Linda M. Hasselstrom in her
elk skin dress, 1982

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No Place Like Home
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Rendezvous, Muzzle Loading and Black Powder

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Bibliography of Linda's Rendezvous Stories
Here's where to find Linda's stories of Rendezvous camp life, horse-packing, and tipi-building in her various books.

The Life of the Tipi
Photos and stories of the tipi Linda and George used in their rendezvous camping.

Please Note: Photos are placed all through this page. Don't miss the ones that fall between articles.





Rendezvous Family Portrait
That's Linda kneeling on the right, Michael is beside her, wearing blue, and George, in brown with a big black hat, is standing behind Michael.

Bibliography of Rendezvous Stories by Linda M. Hasselstrom

Linda has written of her rendezvous camping, as well as other related experiences, in the following books:


Windbreak: A Woman Rancher on the Northern Plains
Published 1987 by Barn Owl Books

July 10 through July 23
pages 177 through 189

In which Linda, George, Michael and Cuchulain the dog leave the ranch behind for a few days to take a rendezvous camp vacation near Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah. The entire camp responds to a fire, Linda teaches some little girls about edible plants, Michael manages to cut himself with his hatchet, Linda and George help dig the latrines, the family hopes not to encounter a bear while bathing, and Linda plays a joke on George over the purchase of a rifle.

* * *

Land Circle: Writings Collected from the Land
Published 1991 by Fulcrum Publishing
Anniversary Edition published 2008


Chapter called "Rendezvous!"
pages 35 through 47 (Anniversary Edition)
pages 34 through 44 (original edition)

In which Linda explains rendezvous re-enactment camping: describing the tipis, the period clothing, the articles of daily living, how camp life works, and why people are drawn to it.


Chapter called "The Cowboy and the Ride"
pages 49 through 67 (Anniversary Edition)
pages 46 through 61 (original edition)

In which Linda, George and Michael take a 75-mile horse pack trip with a group of buckskinners on the way to a National Rendezvous near DuBois, Wyoming. The route they take, through grizzly country, is perhaps the same one taken by John Coulter in the winter of 1807–1808. Linda has just a little bit of trouble with a hapless horse.

* * *

Between Grass and Sky: Where I Live and Work
Published 2002 by University of Nevada Press

Chapter called "Black Powder Smoke and Buffalo"
pages 112 through 125

In which Linda and George, Jim and Mavis, and another friend called Jack, are on a private ranch in Nebraska in order to shoot buffalo with period weapons. Is George’s .50 caliber cap and ball rifle up to the task? After the hunt will they survive the night in the rustic cabin in the 20-below-zero winter weather?


Chapter called "At the Rattlesnake Rendezvous"
Pages 126 through 131

In which the rendezvous campers along the Bad River in South Dakota find themselves in prime rattlesnake habitat and Linda plays a stalking game with a modern-day deer hunter who is not where he should be.


Chapter called "Sleeping with the Grizzly"
Pages 132 through 142

In which Linda revisits the buckskinner horse pack trip described in Land Circle and tells some tales of bear encounters.


Chapter called "The Second Half of Life"
Pages 145 through 150

In which Linda and George, and Mavis and Jim cut tipi poles in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah. And Linda and George take a side trip from a rendezvous camp, still in their buckskinning garb, in order to attend one of Linda’s family reunions.

* * *

No Place Like Home: Notes from a Western Life
Published 2009 by University of Nevada Press

information coming soon . . .


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Rendezvous Cooking Linda and Mavis work over the fire while an unidentified mountain man watches.

The Life of the Tipi


Below are photos of Linda and George's tipi, from birth through its golden years, and what happened after.

Stories to accompany the pictures coming soon.


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Cutting the tipi poles

Peeling the tipi poles

Painting the tipi

Setting up the tipi

The finished tipi, front view

Back view of the tipi

Tipi interior

Smoke flaps

The end of the tipi poles. That's Linda in the background and Maura in the foreground tossing the broken-up tipi poles onto the burn pile at the ranch.

The end of the tipi?

In 2002 the twenty-year-old tipi poles, having been stored outdoors on a rack attached to the side of the garage, were in poor shape. Linda and some writing retreat participants spent some time one fine afternoon breaking up the poles. They hauled the short pieces to the burn pile on the ranch.

The tipi canvas, however, was given to a friend who will use it for Rendezvous camping.

So the tipi lives on.



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