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#301134 - 31/07/2007 21:48 Northern California Campout - Perseid Party!
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Hi guys-

Attached is your personal invite to my mountain get-away party on August 11th.

Hope some of you can make it!

Stew


Attachments
302142-2007811PartyInviteBW.pdf (279 downloads)

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#301135 - 01/08/2007 01:13 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
Move it closer to me and I'll be there. 11 hours is a bit far to drive for that. I'd love to go, though!

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#301136 - 01/08/2007 03:26 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
Cool! We'll try and make it

Hugo (& Claire)

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#301137 - 02/08/2007 04:56 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: altman]
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
I'd love to attend but we don't have any camping gear. Anybody have spare? We'd need suitable tent & bags for two adults, one toddler.

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#301138 - 02/08/2007 13:47 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: DWallach]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Quote:
I'd love to attend but we don't have any camping gear. Anybody have spare? We'd need suitable tent & bags for two adults, one toddler.

Nobody's laid claim to the travel trailer yet... it would be just right for a small family!
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#301139 - 06/08/2007 04:57 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Hi guys-

Sorry, l0ser, I can't move the mountain.

Meanwhile, it's shaping up to be a good group of people next weekend!
I've got some last minute prep to take care of Saturday morning and I hope to be at the ranch by 2pm. The gate will be unlocked before then and anyone arriving early should just make themselves at home.

A couple of notes about the drive up-
-be very wary of deer on the road
-pay close attention to the directions in the pdf
-PM me for my cell phone number
-cell reception is spotty at the ranch, non-existent on the drive up. If your cell phone (like mine) eats its battery when it can't get a signal then either turn it off or put it on charge during the drive.

It's very dry up there, so expect some dust but no bugs.

This will be fun!
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#301140 - 09/08/2007 02:17 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
We got a tent now (got one in the UK, but that's strictly a "festival" tent!) so we're hopefully going to be camping

I can't leave MV until 4pm, but we'll definitely go the north way... we drove to the Mt Hamilton observatory once and that was absolutely enough (ok, we were trying to get there for sunset and it's amazing how many far away that place stays corner after corner after corner after...)

Need anything bringing?

Hugo
(edit: having just read the visual phenomena thread, hope everything checks out ok. That'll teach me to read things out of order... Claire says it sounds like the migranes she gets in terms of visual disturbance)


Edited by altman (09/08/2007 02:36)

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#301141 - 09/08/2007 03:17 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: altman]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Quote:
We got a tent now (got one in the UK, but that's strictly a "festival" tent!) so we're hopefully going to be camping
...
Need anything bringing?
Great! If you're leaving MV at that hour beware of the deer that come out in late afternoon and dusk. Other than that the drive up Mines Road is fun, but nowhere near as taxing as Mt. Hamilton.

As for the bringing...
I've got firewood, GP water, paper plates & plasticware, cups, and I've got to do the shopping for food, beverages, and a few other supplies. Aside from the grill we'll have a couple of campstoves, too. I think that takes care of everything, but if you've got some special camping doodad that you love (favorite flashlight or chair?) then by all means knock yourself out. Favorite foods are also welcome, but don't think that you've got to feed the whole gang. If, for example, you prefer a particular tea you might want to pack a couple packets to suit your tastes.

I'm hoping to make it easy for everyone- so that we're not all individual self-supplied campers on a common lot, but rather a group with a few fun twists to be discovered.

The eyes are back to normal as of 10:30am and no further symptoms have revealed themselves. Thanks for asking!
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#301142 - 09/08/2007 14:22 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
music
addict

Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
Does anyone (that's coming to the Perseid Party) have a Celestron SkyScout?

This seems like the perfect venue for it.

I've been meaning to pick one up.

But at this point, I don't have sufficient "Amazon time" to get one before Sat.
So I'd like to just mooch time off someone else's.

Though, if necessary, Fry's has them "on sale" today only for $50 more than
Amazon regularly charges, and I might be persuaded to make the leap
if there's sufficient interest from you guys. (and nobody else already has one)

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#301143 - 09/08/2007 14:43 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: music]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Quote:
Does anyone (that's coming to the Perseid Party) have a Celestron SkyScout?


I've seen those in the Fry's ads, they look cool! Don't know much about them, though. I'll have to save up and own one before next year's party.

Incidentally, there's an article on Slashdot today about the Aurigids on Sept 1st! Fantastic rare show!
This article has a cool meteor rate feature:
http://aurigids.seti.org/
Set the calculator for Perseids and you can see the rate for a given time at a given location (from 12/hour at 11pm to 48/hour at 5am SF)
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#301144 - 09/08/2007 16:00 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
music
addict

Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
Quote:
Incidentally, there's an article on Slashdot today about the Aurigids on Sept 1st! Fantastic rare show!


Cool!
Did you notice the video link to the Enormous meteor over Croatia which evidently was a couple of weeks ago?

Fireball!

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#301145 - 11/08/2007 01:58 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
faff
new poster

Registered: 22/09/2005
Posts: 1
Loc: Cambridge
I'm in the San Jose area at the moment and could come along with Hugo and Claire, but need to be back at SFO airport 10am Sunday...

If anyone is coming along for the evening only - then going back towards the city later on, I'd appreciate a lift.

-----

Looks like I have a lift now!


Edited by faff (11/08/2007 02:02)

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#301146 - 11/08/2007 03:52 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: faff]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Quote:
Looks like I have a lift now!

Excellent!

I'm really looking forward to this!
Just back from a major shopping trip and getting organized for the next couple of hours. I should be on track for arrival before 2pm tomorrow.
Some last minute packing and shopping to do in the morning...
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#301147 - 12/08/2007 17:49 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
A big thankyou to Robotic for inviting us up there - it's an amazing place and the company/food/perseids were absolutely great, we had a wonderful time (and I managed to stay awake driving back too, which was a bonus for everyone in the car)

I'll post a link to some photos when I've got them downloaded!

Hugo

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#301148 - 12/08/2007 18:16 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: altman]
music
addict

Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
Thanks, Robotic!

Much fun was had by all.

From the s'mores to the dark dark sky and meteors, to the morning breakfast. With much lively conversation in between.

We couldn't possibly have asked for more.

Thanks for having us up to the ranch. I had a great time.

RandomComment: The temperature swings were impressive. In the wee hours we were huddling by the fire for warmth and literally 3-4 hours later it was already hot and probably in the 80's.... (Note, however, we wimpy California people huddle by the fire when it drops into the 50's, or maybe 60's.)

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#301149 - 12/08/2007 20:58 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: Robotic]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Thanks very much to the hardy souls who made the trek into the mountains for the party!
It was wonderful to host such a fun group! I'm looking forward to next year's event already!
Here's a link to some more information about the local wildlife- including the Turkey Vultures and Hairy Mygalomorphs!
http://www.coestatepark.com/wildlife_of_henry_coe_state_park.htm

I can't wait to see some of the photos!

A quick note to relieve worries about DWallach- the family had to forgo the trip due to reasons that arose at the last minute.
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#301150 - 13/08/2007 00:39 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: altman]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
A few pics of the area... I really ought to have tried taking some photos of the barbie and everyone there, but I was, err, too busy eating

http://gallery.mac.com/hfiennes#100007&view=mosaic&sel=1

Hugo

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#301151 - 13/08/2007 03:47 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: music]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5549
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
Quote:
In the wee hours we were huddling by the fire for warmth and literally 3-4 hours later it was already hot and probably in the 80's....


In Fairbanks (Alaska) I have seen an 80 degree temperature shift in less than six hours -- from -40 to +40 (F) when a Chinook wind (probably better known as a Foehn wind in Europe) came through.

Pretty amazing thing to experience...

tanstaafl.
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#301152 - 13/08/2007 04:04 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: tanstaafl.]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
I miss chinooks. Don't have many here in Phoenix.

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#301153 - 13/08/2007 11:46 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: tanstaafl.]
Tim
veteran

Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1529
Loc: Arizona
Quote:
Quote:
In the wee hours we were huddling by the fire for warmth and literally 3-4 hours later it was already hot and probably in the 80's....


In Fairbanks (Alaska) I have seen an 80 degree temperature shift in less than six hours -- from -40 to +40 (F) when a Chinook wind (probably better known as a Foehn wind in Europe) came through.

Pretty amazing thing to experience...


In North Dakota, we had temperature drops of over 30degrees inside an hour.

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#301154 - 13/08/2007 16:04 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: tanstaafl.]
music
addict

Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
Quote:
an 80 degree temperature shift in less than six hours -- from -40 to +40 (F) when a Chinook wind


That would be quite an event to experience.
Were there glass windows and other items which could not handle the rapid transition?

Also, I didn't mean to imply that "our" temperature change was record-breaking, or for that matter, that it is even too unusual.
According to The Storm King big chunks of Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho, California have average daily temperature fluctuations of 45 degrees from July to October.

The US record temp. swing caused purely by local heating/cooling is 75 degrees (from 12 to 87) on September 21, 1954.

I believe (but can't find the link) that the record due to a changing front, etc., is somewhere around 100 degrees (-40 to 60 or vice versa) and occurred somewhere in one of the northern Plains states in just 2-3 hours.
[Citation Needed]

Though I wouldn't be surprised if Alaska can top that. And there must be some high altitude deserts somewhere in the world that are extremely brutal on a regular basis.

(Apologies for all the Fahrenheit numbers to all you Europeans who are now visualizing nearly boiling streams and don't consider "12" to be cold...)

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#301155 - 13/08/2007 16:28 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: music]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Quote:
Loma, Montana boasts as having the most extreme recorded temperature change in a 24-hour period. On January 15, 1972, the temperature rose from -54 °F (-48 °C) to 49 °F (9 °C), a 103 °F (57 °C) change in temperature; a dramatic example of the regional Chinook wind in action.

The Black Hills of South Dakota are home to the world's fastest recorded rise in temperature. On January 22, 1943, at about 7:30am MST, the temperature in Spearfish, SD was -4 °F (-20 °C). The chinook kicked in, and two minutes later the temperature was 45 °F (7 °C) above zero. The 49 degree (27 °C) rise in two minutes set a world record that is still on the books. By 9:00am, the temperature had risen to 54 °F (12 °C). Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to -4 °F. The 58 degree drop took only 27 minutes.
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#301156 - 13/08/2007 20:46 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: wfaulk]
music
addict

Registered: 25/06/2002
Posts: 456
Quote:
The 49 degree (27 °C) rise in two minutes [..] The 58 degree drop took only 27 minutes.


Whoa!
That's like the Ariel Atom of weather.... (0-to-100mph-to-0 in 10.8 sec)

.

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#301157 - 14/08/2007 04:52 Re: Northern California Campout - Perseid Party! [Re: altman]
Robotic
pooh-bah

Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
Here's a link to some early morning photos taken by one of my car club members, Dan.
click me
You wouldn't believe the story that the two guys from LA had for why they arrived at 1:30am... I think the telling took about 2 hours.
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