LEGIO X FRETENSIS   January 2001 Newsletter -- Page 5
- Text and Photos by Robert Garbisch

CONFIRMED DATES
June 9th - 10th Ardenwood Celtic Faire, Fremont California September 1st - 2nd Caledonian Club Scottish Highland Games, Fremont, California

ROMAN MARCH - April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd
Our Emperor has determined the need to conduct a Roman patrol through the Napa Valley winery region. The patrol is essential to protecting the wine supply for Rome. Your support is thus important to the success of this mission. Ha!

In truth, legionary Titus Aeldred has proposed an interesting route this year for our annual Roman March Adventure. The beauty of this march is that it offers you the option of joining the patrol for the entire route or just a part of the route. The choice is yours to make depending on your own physical condition and desire for adventure. A large map of the route (117k) or a smaller version (50k) may be viewed by following one of these links. Here is the proposed route and schedule:

April 19th - Camp overnight at Dutcher Creek camp.
April 20th - Leave Dutcher Creek Camp at 0800 for a march along trails and backcountry roads to the Alexander Valley Campground, which is located along the Russian River. Swimming is allowed here.
April 21st - From here we continue south along Highway 128 toward Calistoga. A detour route might be included to see the Petrified Forest and/or the Old Faithful geyser. We would camp that night at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, which offers showers. If the fear of such plumbed bathroom facilities offends you, then in the words of Titus, "You are free to hike out into the foothills and dig a cat-hole for thyself."

SPECIAL INVITATION
From our LXF friends in Southern Judaea (Los Angeles). Gaius Phillippus offers this special invitation. Unfortunately, we will not be able to attend this event due to our return from another long journey. We will be celebrating Lydia's birthday (February 11th) in Reno plus staying up there for a few extra days. Thus, if any member of LXF has need of loaner equipment for attending this event, please contact me before the 10th. The good ship Queen Mary is an interesting sight to see. It should prove to be an interesting event.

From Gaius Domitius Phillippus, Greetings to all loyal Romans!

Through the blessings of Jupiter and Mars, I have secured an invitation from the organizers of the Scottish Festival at the Queen Mary in Long Beach to participate in the festival. The event will be held on February 17th and 18th of this year and ia a full Scottish festival with clan booths, games, sheep dog trials, and other programs. We will provide the appropriate oppression to the local Pictish community (Remember, the Celts did not show up from Ireland for a few hundred years after we Romans were gone from the sodden and rain soaked Isle of Britannia.

Please contact me with your intent to attend as soon as possible. I will be working on a vexillum for the cohort and hope to put on a full camp display with a small temple, a fly for shade, and a gladius training pit. I will be working on a sword and shield in the next few weeks and we will be providing training opportunities to the public and hopefully, recruiting for the cohort. I encourage all Roman legionaries, regardless of affiliation to attend. My goal is to host a fun event where everyone has fun. We will have a camp on Friday and Saturday nights. You will be on your own for food although I will be bringing a charcoal brazier that we can cook small pots of food on. There are many fine restaurants and there is always the great Scottish food vendors.

The event will be Saturday and Sunday with a parade at 12:00 pm. The organizers would also like us to mingle with the crowd and show the flag, so to speak. The event looks like it could be much fun for all. The Queen Mary people are very happy that we are attending and I expect to receive documents such as releases and such for the event shortly. Please let me know if you think you might be able to attend. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

To get to the Queen Mary, follow any freeway to the 710 Long Beach Freeway South. Go south on the freeway and follow the signs to the Queen Mary. We will be in the park and have a nice grass expanse to camp, drill, and demonstrate on. Rather than email a map, go to any Internet map service and search for the Queen Mary.

Salve to all,
Gaius Domitius Phillippus
(Dale Himebaugh)
(661) 251-7143 Call if you have questions!

Return to Table of Contents - page 4