Where the Gathering will be in 2002

This year the North American Rainbow Gathering (hence referred to as the Gathering) will be in Michigan near the town of Watersmeet in Ottawa National Forest, from July 1 - July 7.

Directions:

From Watersmeet, Michigan go about 5 miles north to a sign for "Robbin's Pond Campground". Turn left. Go about 1/2 mile to the 1st left onto FS 5230. Drive down FS 5230 about 4-5 miles to the parking lot. Welcome Home! (this was previously listed as 2530, but the map says 5230).

For an overview map, go to this link, while this link is more of a closeup of where I think the site is. I'll nail down exactly where it is shortly. For how this looks on the official Forest Service map, try this link on the Great Lakes Rainbow Family site. For the most fun, here's a TerraServer photo of the site.

The Forest Service is trying to close a portion of the site because it supposedly contains archeological remains. The site is called the Choate Township The site is scheduled by the Forest Service for logging in this plan, where they also talk about ATV and 4x4 use of the this land. Included in this plan is clear-cutting over 1000 acres. This area covers the west side of Sucker Creek. For some reason, the Forest Service is assuming that the Rainbow Gathering will cause more damage to the resource than ATV, 4x4s, and clear-cutting.

Ignore all rumors of cancellation or organization! Live Lightly with the Land and People!

For more information specifically on this gathering, here are some more documents.

Rainbow Legal Background: This page has info on the legal issues surrounding the Rainbow Gathering, and the past court cases.
Ottawa National Forest: This goes to the official Ottawa National Forest web site.
Great Lakes Info: Here's a post I grabbed off the net that's one local Rainbow's attempt to give everyone a good idea what to expect weather wise, bug wise, etc...
Great Lakes Rainbow Family: This is a Rainbow web site in the Great Lakes area that has information on local events.
Benefits of Hosting a Rainbow Gathering: This is an interesting document about the Environmental, Spiritual, Health, and Law Enforcement Benefits of a Gathering.
Rap on Rainbow Disorganization: I grabbed this off AGR the other day, and thought it was a good rough description about the "Organization" of a Rainbow Gathering.
Reality Check: I grabbed this off AGR the other day, and thought it was a good introduction for Locals as to what to expect from having a Rainbow Gathering nearby.
Letter to District Rangers: This is a letter written to the District Rangers in the Great Lakes area where the gathering will be held.
Rainbow Terminology: This is an interesting paper on various other definitions of Rainbow Family, and how that all applies to our own definitions of Rainbow Family.
Bus Travel Info: This is a page with info on pricing for bus tickets.
Train Travel Info: Can't forget Amtrack, on occasion, trains are cheaper than busses.
Tips for a safe journey home & a Positive Gathering: This is a good list of tips I grabbed off AGR, that is worth reading.
Rap 420: This is a nice rap I pulled off AGR the other day on how to stay out of jail when driving through a roadblock. (roadblocks and police harassement are highly likely this year)
Topozone: This is a great web site for checking out sites. It contains topographical maps down to a 7.5 quad. Real fun if you like maps.
National InterAgency Fire Center: This is a good site for checking on fire conditions throughout the country.
Northern Rockies Fire Coordination Center (NRCC): Another good site for checking on fire conditions in the Northern Rockies.

Other Sources of Information

Now that it's Spring Time, the Forest Service is cranking up their disinformation propoganda machine. While the USFS tries heavily to freak out the locals about the coming Gathering, usually the result is no where as bad as they try to lead folks to believe. Here's a few general media articles looking back on things from the perspective of a year later.

Recap From PA: This is a nice article, where the PA Chief of Police was interviewed about the previous year's gathering. Not suprisingly, he says the harsh propoganda put out by the Forest Service turned out to be completely inaccurate, and that while there few problems, it just wasn't that bad at all. Plus the local business made over $1,000,000.
Without a Trace: A recent article from the Missoula Independent, talking about how the reality of the Montana gathering, was way less than the locals had been led to believe.
Oregon Cleanup: This is an article from the Oregonian, about how well that site has recovered.
Montanna Cleanup: This is an article from the Montana Standard about how well the site has recovered.
Idaho Cleanup: This is an article from the Idaho Stateman, about how well that site was cleaned up.
Treading Softly On the Earth:The Rainbow Tribe's Impact on Forest Lands.: This article is an indepth look at the cleanup side of the Rainbow Gatherings done by a Taos, NM college student. It goes into detail covering the process of cleanup, and the comments of the various Forest Service's District Rangers years later.
Q&A with Malcom Jowers: Crystalhawk has put up a page with some questions posted by Rainbow to Malcom Jowers, head of the Incident Creation Team of the Forest Service.

Rainbow Guide
P.O. Box 3433
Ann Arbor
MI 48106-3433

The current address for this years All Ways Free is:
ALL WAYS FREE
PO Box 2424
Mesa AZ 85214
allwaysfree@welcomehome.org
The staff at All Ways Free are asking you for Art work, articles, and whatever else you'd like to see in the issue this year.

Please send them: articles, poems, heartsongs, visions, artwork, photos and (of course) donations of Green Energy.

There are usually a few rideboards, so folks can find rides or passengers. Here is this year's crop.