This thread by Doobieous got me to thinking about this coming summer. There can be no doubt that there are a lot of campers here at the boards.
I propose having the Straight Dope Summer Camp. If there is one thing that California has in abundance it is campgrounds. Just for gits and shiggles I’ll toss Pinnacles National Monument (near Hollister, ~100 miles south of SF) into the ring for starters. Directions to the park are available from mapquest. The Pinnacles is an astounding park with some of the most vertical terrain of California’s pacific coast regions. There is an exciting path through cave-like formations and for the dedicated hiker there is the High Peaks trail (I’ve done them both). A privately owned campground with a pool and hot showers is just outside the park.
An alternative would be The Avenue of the Giants in Humbolt Redwoods State Park among the Northern California coastal redwoods. Some of the largest trees on earth are in this park. The South Fork of the Eel River is warm as a bath tub in the late summer months. The tall trees shade the campgrounds and keep them cool even on the hottest days. The seafood from the towns just up the coast is impeccably fresh and Ferndale (30 minutes north) is a wonderful day trip back to the time of general stores and old fashioned shops. The travel time is more significant though. The park is 232 miles north of San Francisco. Having the event there would allow the Northern California dopers to get in on the fun.
To avoid any conflict with Doob’s event, I’m thinking about a weekend in August, namely:
To obtain the correct amount of enthusiasm please refer to the Official SF Holiday Dopefest thread. The menu towards the bottom of the first page will give you an idea of the style to which I am accustomed. My last excursion to the Pinnacles involved New York steaks, sauteed mushrooms and Brut Champagne.
So, please check in with your suggestions, timeframes and schedules. We should make the reservations soon as the campgrounds are in high demand. Fortunately we can take a month or so to make up our minds. Let’s make this a memorable event in the annals of Straight Dope history.
I tried to set up something similar last year with the Southwest US Dopers. I was a little late getting it going though, so it it didn’t work out. Would y’all be interested in combining efforts for a Western US Dope Camp in a more centralized location? If not, I’ll just go away and start my own Dope Camp thread.
Anyone know if there’s a Tenacious D concert going on during any of those weekends? My friend John and I want to drive out to LA for the D this summer (money allowing) and it’d be a wonderful coincidence if there were a Dopefest going on the weekend of a concert.
Wow, how did I miss this one! I love camping! I’ll add another vote for Avenue of the Giants. I have this big thing about camping though. I want to relax, so I’d rather not commit to a “dish” while I’m out there. If it’s hot, I want to be under a tree, drinking a beer. If it’s cold, I want to be snuggling in a sleeping bag with psycat. I don’t want to be worried about making something out there. Not that I can’t, I’d rather just be worried about myself.
Anyway, maybe if the money’s right at the time, we can bring up a case or two of wine. We’ll see. Let’s keep this going. I’ve been trying to convince these people to go camping for a year now.
I’d be up for that. Demo has had me bitten by the camping bug, we went 2 or 3 times this past summer. I put a vote in for either one of the first 2 weekends.
I’m game, if I haven’t run away yet. Actually, my running away is looking more and more likely every day now. I think it’s gonna be in just a couple months now, so we’ll see.
BTW Homer, both of the places under consideration are hundreds of miles away from LA, so don’t get your hopes up. The Avenue of the Giants must be at least 700 miles north of LA.
Thanks for all of the help Demo, I’m glad that you think that this is a good thing too. I love the coastal redwoods and the area up there is insanely beautiful.
As to cooking and stuff like that, please don’t worry yourself. Campfire cooking is one of my specialties.
Now, let’s get some more people in here to join the fun.
I’m pretty sure that camps #104-#114 in the upper loop at Hidden Springs are a dynamite set of spaces. We’ll have to see if they are available. I’m still concerned about choosing the right weekend in August. I’m worried that Doobieous’ North/South SLO fest may be too close to some of the earlier weekends in August.
I’ll being doing more research into this as time allows.
Thanks again, Demo.
PS: Sue, just rent an RV and come on up. You can pretend that you’re roughing it!
