Tradin' for a TeePee

My oldest step-son, Jer, has wanted a teepee for a really long time. They are very expensive though. But I guess if you want something bad enough you find a way to get it.

In Creede, they sometimes have a Mountain Man Rendevous. This is where people from all over come and put up their teepees, dress in the apparel of the cowboy and indian days, and basically camp out. They are not allowed to drive into the camp or wear anything modern. They want you to think they are doing everything just like in the good ol' days. Since we did not have the appropriate clothes, we were not allowed to enter. (Don't think they didn't have anything modern though. We know their secrets. They covered the ice chests with burlap and made a tent over the porta-potties.)

Jer had to get clothes to wear so he could walk into the area and it is a pretty good little jaunt. He was dressed in a red button-up shirt, and either leather pants with fringe or chaps (I don't remember which) but then he had suspenders on and moccasins. He looked the part. He even had a little medicine bag on his belt with arrowheads inside. Real arrowheads he had found on his property.

He went to see a man about a teepee.

He took pictures of his Jeep Wrangler and headed to the Rendevous. He wanted to trade his Jeep for the teepee. Keep in mind that this Jeep has seen better days. There's quite a bit that needs to be done to it. But Jer went and layed it all on the table. He described everything that needed to be done to the jeep and showed him pictures of it on the digital camera. Now was he really supposed to take the modern camera into the camp? hmmmm!

The guy took the deal. He also threw in a longhorn hide that is used to cover the ground and use as a floor. It is a brand new 18 foot purple top teepee. The man that he traded with is the man that built it (do you really "build" a teepee?). Well, he made it.

I guess I wouldn't have ever thought about trading a vehicle for something like that. But he did. And he has stayed in it twice since he got it. :) He calls it the Lodge.