The Mountain men of the early 1800s spent a solitary life during the fall and winter months trapping beaver ‘way’ back in the rugged Rocky Mountains. By spring they were more than ready to come down out of the hills and have a big get together for a few days and rekindle friendships and restock their supplies. Their ‘get together’ was called the Mountain Man Rendezvous and from all accounts they were rowdy events. We can only imagine! We modern day outdoor types certainly haven’t spent our entire winter in the back country trapping beaver but many of us have stories to tell of hunting and fishing trips we enjoyed through the years.
Three years ago, I came upon the idea of having a ‘Rendezvous’ here in Texas near Greenville in Hunt County. I had no desire to show up in a coonskin cap at such an event nor did the folks that I worked with organizing the spring get together. The only thing our event has in common with those of the mountain men is a celebrating of the outdoors and the opportunity to get with like minded people and enjoy an early spring day in an outdoor setting.
A central campfire was a must and I saw that there was plenty of cowboy coffee in my big old blue enamel coffee pot. I cooked some Dutch Kettle blackberry cobbler and tacos.
Folks brought their lawn chairs and we told stories around the fire about past outings and made plans for the months ahead. Several hunting and fishing guides were present as well as folks with booths marketing everything from homemade martin houses to fishing tackle. Some very talented musicians provided live music in the afternoon. Our first event was so much fun that the following year, we had a second event, The 2nd Annual Ren-De-Voux and about twice as many folks showed up. It became obvious that I could no longer make enough Dutch Kettle Cobbler or enough tacos to feed the big crowd.
For the past couple weeks plans for the 3rd Annual Ren-de-Voux have been underway and I’m excited to tell you about the fun to come! The event will be held in Greenville on March 12, a stone’s throw from I-30 on 12 beautiful wooded acres at The Top Rail Cowboy Church. I’ve met with Pastor Charlie Nassar and his staff and Mr. Friendlee, a well know ‘radio guy’ in northeast Texas. This year’s event promises to be an awesome day in the outdoors. Bad weather has always been a threat for any outdoor event, especially this time of year, but we’ve been lucky the past two events, blessed with sunny skies and pleasant temperatures. We’re hoping for a sunny day come March 12 but if Mother Nature throws us a curve, there is plenty of room in the covered arena.
Rain or shine, we can plan on some awesome live music compliments of the some very talented musicians and singers at the Top Rail Cowboy Church. I have a great friend, Joe Dunn, that has a big smoker about the size of my wife’s car. Joe will begin smoking all sorts of tasty barbeque the night before and have his smoker stationed near the central campfire. We are in the process of ‘acquiring’ some good eating wild pork for those of us that are ‘game eaters’ but Joe will have an abundance of domestic meats and chicken on the smoker as well. Donations that benefit the outdoor ministry of the church will be accepted.
This will be a good opportunity to visit with guides and outfitters and make plans for future outings. Chances are very good you will find someone around the campfire that can provide you with solid information on everything from catching crappie at Lake Fork to fishing in Canada and just about everything in-between.
My good friend Larry Weishuhn aka “Mr. Whitetail” will be sitting around the campfire with us. I’ve had the pleasure of spending time around many campfires with Larry and I can assure you he can talk for hours about his hunts all over the world and also keep you enthralled talking about his boyhood days growing up in southeast Texas. Many of you know that Larry, our friend Jeff Rice and I do a weekly outdoor show on Carbon TV titled ‘A Sportsman’s Life’. We will be filming a segment of the show while at the event.
In the almost four decades that I have been an outdoors writer, I have met, fished and hunted with scores of great folks from a little lake north of Tokyo Japan to the Northwest Territories of Canada and across a good bit of the US. If I can assist you in deciding upon a destination for your next adventure, feel free to quiz me. Those that know me consider me to be an ‘open book’. I love sharing my lifetime of outdoor experiences and also enjoy hearing the experiences of others. Folks that have spent years hunting and fishing do have a smorgasbord of past experiences to reflect upon. As a guest speaker at luncheons, I usually begin by relating an outdoor experience or two and very often the rest of my time is devoted to answering questions pertaining to destinations to enjoy the outdoors.
This year, Connor Crockett will be present with his deer tailing dog “Boone”. Together Boone and Crockett have successfully trailed and recovered many wounded deer for hunters. It might be a good idea to ask for contact information from this trailing specialist. We never know when we might need the services of Connor and his trusty trailing dog.
For more information, contact me (Luke Clayton via email lukeclayton1950@ gmail.com) or pastor Nassar at 903 217 3778.
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