There and Back Again, The Wife and Hanbleceya Camp '08

The Wife returned from her Hanbleceya yesterday safe and sound, happy, healthy and sun burned. For folks who don't know what that word up there means, here is a post where I talk a little bit about the Hanbleceya ceremony as performed by the Redwind family that we are a part of.

The first picture is The Wife heading out before the trip. Check out those fine digs eh? What can we say, it's not a fashion show. Anything you wear out there needs to be able to be torn and soot-smeared and rolled in dirt without concern.

This next picture is all her gear, which T. dubbed "The Mound of Adventure." Now this much stuff might seem excessive to folks if you're thinking about this as a camping trip. But it's far from a camping trip. For those 'going up on the hill' (the fasters) there is a bunch of ceremonial accoutrement that are needed. For those going out to support camp, there is a lot of comfort needed. This is more like a work camp than a camping trip -- many times you put in 12 - 14+ hour days taking care of all the things that need to happen, so you want a nice comfortable home base to rest your bones in afterwards.

"After" pictures aren't really necessary, as I can provide them with just a few words. For the Mound of Adventure, just roll everything around in a fine fine desert dust and add burrs to anything that's made of fabric. The Wife has a sunburned face and a smile that won't go away. Her eyes are ablaze from her experience, and she is more vibrant and healthier than I've seen her in years (which is saying something, she's never been a wilting lily). She's doing great.

Finally, I couldn't resist, is a picture of that finely worn-in knife sheath that The Wife acquired recently. Always the slave to fashion, she was the Belle of the Ball in that thing, and will be again at Sun Dance camp in a week or so.