The time-critical news is that VT-125 is closed somewhere west of Texas Falls, you can only get there from the east. If you are coming from the west, you need to take a detour on VT-73 to get to the east side of VT.
If you are already on the east side (on VT-100), ignore all detour signs.
====From: VT Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2026 08:00:04 -0400 Subject: Vermont datesGood morning this year Vermont regional dates are starting 7/31–8/9. The location to be announced.thanks
====From: ST Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:33:45 -0400 Subject: Aloha!ST here
Rolling in a school bus towards the Vermont GatheringWhat info is available for Dates, holding camps/vision council stuff?
From: VT Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:19:30 -0400 Subject: VT regionalBegins July 31--central Vermont Rt 125,come up the mountain to a sign stating Texas falls,turn in stay to the right all the way to welcome home.
It seems that most of the pre-gathering publicity was word-of-mouth at the July national, which I did not attend, and by facebook.com, which I do not use.
Despite my uninformed state, we went there. We could not stay all week, but visited the gathering the first weekend.
We had planned to arrive Friday (July 31) afternoon, but were delayed until Saturday due to real life at home and until about 5:00pm due to a long drive with mistaken detours.
We brought along about 2 lbs of spinach and lentils in a kettle in a "cooler" partially filled with boiling water (in the woods, it's easier to keep food hot than cold).
We half expected to find nobody there except VT with bus and friends.
When we came to the "ROAD CLOSED" gate where 39D goes right we saw a bus (not Nerf kitchen), several parked cars, and a tarp with a small kitchen under it. A teepee was visible in the brush behind the gate. An old map of the site is >here<
We parked and set up the tent in front of the bush that was in front of the tent when we were there at the 2023 flood gathering.
I regret that we did not go further along 39D to see what else was there, but we were in a hurry to get set up before dark. We spent the whole time in "A" camp, or front gate as it is also called.
There were loose dogs and visible beer cans in the kitchen, but everybody was peaceful and helpful. I needed a walker to stand up, never mind walk. There were always people to help carry a chair.
We met ST, who complained that I had not answered eir email. I think I did send a reply about 12 days later but it was not answers to questions, but a request for more information. Most likely gmail delivered it to its spam folder, if at all. I didn't and don't know the answers.
Somebody said there were people with children further along FS-39D.
There seemed to be no "Main Circle" (yet?), but a short way behind the teepee was a "heart fire". With help, we took our spinach and lentils there. We ate some of it and gave the rest away. Somebody else brought spaghetti with tomato sauce.
We talked about Mike Tyson and boxing. A child asked me if I knew about black holes. I thought of everything I had read or heard about them, that I had forgotten or never understood. I couldn't say "Yes". Finally, I just said "light can't get out because the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light". That seemed to be enough. The child ran off without asking about tensor analysis.
We went to bed early, but did not sleep well. In the morning we made coffee with our camp stove and ate a breakfast of dried fruit and M&Ms. We met VT, who said ey no longer wanted to be responsible for the Nerf kitchen. I was not clear on who now had the kitchen. Maybe M&J were some of the "people with children" along FS-39D, but I think VT said they were not on site yet.
We decided to go to the Hancock Hotel for lunch and to use the toilet. That place has memories for us. We went there several times with Sunbear
For the first time since 1991 we did not hang the Polyfidelity flag over our tent. We thought of showing it at the kitchen as we left, but there were only a few people there and they were busy. We just left, missing our last chance to go further along 39D.
When we got to the Hancock Hotel we found that there was a small band playing music on the porch. They mostly played covers of familiar songs, but the one I remember is Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's Ohio with an extra verse:
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own,
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio!
… … …
Two dead in Minnesota.
One dead in Houston Texas,
One dead in Biddeford Maine,
Why are we doing this all again?
Why are we doing this all again?
We ate our lunch, used the toilet, bought a couple of cookies, and drove home without stopping again.
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(checked 2026-08-06 ) |
The Pirate Party has not registered a copyright on this rumor. |