the thoughts of driving in a mad rush all day long to get there in time to stand in line for our seats, and then driving in a mad rush to get home sat evening. So, we did something so fun, something that we really haven't done before. We went south, with only one thought in mind, and that was to go see Cove Fort. The Mr. had never been here, and it was only four hours drive. Not too bad.
No deadlines, no motel reservations, and not that far of a drive. Now I had been to Cove fort before, because for almost the first 11 yrs of my life my family lived over the mountain in Monroe. My dad's mom lived in Delta, so we drove by there lots. I knew that my GGGrandfather Charles Wilden had built a fort close by out of wood, Fort Wilden, which had later been abandoned. I had been before on a field trip with my grade school, but I had never been back to Cove Fort since it has been restored and is a mission. The mission part was of great interest to the Mr.
I could go on and on about this little fort, but I shall spare you. If you have an interest, click on the link and you can read and view some more about this historic place. I will tell you, that there were 12 rooms on the inside of the fort, which housed the family and over night stage guests. Pine was used for the roof and the massive doors on the east and west ends, but the fort was made from lava rock and lime stone. The stages stopped twice a day, one from the north going south and one from the south going north. The fort was built instead of a town because of the scarcity of water, and was to be a way station for pioneers traveling along the "Mormon Corridor"....settlements stretching from Idaho to Nevada connected by a network of roads, telegraph lines and postal routes. ( I love historic sights...can you tell?)

looking out one of the gun slits, towards the vegetable garden.

ceder pole corral, tied together with rawhide. It was rock solid.

Telegraph office

This is not an old quilt, but was made and donated for this bed. It was all done by hand, and double stitched like the old ones were.

I loved the kitchen and the dinning room. I could have taken it ALL home with me! LOL

Do you see that pie safe Sylvia? I "need" one like it!

This is inside looking towards the south side of the fort. The north side is a twin. There is lawn and tress in the middle, with huge massive doors on either end.

Ahhhhhh. The kitchen!

WE had such a good time on our trip. If we saw something we wanted to see, we stopped and saw it. We ended up staying the night in Filmore, and even went to the park there where they were having a Fourth of July celebration, and bought us some supper, and ate it as we watched "Filmore's got talent" !

We went to a lavender farm, a fruit farm and an art show. And the best part of the trip was, I got to have the Mr ALL to myself, and I had his entire undivided attention! :-) We both enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to the fall when we are going to go somewhere else kinda close by and see what there is to see!

Our SIL works for the division of natural resources, (DNR) and we had the opportunity to go stay at one of the DNR's cabins. This one was up by the Strawberry Pinnacles. We had a good time, and were sorry that we could not stay longer .

We did........

a little mountain climbing with the Mr and three oldest grandsons...

and a little fly tying...oldest son...

a little humming bird "nest" watching...

a little sitting and thinkin..... #4 GS

a little fishing... SIL

a little tree climbing... #1 GS

a little long bow practicing to get ready for Rendezvous... DIL, #2,#3 GS, and son #4

GS #2

a little sleeping....GS #5

and just some relaxing.

One of our little "chick-a-bee's" came for a sleep over last night! She kept us entertained.
She did enjoy her "redneck" bath! LOL

We are having a busy summer. I am LOVING it! I have been antiquing, playing, reading, working, dreaming, visiting, and trying hard to walk 4 miles 6 mornings a week! We have even been running some!! ( I'm so proud of us!) The Mr. has a beautiful garden and we have been eating some of the fruits of his labor. I truly hope your summer has been as nice as mine. I hope you can find the time and money to squeeze in some travel of some sort, and some visits with dear friends and family. Our family is growing again, WAHOO! Grandchild number 8 is due to arrive this winter. Blessings for sure.

Soon it will be time for Rendezvous at Fort Bridger, and back to school, so I'm holding on to summer with all my might and strength. I LOVE IT!

I am having some troubles with blogger templates....anyone having any trouble? I'm not too sure I'm a fan of the new stuffs. I am also having troubles uploading my pictures for my header, doesn't seem to shrink to fit.... also, some of the links on my side bar are not links anymore, but just pictures......I've tried to re-do them, but to no avail.... HELP ANYONE OUT THERE! ahhhhhhh I think I need to wipe the slate clean and start over! Or maybe throw my hands up in the air and walk away....yeah, that will do the trick huh!

I need to spend some time on here and get it figured out. Maybe another day.......like in the winter? LOL

A dear friend of mine and her little family are moving to southern Colorado next month. Work.

I shall miss her, but I'm also excited for them and the changes that will come their way. BUT, I know the way to Colorado..... I can go for a little drive and have a visit! :-)

I made bread today........however, it's still not in bread pans.....I just punched it down again......I had better get after it or it'll be a mess. Navajo tacos for us tonight! Yummy

Enjoy your day!

bloomin' desert!

We went out on the desert with our friends Deb and Alan to get a bloomin' view!

Yucca bloom held open

beautiful globe mallow

Deb and I, and miles of glorious mallow!

Deb, Alan and the Mr.

It was so very beautiful, and the smell......ummmm hummmm.........

was sweet and pungent! It only lasts a couple of weeks and then the blooms fade away, and it doesn't always bloom like this, only every few years, so it was a treat to behold .

We ended our day down at Sand Wash boat launch on the Green river. A place I had heard tons about but had never been too. I'll share pictures of that on another post......

Well, I have been to Young Women's camp and back. I not only survived our extra over night backpack trip up the mountain with my backpack, but I LOVED it! It was a BUSY week at camp. Didn't get lots of sleep, ate good food, ran hither and yon, all up hill.....both directions! LOL Made some dear friends, and totally had my well filled to over flowing!

We are having a BBQ with our kids tonight.......goat cooked on a rotisserie .
No typo, really is a goat. All fat and grain fed. Wanna come?

For the week in heart, or stomach, there will be hamburgers and hot dogs......bring a pot luck salad or dessert OK?

Thank you all for your sweet and tender emails. My heart was very touched. Hard times made better by your love and concern.

Carpe diem.......Seize The Day