From:

"Angel Summer" angelonmyshoulder77@yahoo.com

To:

"Robert C Rawlings" <rrawlings@fs.fed.us>

Cc:

"Cathy A Lund" <clund@fs.fed.us>, "Bill Queen" <bqueen@fs.fed.us>, "mountain spirit" <mountainspirit@yahoogroups.com>

Hi Rob,

We are so sorry not to be there yet. I appreciate the information and will do what I can to share the word. This email is going to our yahoo group at mountainspirit, so I am hoping and trusting that the word will be spread out to all points of light from there.

I will pull the directions from last year and repost them on mountainspirit so folks can share them, but it is not intended for a huge crowd as the folks of mountainspirit tribe were told. It was also discussed that folks coming would have transportation worked out, as well as supplies, food, a tent, warm clothing. We even discussed being prepared to fee two more people. If someone put this out to the general rainbow and other public, they have created an event more than we agreed to have. This is a small assembly of folks who gathered last year for the purpose of teaching, sharing, praying and working on some trails.

I have a feeling that some folks up there who showed up early without consulting us, especially since there was a fire, got anxious for company and food and decided to put out a big invitation. That was inappropriate and against our consensus.

What I can suggest is that I am putting out this message to mountainspirit@yahoogroups.com and hoping that folks on the way to this gathering will read it online and understand the purpose of this event.

I strongly discourage hitchhiking. If someone does not have arrangements for this gathering, then most likely they also were not in on the counsels and do not understand that this is not a rainbow gathering. This is a Mountain Spirit Tribe working counsel and volunteer work crew to do some more clean up from the 1997 annual gathering as well as damage from the cows on the trails because we love this prairie.

The directions are on www.welcomehome.org under the 97 rainbow gathering, however amendments were made last year. Those directions will reposted separately on mountainspirit@yahoogroups.com

Rob, please instruct your Rangers to tell folks that they find hitchhiking to be more respectful to passing traffic. I will also send an email out to folks who might know the folks who are up there. Otherwise, use discernment if someone is violating the law and deal with them accordingly.

Raven and I are really apologetic not to be there yet, but as I said before we need a tire and have been unsuccessful in finding the size we need. We're running on a spare that isn't safe for mountain roads, so we took the roundabout way looking for a tire dealer who might have what we need.

That aside, folks who showed up on the land did not contact us recently to find out if the gathering was still to proceed as planned from last year, so I was not really prepared to come at the time I set out, but am heading that way out of concern for the safety of the people who might be drawn up there and out of respect for you Rob because we told you we would be there if the gathering happened. We are on our way but cannot come into the gathering till we have a tire.

Thanks again for your help.

Summer Breeze and Raven

--- On Thu, 9/11/08, Robert C Rawlings <rrawlings@fs.fed.us> wrote:

From: Robert C Rawlings <rrawlings@fs.fed.us>
Subject: In case you haven't left yet
To: angelonmyshoulder77@yahoo.com
Cc: "Cathy A Lund" <clund@fs.fed.us>, "Bill Queen" <bqueen@fs.fed.us>
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008, 10:41 AM

I was there yesterday afternoon, looked like maybe 30 people and more
working their way up to the Prairie.  A couple of things to let you
know....it seems like many of the people are lost once they get to
Prineville and especially lost once they get into the Forest, maybe you
could have someone spread some directions or mark the route?  Secondly, I
got several reports yesterday of people doing some pretty aggressive
hitchhiking, standing in the road, waving their arms and what not.  I heard
that one of the locals called the Sheriff to come and put a stop to it.
Maybe you could get the word out that it's not cool to stop traffic like
that, and especially not cool to stop and try to get on the school bus
that's hauling kids home.  At least one of the ladies who lives up the
valley is now scared to drive home from work alone.  Sorry to have to pass
this on, here's one of the emails I got today.

Good Morning Everyone! I feel like a tattle tail but this seems pretty
important. The bus driver for our girls bus was pretty scared when Bill
picked the girls up at the bus stop.
She said the Rainbows were in the road she thought it was an accident or
something and started to slow down....as she slowed down they tried to
board the bus. Scared her to pieces.
So I thought you should know.



Rob Rawlings
Ochoco NF
541-416-6500
rrawlings@fs.fed.us