Rendezvous; A Newcomer’s Perspective.
Last year I was a “Rendezvous Virgin,” I was both nervous and excited. Being a Wyoming native I couldn’t wait to finally spend some time around people that I could relate to; and when it was all said and done I vowed that I would never miss another Rendezvous, as it was truly a life changing experience.
A couple weeks ago I was at pride in Denver and passed out Rendezvous flyers in the parade and also spent some time manning our booth in the park. The most common question I got was; “what kind of a camping trip is it?” My response, “like anything in life, it is what you make of it.” If you’re looking for a nice quiet and relaxing camping trip you can find it here. If you’re looking for a great party you can also find it here; and anything in between. We have old campers, young campers, men, women, families, and a nice mix of the LGTB community along with a handful of our straight allies.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I’m not much of a camper so I wondered if I would even fit in. Right away I had trouble setting up my tent. I was thinking to myself “if I can’t get this put together shortly I’m just going to throw it back in my car and go home.” Luckily I had help almost immediately! A passerby saw that I was struggling and came to my rescue. He was happy to help and I ended up spending many wonderful hours with him and his friends laughing, telling stories, and sharing good food and drink.
Speaking of food, I brought some of my own, but decided to mostly eat the meals that could be purchased at the main campsite. I thought they were very good! All the ingredients were fresh and a nice variety of cuisine was offered. I met some campers that had brought all of their own food and were kind enough to invite me to one of their “dinner parties.” Keep in mind this is gay camping, so they weren’t grilling burgers and brats, it was more like bacon wrapped shrimp on rosemary skewers. Anyway, I had wonderful food the entire time I was up there.
(needless to say I didn't win the hula hooping contest!)
The entertainment was great last year and should be equally impressive this year. Nuclea Waste will be back with her hilarious drag show. Nancy Norton will be headlining one night with a comedy show. We also have hiking, workshops, volleyball, drag queen bingo, a film festival, country dancing, and so much more.
For me the best part was making so many new friends. Some I’ve stayed in touch with over the last year and we’ve actually become very close, and some I’m excited to reconnect with.
So if you’re on the fence about attending or not attending, give it a shot, it might just change your life!
Jeran Artery
Wyoming Equality
It looks like fun. Maybe you can do better at the hulahooping contest this time Jeran as you got some practice at Superday. :)
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