Reenactments

I can completely understand why people do reenactments. There's such a large group of us in today's modern American society who have a wanderlust that takes us not to faraway lands but, instead, to faraway times. We have a knack for idealizing the past and wanting to be a part of it. A past of heroes and fantasy and simpler times made more complicated by war or famine or dragons or some form of dauntless and epic challenge which, in our imaginations, we meet with bravado and charm and gallant stoicism and from which we always emerge bruised and battered yet victorious.

So despite the adventures that can be gleaned in a world made small and close and accessible by airplanes and the internet and television, we spend time contemplating time travel, jousting, and the tragedy and adventure of the Civil War. While everyday technology and the economy dictate who we are and what is possible, who we are while reenacting is limited only by our interpretations of history (often fluid) and our imaginations. We can be generals or warriors or jousters or belly dancers or rebel leaders and we can dress up and ride horses and carry swords and fire canons. Whether it's folly at a RennFest or down and dirty history at a Civil War reenactment, we can live our world's histories and escape from our own mediocrities as we see fit.

Some scenes from Gold Rush Days at South Pass City in Wyoming...