Manzanita High Mountain Rendezvous Scheduled for May
By Amber Ward

Manzanita High Mountain Rendezvous, May 2006. Photo by Amber Ward

The Annual Manzanita High Mountain Rendezvous is set for May 3-13 in Santa Ysabel.

This step back in time allows visitors to enjoy a North American Fur Trade encampment.

History will come alive with teepees, old tents, clothing, music, period firearms and more. Meet mountain men and women who represent those who traveled in large parties and trapped various game in the Rocky Mountains.

There will be drawings for prizes, kids' games and other competitive activities at the rendezvous. Try your hand at several skilled competitions using rifles, pistols, shotguns, tomahawks and primitive bows. There will also be demonstrations of primitive skills like fire starting, archery techniques, target shooting and storytelling.

Or try your luck at in the "Stake Shoot," one of the rendezvous' most exciting competitions.

The cost to enter the stake shoot is $5, and each participant is assigned to a team and a stake.

The object of the game is for the three-shooter team to cut the stake in half by firing at it. The first team to cut the stake in half, when it falls to the ground, wins the pot. All shooters fire at the same time, and reload and fire as fast as they possibly can. Each team member usually fires 10-20 rounds before the stake falls to the ground.

All visitors are welcome, with or without period costumes, to the annual Manzanita High Mountain Rendezvous. Taking place at the Santa Ysabel Ranch, watch for the Red Buffalo signs at Mesa Grande and Highway 79. The rendezvous is 2.5 miles up Mesa Grande Road. For more information, go to www.homestead.com/manzanita.