We walked not only through the encampment, looking for friends, but we walked around the outer edges of it as well, to just look at the canvas from afar and remember. There is something inspiring about looking at an encampment from a distance.
The type of voo I am referring to is a family friendly version of the pre-1840 Fur Trade Era Mountain Man Rendezvous (in other words, no camp followers or brawling allowed LOL!)
Two inspiring moments come to mind. I was at one voo in Diamond, Mo and one Sunday morning just as I crawled out of my tent I hear bag pipes. I wandered to the center of camp to see a woman dressed in a white deer skin dress, standing in a swirling low ground fog in front of her tipi playing Amazing Grace by the time she finished she was surrounded by all attending the voo.
There in the mist, with wisps of smoke curling out of the near dead campfires were probably 100 of us dressed in pre-1840 clothing. While none of us thought to take a photo, it will always be in our memories.
Bagpipes are a big part of historical re-enactments and the other memory was also early morning. I was at North Eastern National Rendezvous on Schroon Lake in upstate NY. Each morning the Piper Brigade dressed in full kilted regalia would pipe the morning in coming over the crest of the hill just as the sun rose behind them.
In both memories the white canvas, tipis, wall tents, marquis tents, Bakers, lean tos are all part of the scenery and you truly feel you have stepped back in time.