Tee Pee

Sun's out.  Should practice.  Darnit, I will practice this afternoon after the ground dries up a bit. Meanwhile, I have a new project in my head that just won't quit.  My Privacy Tent came in and it does not satisfy me.  Very flimsy, doubtful it will stand up to even a strong breeze.  Green, not the silver/blue pictured on the website.  This color scheme will clash with my camper and we mustn't have that!  I'm disappointed and am contacting the seller to return it.

Pentagonal tee pee paper model

So in the middle of the night I got the bright idea to make my own tee pee, couldn't sleep after that, and got up to make a paper model, scale 1" = 1', to see how big a tarp I need to buy, and how long to cut the bamboo poles (we have a huge bamboo patch in the woods), how tall to make it for a 5.5' footprint and so a 6' tall person can stand comfortably inside.  I often draw on my 5th grade geometry book for such projects, and it came in handy yet again!   I have some artist friends coming to stay with me next week, and have invited them to help me paint designs on the tarp.  This is exciting!  And Thanksgiving-y, too!  An Indian tee pee.  Whee!

Tee pee pattern

Here's a snapshot of my tee pee laid out flat, which gives me the dimensions and pattern I need to cut the tarp.  Looks like I'm going to need a 15' x 8' tarp, and 5 bamboo poles 9.5' tall. Now I'm off to find a suitable tarp.  Still a little fuzzy on how to do the door, how to anchor it to the ground, how to keep the rain out, how to deal with sloped ground, but that will come.  I'm sure it will provide privacy (my main goal), and I bet it will make my campsite look distinctive once I get some designs painted on it!

Later:  Eurika!  Harbor Freight was having a sale on 12' x 18' tarps, so I got one for $20, instead of the usual $30.  A good start.  Tomorrow I will figure out the angles and overlaps, and cut the fabric.  When Jonathan gets here next Tuesday (if I can wait that long), I'll send him and John out in the woods with machetes to chop down some bamboo.  That will be a great Thanksgiving project for a 13 year old boy -- a trek in the woods, chopping down stuff.  But I do doubt I can wait that long to see my tee pee take shape.