Colorado 2022 Rainbow Gathering

  These series of videos were created by a local and show the before, during, and after showing the land from Travel DnA  During the Gathering   This is a compilation video of 4 trips up to Adam's Park in NW Colorado. It was the 50th Anniversary of the Rainbow Family Gatherings, and they chose a spot in the Routt National Forest, in our backyard. Adam's Park is very special to our family and we decided to take several trips up to the Gathering, to document the set-up, the festivities and most importantly the clean-up, reclamation and impact to the land. The Rainbow Family requested that we refrain from taking direct pictures of people without their permission. Therefore, our videos do not show much of the kitchens, bartering, festivities and such.   Rainbow Cleanup 2022

  Still waiting on details but the local paper had this to say.

If you were at the 50th Anniversary of the Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes and you were stopped by law enforcement for any reason, during which you feel the officer(s) involved were abusive, you are encouraged to file an administrative complaint with the agency where the officer is employed. There is no time limit within which to file as long as it is reasonable. When filing an administrative complaint, focus only on the conduct of the officer(s) involved and report only the facts to the best of your knowledge. Keep in mind, you are filing an administrative complaint against officer conduct and not any charges that may have been brought against you. If you make your complaint about any charges, it will be promptly denied as that is a matter for a judge to decide. Generally, statements made in an administrative complaint are admissible in a court of law. Folks are advised to keep their complaint focused only on the conduct of the officer(s) involved. United States Forest Service Click h

 Mocha was camped with her human, Tammy, at Info from July 4-11th that I witnessed.  Tammy was taken to the hospital in Craig, Colorado on July 13 or 14.  Tammy passed away shortly there after and we're trying to reunite Mocha with Tammy's brother. Mocha is a lively, fun loving chocolate labrador retriever who is ready to play at the drop of a hat. If you have seen Mocha on or after July 13, please call and share what you know.

Patch Adams (made famous by the film staring Robin Williams) attended gatherings for many years. He made it back to the gathering in Colorado.   He was at Granola Funk Theater and this recording is from that experience (in MP3 format).

 What we tend to call an "Operating Plan" that we intend to be worked out between the United States Forest Services (USFS) and folks on the land, the USFS has renamed the "Resource Design Criteria" and it's a document they handed to us this year without any council, circle or group discussion.  Therefore, not many people knew about it. But in case your curious, here it is. Or find it here in PDF format.

Updated 7/15/22 --  Please reach out to me if you lost a phone or a wallet. Every year people, pets and various objects are lost at the gathering or people not at the gathering fear people have been lost.  Lost People Every year people go to the gathering and their loved ones worry.  Just a reminder, that while some people are getting cell reception, it varies by cell service. Plus, phone run out of batteries, get dropped in the mud, or get lost. If you haven't heard from your friends and/or family since they went into the gathering, odds are they are still down in the gathering and can't call you due to one of the above reasons. Again, on the road where the cars and cops are is the area where problems occur. We strongly recommend that people stay inside the gathering. Going in and out increases a persons risk of a negative experience with law enforcement. Again, people on the land will strongly suggest to your loved one that they stay inside the gathering until it's over.

 Mosquitos, mosquitos. LEOs with drones.  Court starts June 28 at the Hayden entrance to California Park. It's 9.4 miles from the back gate trailhead.   Remember, National Forest is Federal land so Federal, not Colorado laws apply in regards to everything.

 Be prepared for cold nights into the 30s, lot's of mosquitos during the day, and short periods of rain. The site ranges up to the high 8,000 elevation range.  Please take it slow your first few days if you aren't used to being at high elevation. Please drive slowly on dirt roads as there are deer, elk and antelope crossing the roads. Please keep people and pets out of ponds to protect the boreal toads. Learn more here https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/ResearchBorealToad.aspx Please camp at least 100 feet from creeks, marshy areas and willow stands to protect surface and subsurface waters. We do have a Goshawk family nesting along a trail. Please look out for the signs and give the mama and her chicks their privacy if you are in the area. There are a lot of standing dead trees in the area. Please protect your life and do NOT camp near standing dead.   When you are on the trail be aware of your surroundings. We are experiencing high wind events that can topple standing dead tr

  On Saturday, June 25th at 2 PM Colorado time, there will be a Rainbow Gathering Family Meet & Great; Q&A for the public to have an opportunity to meet gathering participants, ask questions, and learn more about the annual Prayer for World Peace. We invite all people who want to learn more to attend. The meeting takes place at Bud Werner Memorial Library, 1289 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Especially those who have questions and concerns.

On Wednesday, June 22nd from 6 PM until 9 PM Colorado time, there will be a Rainbow Gathering Family Meet & Great; Q&A for the public to have an opportunity to meet gathering participants, ask questions, and learn more about the annual Prayer for World Peace. We invite all people who want to learn more to attend. The meeting takes place Moffat County Visitor Center / Chamber of Commerce. 775 Yampa Avenue, Craig CO 81626

Updated information will be available here for the next week or two. Check back frequently.  Updated June 25 @  6:00 am California time. 50th Anniversary of Annual Rainbow Family Gathering of the Tribes End of June to July 7, 2022 We, who are brothers & sisters, children of spirit, families of life on earth, friends of nature & of all people, children of humankind calling ourselves the rainbow gathering, humbly invite: All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of love. All nations & national leaders -- out of respect All religions & religious leaders -- out of faith All politicians -- out of charity to join with us in gathering together for the purpose of expressing our sincere desire that there shall be peace on earth, harmony among all people. & to hold open worship, prayer, chanting or whatever is the want or desire of the people, for three days, but upon the fourth day of July at noon to ask that there be a meditative, contem

Bad Tent Location - Too Close to surface water ( Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/meganpru/5914413517/ ) Updated on 6/25/22 at 6:33 AM California time to indicate actual conditions. Creeks and other surface water provide water for animals in the area and spawning grounds for fish.  Water is the heart of the ecosystem. When folks disrespect the lake, they disrespect the land on which we gather as well as the heart of the gathering itself. While one or two people swimming in a lake can have minimal impact, when there are a few thousand of us, we can negatively impact the lake if we do not take the same precautions our local public pool requires. Tips & Tricks for protecting the creeks and marshes Grab a bucket of water and rinse off at least 300 feet away from the lake and where the water won't run back into the lake.  This helps remove sunscreens, tick repellent including natural remedies, and skin oils that are harmful to the lake and the creatures that live there. Don&#

Updated 6/12/22 at 10:45 AM PDT  Spring council/counsel/circle Spring council takes as long as it takes. Spring council is when all potential sites for the gathering are brought to any people who want to be involved in selecting a site. The council usually takes one to seven days and normally ends with either a consensus by silence among people at the council or an exodus of the majority of people heading to the preferred site. Spring council goes until a decision is reached by consensus or by foot. The exact location for this council generally isn't determined until one to two weeks before spring council starts. Until the spring council process reaches a site, there is no home.  This being said, spring council is usually but not always in the general area of where the best potential site(s) for the gathering are located.  Oak Creek, Colorado is off of Highway 131. DIRECTIONS : If you're coming from I-70 east of Denver, Colorado you can find 131 in the town

Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law. You do not want to go to Kangaroo Court However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are Federal mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates

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People who participate in Rainbow Gatherings have a written a number of raps over the years that you can find on Bliss-Fire . The raps help distill collective wisdom on how to have a fun, safe and memorable gathering. If you're a first time gatherer, or still in the fog about gathering logistics, here's some great links to time tested gathering information. The Mini Manual is a great how to plan a gathering, how to be safe at the gathering and how to keep yourself and the rest of the gathering healthy. Rap 107 is the short version on gathering safety - learn it, know it, live it.  Print out extra copies to share with folks at the gathering. Not sure what to bring, check out the awesome Turtle guide . If you've never camped before, remember the golden rule:   Bring every good thing. If it ain’t on this list, consider leaving it home. If in doubt, leave it out. ‘Cuz if you bring it in, you gotta bring it out. And well, dang! You just might be surprised how little you real

In order to live in a peaceful world, we need to treat our planet, Gaia, with the respect, love, and attention to her sustenance with which we treat our children. Climate change is the result of mistreating our amazing planet. Climate change is about changing weather patterns that make it hard for people to find drinking water for their children, that create flooding of homes and agriculture land, and that wither our crops under relentless sun. When people are hungry or thirsty, violence can easily erupt over food and water. Not just in Dafur but everywhere including the gathering.  How then do we show with our actions that we are actively working to protect Gaia from climatic changes that threaten world (and local) peace? Reduce the number of campfires. Burning carbon increases global warming. Plus if you see the cloud of wood smoke in main meadow at a gathering, you'll realize that reducing the number of campfires will improve the health of every gathering participant. Click her

A common point of discussion when working towards peace is defining what peace is and isn't, what it looks like, which activities are considered "peaceful" and which are not. I think at the extreme ends of the spectrum, most people can agree on what peace is and isn't. For example, most people would consider dropping bombs on other people to be the opposite of peace. Most people would consider the silent prayer/meditation for world peace and the om to be examples of peace. That's the easy stuff. In fact trying to define peace can cause even the most peaceful among us to be less than peaceful.  So what do we do if we say we want peace, but we can't even agree on what peace looks like, feels like, acts like or talks like? I'll throw out a couple of high level ideas, but even these are subject to much discussion. I hope you continue these discussions in the circles in which you find yourself. If all goes as planned, I will be doing a few workshops at the gath

One of the foundations of creating peace is making sure people are prepared, in the right mindset, and able to do the hard work that creating peace entails. Sustenance and Safety are the building blocks of peace. Sustenance takes care of our bodily needs. We can't think well when our blood sugar is crashing or when we are dehydrated. Adequate food and water is a must for all in order to be able to even discuss peace (stay tuned for part 4 of Creating Peace). One of the most important actions a person can take at a gathering is making sure everyone is eating and drinking plenty of water. This year we will be in the midwest and that generally means moister gatherings and lot's of sweating. One gallon a day of water that has been boiled for 20 minutes or filtered with a 0.2 micron or smaller filter is a must. When people haven't eaten or are dehydrated they act out. When they are in these conditions for too long, they get sick.  When you combine these issues with over-indulgen

The rainbow family is full of love. We shout "we love you" to the sky, to other gathers, to the earth upon which we gently walk.  I have many friends whose children were conceived at the gathering.  We shower love as best we can on people who are unhappy about our presence in their neighborhood . We love all our siblings (brothers, sisters and transgenders), even the ones we do not like all that much.  We love the person who didn't pick up their dog shit, but we want to talk to them about it as well. We even have a somewhat sarcastic phrase "loven you" to indicate our concern without being too mushy. With all these types of love floating around, how does love contribute to creating peace? Does the manner in which we love matter or does it matter more how we express our love? In English we are limited as we have one word for love. The ancient Greeks had four separate words for love: storge - kinship or familiarity philia - friendship eros - romantic and or sexual

The gathering of the tribes is dedicated to creating peace on earth and the positive evolution of the planet. Sometimes peace seems so hard to attain, it can be helpful to focus on strategies that create opportunities for peace.  Today's concept is "Respect." From the beginning, the gathering included concepts of respect. The invite to the first gathering in 1972 started off: We, who are brothers & sisters, children of God, families of life on earth, friends of nature & of all people, children of humankind calling ourselves Rainbow Family Tribe, humbly invite: All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of love. All nations & national leaders -- out of respect All religions & religious leaders -- out of faith  If I were authoring the invite today, I would modify it to: All races, peoples, tribes, communes, men, women, children, individuals -- out of respect and love. So how then does respect co

Those who gather talk about consensus a lot. There are a number of different understandings about how consensus takes place within the community of those who participate in Rainbow Gatherings.  In my humble opinion, too many people only involve themselves in the circle/council/counsel process for vision council when we decide were to go.  I think that leaves us as a family lacking in practice for how to discuss and reach things in a positive and loving manner.   That being said, there are different ways that consensus can happen. In a more formal council/counsel/circle is one way, but truly the number of people who participate in these are a fraction of those who attend gatherings, do the work at gatherings, and believe that gatherings are the practice for a new world order of peace, love, and cooperation. So how else does consensus happen? One way is what I call "consensus by foot."  This is when people use their feet to take them where they want to or don't want to be.

In my humble opinion, the gathering needs more kitchens like it needs more dogs, but for some  reason, everyone wants to focalize a kitchen. That being said, being part of the kitchen provides an amazing growing, learning experience on working collectively and provide safe and healthy food in the woods. However..... The reality of focalizing a kitchen goes something like this. Main Supply won't provide all the food for cooking if you're feeding the gathering at large - either off-the-rails or at dinner circle. This means you provide much of the free food in the woods. While some kitchens have a donation can on the counter for after people have been fed, in reality most of the cost of food is born by those running the kitchen. Bring 500 to 1,000 pounds of food to get started. You'll need to provide pots and pans for cooking, 5-gallon water buckets for dish washing, filtered drinking water for you and your crew and hopefully for all gatherers. You'll need to chop wood,