Camp Clark Raiders Rendezvous - September '08

We spent Labor Day at the Camp Clark Raiders Mountain Man Rendezvous. Our family attended the Rendezvous held over Memorial Day and we really enjoyed ourselves. So we packed up our stuff and headed up to Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock for some more camping.

Since the last rendezvous Dusty has been working faithfully on his "garb" for this event. He made himself leather buckskin pants and moccasins, I sewed him a shirt (thank you Jeremee for all of your help!), and we added a hat and a new "mountain man" was created. I think he looked really handsome!!

Dusty headed up early to camp, but I had to wait until Saturday to go up. So the kids and I arrived on Saturday morning and were immediately drawn in to the activities. I started off doing the 'Women's Shoot' and did horrible. I was so frustrated with myself. I get myself psyched out when all of those seasoned men are watching me shoot and I just lose it. So I got only one shot. I told Dusty that he and I need to go up and practice alone so that I can feel more comfortable next rendezvous.

Dusty and I also ran the kids shoot that day. We bought watermelon and cantaloupe and tied them up for the kids to shoot at. It was a little unnerving running our first shoot but I think everything turned out o.k. Emma was so tired that she ended up falling asleep on a stranger's lap. Though, when you are at rendezvous everyone looks out for everyone's children. I got really tired too and took a nap. The temperature got really hot while we were there and I think I may have had heat exhaustion, because I was pretty darn tuckered out.

That night we did the potluck meal; the club provides the meat and then everyone brings a dish to share. We had some really great bbq pork with lots of yummy salads and treats. After that, we headed back to the camp and lit a fire and took it easy.

The next day, Sunday, proved to be just as hot as Saturday. In fact, it was so hot that we ended up going for a drive. We headed East and drove to Crescent Lake, near Oshkosh, Nebraska. I took a shot at trying to take some photographs of the scenery.

After that we headed back to camp, ate dinner, and got ready for the raffle that night. When you come to the rendezvous they ask you to donate prizes for the raffle. When the raffle comes you can buy kids tickets, men's tickets, women's tickets, or grand prize tickets with all money going towards the club. We all ended up winning something; Jake and Emma got insulated lunch boxes, Lex got a camping chair/stool, I got some fall pot holders and towels, and Dusty got a new knife set. I also stopped at the 'Trader's Tent' and the lady was selling her daughter's old rendezvous/pioneer dresses and they just happened to be Alexis and Emma's sizes. I bought both dresses for $10 and the girls were so excited to put them on.

Sunday night turned out to be super hot! We stayed up pretty late waiting for it to cool down before we went in the tent. We had finally fallen asleep and woke up to a flat air mattress and rain. Needless to say, we didn't really sleep much so when Monday came we were ready to go home. We packed up everything and made it home about 11 AM. I think I had about 10 loads of laundry to do with all of the blankets, camp clothes, and other home laundry. We got everything unpacked, everyone showered (boy did we stink!), ate lunch, and then I told everyone that I was taking a nap. I love napping!!!

We became members of the Camp Clark Raiders Club just last month. Before we were able to become members we were required to help with 'work days' (cleaning the property), running shoots (they have monthly shoots), and to basically prove that we were willing to be active members of the group. Now that we are we are able to have access to the land and will be able to go up and practice our target shooting at the range.

I am so excited to start working on outfits for me and the girls. I am hoping to have them done for Christmas presents. When I say outfits I mean "period" clothing or as I call it "Pioneer" clothing. I also want to make me a leather dress too. We will only wear them at rendezvous, which are Memorial Day and Labor Day. I have a huge list of camping items I want to get before next year too. I have to say that we really enjoy going to these activities and have a lot of fun as a family. Our friend Jeff, invited us to these activities and we are so glad that he did. I would have never known that I would like something like this, but I do! We all do!!

Visit my 'Burke Family Pictures' link to see all the photos from Rendezvous.