A couple minutes from our home there’s a small lake with a muddy, weedy beach. The locals call it Leech Beach. There aren’t too many bloodsuckers really, but it’s a fun name that keeps tourists away— most of them. Which is why on this particular evening I made a point of introducing ourselves to the strangers. It was obvious even to the kids they weren’t from around here.
Roy and Colleen told us they were in town for the Deer Run Rendezvous. They said they’d be most honored if we were to drop by their camp. Tonight there was to be an axe throwing competition, a traditional native ceremony and campfire. They assured us we’d be welcome but we had to leave our truck parked at the fish and game clubhouse—we’d have to walk the last 200 meters back in time.
A rendezvous was a big deal back in the day. A time for traders to gather and barter supplies for furs with local tribes. Brigades of voyageurs from the North West Company would arrive with gunpowder, knives, kettles and pots and collect cured skins and pelts. It was a business meeting, mostly. But like so many business meetings, it was a social gathering…
To read the rest of this article, check out Canoeroots & Family Camping, Summer/Fall 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
