Linda Shriver-Buckner tends to the fire and cooks potatoes outside of her lean-to during Davy Crockett Days at David Crockett State Park.More Info
If you want to test the waters of your survival skills, you don’t have to go as far as those who attend today’s rendezvous. Shriver-Buckner recommends trying a night in your backyard, building a fire using as little technology as possible and sleeping under the stars.And if it’s not for you, no harm, no foul.“Whatever you enjoy doing, there’s no apologies needed,” she says. “Just as long as you’re out there enjoying nature.”If you do decide to head into the wilderness unencumbered, some of her favorite primitive camping spots are Virgin Falls near Sparta, Tennessee, and along the Elk River, a tributary of the mighty Tennessee which runs through the Volunteer State and Alabama.
More Info
Rendezvous round the cornerDavid Crockett State Park near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, is the site of “Davy Crockett Days” each August. Hosted by the Davy Crockett Longhunters, it features modern as well as primitive camping.
She’s not proud to admit it, but Linda Shriver-Buckner once smuggled contraband.
During a Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous, Shriver-Buckner committed the crime of bringing in technology not available to American settlers: a humble match.
“People were surprised at how quickly I had a fire going that morning,” she recalls with a laugh.