Written by Kyle
This year the Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous was moved from Ignacio, Colorado to Creede, Colorado at the last minute. The event goes on for the whole week, but after this weekend (7/13-7/14 10am-5pm) you need period pre-1840s attire to attend.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect pulling into the new meet site at Soward Ranch. They do these in our area every year, but I’ve never been able to attend, so I figured I’d drive down the road to check it out. I stopped to register and walked over the hill, and saw groups of canvas tents and teepees which seemed completely at home here in the mountains.
People were still setting up their camps, but it’s amazing how friendly everyone is, everyone is willing to talk and tell you their story and where they’re from, talk about their camps and attire, and how they got involved in the rendezvous. Vendors are starting to set up as well, selling their period correct wares and expanding the history and work that goes into their handmade goods, knives, and black powder firearms.
I think I’m going to have to round up the proper gear for the next one so I can see all of the events, watch the black powder shooting, knife and tomahawk throwing competitions, and more. I hear the real fun starts at dark with drinking, music, and tall tales told around the campfires!
A little history about the RMNR from their website:
“In the early 1800s, trade in furs flourished in the American west, based mostly on beaver pelts, used to make the tall, shiny hats of well-to-do eastern gentlemen. At first, the trappers themselves transported these furs from the Rocky Mountains all the way backNational rendezvous mountain man, black powder, trappers and traders camp. to St. Louis, Missouri, where the furs were sold or traded for supplies and equipment needed for the coming year.
In 1825, the traders figured out there was a lot of money to be made by transporting trade goods to the mountains and trading there for the furs. The trappers, whom we call Mountaineers or Mountain Men, were quite agreeable to this, since many of them preferred life in the wilderness and didn’t much care for the long trip back east.
These annual summer gatherings were called rendezvous, and were held at a designated spot known to both trappers and traders. While these rendezvous were intended as a business arrangement, they soon became the trapper’s Christmas, New Years Eve and birthday party; a general-purpose annual blowout and trade fair. These rendezvous came to an end about 1840, due in large part to the depleted beaver population in the Rocky Mountains and the changing fashion in hats. The Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous (RMNR) is an annual celebration of life on the pre-1840 American Western frontier. It is part re-creation and part living history, based on the fur-trade rendezvous held in the Rocky Mountains.”
Ramble Around 