Fort Bridger WY and Vernal UT

We left the Woodruff Narrows Reservoir on Friday and headed down to Fort Bridger for the Mountain Man Rendezvous which is a celebration of the Fur Trade Rendezvous Era that occurred in the Rocky Mountains between 1825-1840.  It is one of the largest mountain man gatherings in the nation and there was so much to see and do.  There were competitive events in everything from pistol shoots to Dutch Oven cooking contests to knife and tomahawk competitions.  There was also entertainment like the amazing Native American Dancers and people playing music everywhere.

I made friends with these two little cuties!

 

They also had a skillet tossing contest where women got to throw a skillet at their husbands!  Closest to the guy without hitting him wins.  How many of you ladies would like to join me in this competition?  hee hee.

 

We enjoyed the entire weekend camping onsite with our friends Dale and Karen who have been going to the Rendezvous for many years and were able to show us around.  All of the vendors and participants in the event are required to wear period correct clothing and Karen kindly lent me her Native America dress (that she and Dale made!) so that I could join in the fun…and boy did we have fun!

My new friend Cheryl also lent me a skirt and blouse that she made so that I could play along again on the next day.

It was just like stepping back into time.  All of the tepees and tents and items within are so authentic. And all of the items for sale by the vendors are handmade and beautiful works of art.  I did my share of trading (my money for their cool stuff) and John took so many great photos.

It was such an interesting and exciting weekend. Thanks again to Dale and Karen, Cheryl and Jared and everyone else that made this an amazing experience.

It was a huge event and was spread out over many acres. Here is a drone video that John did on the very last day when almost everyone was gone. But imagine that this area is filled to capacity with RVs, tents, teepees and buildings everywhere.

Oh yeah and then this spectacle happened on our way out of Fort Bridger 😁