The fur trader canoe reminded me of an annual "Rendezvous Days" held at Ft. Creve Coeur near Peoria. Ft. Creve Coeur is a reproduction of an early French fort founded by LaSalle in the late 1600's along the Illinois river. Each year a re-enactment of that time frame is held there featuring hundreds of folks dressed in period costumes and camping out in teepees clustered around open fires. Bison burgers, home made root beer, "Anna Dama" bread baked in outdoor ovens (good stuff). Period music, black powder demonstrations, traditional crafts. It's a lot of fun.

Anyway, on Sunday, a service is held at the main gate of the fort with the altar being an overturned fur trader canoe with a deerskin cloth covering it. The homily is often on the history of the early French settlers in the Peoria area and the growth of Christianity in the area.