Anticipation, rumors and airports (oh my)

Seems like every year about this time, people get gathering fever.  Everyone is looking forward to coming home and the rumors are circulating widely.  The truth of the matter is there's heavy rain and even snow still in mountains in Washington State and scouting is going slow due to the weather.

I doubt home will be in the Olympic Peninsula but other forests in Washington State are still being scouted.  I know people are antsy about airfare.  Depending on what you want to do, you can either purchase a ticket to one of the centrally located major airports now (or in April as I did) and get your really cheap tickets, or if you want to fly into the closest regional airport you'll just have to wait until the Spring Council location is announced.  Most years, Spring Council is less than 100 miles (and often less than 50 miles) from the gathering site, although occasionally it's a bit farther.

If you're excited, the best thing you can do is prep. If you're planning on driving make sure your car is 100% legal (see Rap 420 for more info).   If you arrive near the gathering with a broken tail light, you'll be the proud owner of a mandatory court appearance ticket, so deal with it before you get within 200 miles of the gathering unless you like playing the Forest Service Kangaroo Court game.

If you're looking for a ride, check out my blog post on Tips for a Safe Journey Home and a Positive Gathering.


Now is the perfect time to think about all the wonderful skills you have that the rest of this family would love to learn about in a workshop.  Or work a bit extra and buy supplies for your favorite kitchen. Or if you live in Washington, write letters to all the media outlets sharing your viewpoint of the gathering. Or make a new dress to wear on the 4th of July or hold a potluck in your area to arrange a caravan or group camp. 

I personally am not a fan of holding camps. Seems to me that if people have so much free time on their hands, why not plan a pre-gathering, gathering in an other state or perform volunteer work in a town in Washington to bring the spirit to folks who live there year round?  This means I don't pass on directions to holding camps.  But just cause I don't, doesn't mean other people aren't.  Just think about how much snow/rain camping you're really into.  It's been a cold wet winter on the Pacific Coast.  I'm at the southern end and it's still raining off and on and not very warm. 

And now, back to the regularly scheduled rumors and innuendos.