admin August 10th, 2008
I just looked at the date of the last post and I can’t believe how fact time slips by. I was chatting with a friend about building tipis and it reminded me that I hadn’t posted on the tipi living site for a while so I grabbed my camera and took a short trip through the garden and took a few pics of my tipis in August. Hope you enjoy the tipi pics as much as I enjoy my tipis.
admin May 31st, 2008
I love summer - each year I plant the gardens a little different and each year, I get to sit or around in my tipi and enjoy them. One problem us the herbs that I planted a few years back, seams most of them would rather grow in the pathways than in the herb beds. Nice part is it smells real good when you walk up to the tipi.
These pictures of my tipis and my garden were taken today. I’ll post more as the garden around the tipis grows. I’ll need to cut the dill and oregano in the path to the tipi pretty soon or I won’t be able to get in my tipi - and that would be bad!
admin May 28th, 2008
I just added some more pictures of tipi poles and a few more comments of my experiences transporting and dealing with tipi poles to www.tipi-poles.com
I pealed my first tipi pole in 1973 and have made my own tipi poles in both the US and Europe. The picture above is of a good friend setting up his tipi in Bergamo Italy in 1989. My mother made his tipi and I made the poles in Germany and took them down to him. Pepe and I camped in our tipis in Italy, Germany and in what is the former Yugoslavia (now Croatia). Pepe enjoyed his tipi till his unexpected death in 1996.
Read more about tipi poles at www.tipi-poles.com
admin May 20th, 2008
From time to time I run across a truly wonderful tipi living experience and this was the case when Cathy Smith let me know about her new tipi workshop. Upon hearing of her plans, I knew I had to share the good news with other tipi enthusiasts. If you’ve ever dreamed of spending a week immersed in the tipi culture of the Plains Indians, experiencing the Native American tipi in one of the most beautiful locations in South-Central Montana, visiting the Buffalo Bill Historic Center and Plains Indian Museum, learning how to do Plains Indian beadwork, learning about the sacred nature of the pipe, and learning about the other ceremonies sacred to the Plains Indian and their tipi or lodge, then Cathy’s workshop is a must. Cathy’s next workshop is scheduled for 25-31 August, 2008.
I first met Cathy when I was working on the set of Dream Keepers (Or maybe it was Into The West). Cathy was an adviser for the wardrobe (Cathy, correct me if I’m wrong on this) and she had a break in the typical hectic schedule and stopped by the tipi village we were setting up for the movie. Cathy jumped right in and started helping us set the tipis up. Her exception knowledge of both the Indian tipi and of the Native American culture and history was like a breath of fresh air and make her exceptionally qualified to host such a retreat.
You can read more about Cathy Smith on her website at www.cathyasmith.com
And you can read more about the Tipi Retreat at www.tipilifestyles.com
The tipi pictured on the home page of Tipi Lifestyles was taken by Cathy Smith on the movie set for “Comanche Moon”. All the tipis used in “Comanche Moon”were made by Reese Tipis of Colorado Springs, CO.
admin May 20th, 2008
I was going through a few old tipi pictures and I thought you might all want to see how I tie the tipi tripod together.
Using one end of a good manila anchor rope, tie an overhand knot at the loose end of the anchor rope to keep it from slipping out. If you have an anchor rope larger than 3/8 inch, you will find it easier to lash the tripod poles with a smaller rope to which you can attach your heavy rope for wrapping around the pole structure and for anchoring the structure.
Start by tieing a clove hitch where the tipi poles cross (tie-point). Pull the clove hitch tight - then add two to four turns around the tipi poles at the tie-point, slipping the end of the rope under itself to create a half hitch with each turn. The Indians usually made four turns around the tipi pole tripod.
Make sure this knot is very tight - one way to cheat a little is to to not spread the tipi poles as much as they will need to be spread once the tipi is up - then by spreading the tipi poles, you will tighten the knot. Lift the tripod being sure that the base of the tipi poles do not slip away. When you swing the north tipi pole into position to form the tipis tripod, the lashing is stretched and becomes very tight. The lashing should be snug, use caution that you do not break a tipi pole as you spread the tipis tripod.
For more on tipi setup, pleas visit Reese Tipis -Tipi Setup page.
admin May 7th, 2008
I got a late start this year but I finally managed to clean the old plants form my greenhouse tipi yesterday and I’ll be planting tomatoes and peppers in the next day or two. Last year, I planted a bit too close and I had tomatoes growing out of the tipis smoke flaps. !3 ft tall tomatoes producing 20oz fruit in an organic environment ain’t too bad. I This year I’ll only be planting two tomato plants in the tipi and a bunch of hot peppers, and a few herbs. .I may even put an artichoke or two in just for fun. Last year the tipi was filled with marigolds so this year the volunteer marigolds will have to be thinned or they’ll overrun the greenhouse tipi.
It’s cold and raining today sI have the tipi closed up but I’ll snap a few pictures and post them as things get growing.
For more info in tipis and the greenhouse tipi, visit www.reesetipis.com
Richard
admin January 28th, 2008
I’ll admit - the last two years I’ve spent more time in the tipis that I have in my back yard than I have camping in the mountains in one of my tipis. With this in mind, I thought I’d show you a few tipi exterior pictures of my customer’s tipis. But they have to be in the yard ;-).
OK - Tipi #1 in in Cascade, Colorado, tipi #2 is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, tipi #3 in my good friends in Estes Park, Colorado, tipi #4 is in Franktown, Colorado, tipi #5 is in Hamilton, Montana, tipi #6 is in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, tipi #7 is near Taus, New Mexico, tipis #8 are in Malibu, California, tipi #9 is in Phoenix, Arizona, tipi #10 is in the Trinity Alps of Northern California, tipi #11 is in my daughter’s back yard in Neunkirchen Germany (we made snow angels in front of her tipi to protect it), tipi #12 is in Aspen , Colorado, Tipi # 13 is in Denver, Colorado, Tipi # 14 (pictures 14, 15, and 16) is in San Francisco , California.
Well thous are just a few of the thousands of Reese Tipis that are in folks back yards scattered across the country. Email me a picture of you backyard tipi and I’ll post it here. richard(put the at thingy here)reesetipis(put the dot thingy here)com
admin January 23rd, 2008
Here are a few pics I took on one of the “Commanche Moon” sets. We setup about 45 tipis in the cold and wind - sunrise to sunset but we had fun. Worked with most of the same set-dec crew that I worked with on “Into The West” so we got the tipis up pretty quickly. After working all day on my last day, I realized that I had forgotten to take any pictures so I grabbed a camera, and shot about 30 tipi pictures just as the sun was going down. As I was taking the last picture on the river, I was squatting on a rock in the middle of the Rio Grande, I had one camera on the tripod and the other over my shoulder. As I pulled the camera off my shoulder, the strap caught my glasses and my glasses flew off into the river.Now I’m pretty blind without my glasses but I did manage to drive the 260 miles home without hitting anybody. Anyway - this is a sample of the tipi pictures I took on the Commanche Moon set - not sure if they used any footage from this set in the final movie - guess I’ll have to go see it.
All of the tipis on this set were Reese Tipis - most left over from previous movies. The tipis shown were all painted by the Commanche Moon set-dec crew in Sante Fe, NM. I love visiting New Mexico and I had a great time visiting with Kathy Smith during that trip.
Hope you all like the tipi pictures. Richard
admin January 3rd, 2008
I started this project two years ago and have had very good success. Like an idiot, I didn’t take any pictures of my new greenhouse tipi this year - had 13′ tall tomato plants with fruit the size of softballs. Attached are a few pictures from last year. This year I moves the greenhouse tipi (teepee) to behind the garage and setup my 19.5 tipi in it’s normal place.
Last year I planted everything in pots because the greenhouse was setup on the tipi deck I use for my 19.5′ tipi. This year, I nade a special basefor the tipi and filled it with top soil. The new greenhouse tipi is where the trampoline is now (see the last pic.)
I start all of my plants in the greenhouse tipi then move most of them into the garden as soon as the weather is nice enough. I leave a few tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse for the summer and then try to keep then a few weeks after the first frost.
admin December 27th, 2007
My love for tipis started over 35 years ago after My father purchased a small tent and awning company in Salt Lake City. I was put to work helping around the shop and I was soon helping make and setup tipis (tepees, teepees) with the family. My father sold the business when I was 18 but he and my mother continued to make tipis while I took a leave of absence from the family business to join the Air Force. After a successful career in the Air Force, I decided it was time to settle down and since mom was not getting any younger, and was having difficulty making tipis, I decided I would help. I soon moved the business from Salt Lake to Colorado Springs and have been making Reese Tipis here since 1998.
I still camp in my tipis and spend a fair bit of time in the ones in my back yard. With this blog, I hope to be able to share my tipi experiences with tipi lovers around the world.
