IT'S ON!!

Hey, All!
Gonna get a buncha folks together again up at my property this summer.
The story will be much the same as last year- just a change of date.
I've been travelling for most of the summer, but I'm finally home and have everything sorted out!

I love camping and I wanna get a bunch of good friends up to my property for a good time.
The road in any of three directions is a FANTASTIC drive (be careful not to fall off the edge and 'go missing' or 'meet the wildlife').

The date is settled: Saturday, September 2nd

People who want to visit just for Saturday's main event or can't overnight or don't wanna camp are certainly welcome to drop by!

Where, you ask?

The gate is located on the west side of Mines Road, about six miles from the Santa Clara County line (if you're headed south) and about 2 miles from the restaurant called 'The Junction' (if you're headed north). It's just about the mid-point between mile markers 21 and 22.
That's actually behind Mount Hamilton, which is east of San Jose.

The 'ranch' is over 100 acres of wild hills with fantastic views of the San Antonio Valley and Mount Hamilton. The only man-made things on it are a 3/4 mile long dirt road and a small redwood picnic deck. The pond is gettin' kinda small, so no real 'plunge' option.

I'll bring up some 5gal. jugs of water.
I'll also have most of the food and BEvERages for everyone.
I'll bring up the grills.
I'll have a porta-potty for your convenience.
My bulldozer guy is cleaning up the road and it will be passable for most cars (albeit a bit dusty).

Access:
From the North: Livermore (Tesla Rd to Mines Rd) *easiest*
From the East: Patterson (I-5 to Del Puerto Canyon Rd)
From the South: San Jose (I-680-Alum Rock exit to Hwy 130 aka Mt. Hamilton Rd)

Let's grill it up! Everyone's invited!

Things to think about bringing:
camp chairs
football/frisbee/kites
dogs or kids (no fence, tho)
boots
telescope? (success is weather dependent)
camping gear - if you're gonna rough it

Anyone have some 'portable shade'?

Here's a rough map of the location (X marks the spot):


Location (specific):
The gate at Mines Road is 6 miles from the Alameda/Santa Clara county line when headed south.
The gate is 2 miles from the restaurant known as 'The Junction' (at the junction of Mines Rd, Del Puerto Canyon Rd, and San Antonio Valley Rd) when headed north.
It is on the west side of Mines Rd half-way between the mile markers 21 and 22 (painted on roadway).

Easiest access is through Livermore- Mines Rd heading south (26 miles starting at base of Mines Rd from Tesla Rd). Approximate drive time on Mines Rd is slightly less than one hour.
Other access:
California Central Valley- I5 exit Sperry Ave at Patterson, head west on Diablo Grande Parkway, then turn right onto Del Puerto Canyon Rd, then turning north on Mines at the Junction (27 miles starting at I5).
San Jose- Hwy 132 (Mt Hamilton Rd) from Alum Rock up and over Mt. Hamilton, into San Antonio Valley, finally heading north on Mines Rd (40 miles starting at Alum Rock ~90minutes?).

The gate is a simple bent tube farm gate, rusty-yellow/orange color. When headed south (as from Livermore) the gate is hidden by hillside until you have just reached it. Keep an eye on your odometer and drive slowly as you get nearer.
GPS:
37º 24' 54.52"
121º 29' 55.66"

Once through the gate, the meeting area is about 3/4 mile up the dirt drive.
Be careful to stay on the road- there are a couple of tricky (especially in the dark) turns.

Printable info pdf attached.

Hope to see some of you there!

Sounds awesome.

http://tinyurl.com/h5zrw

Now, if that 11 were a 4 or a 5 I might be able to swing it. Enjoy!

Sounds cool, but I have two words: visiting parents.

Sweet. When I sober up in the morning I will check the mental calendar.

Matthew

Google Maps shows a nifty view of my 'picnic point', but it's much more fun in Google Earth.

Here's an aerial view with outline from 2003. The new google views are definately late 2003 or early 2004.

Ok this is where Google puts those gps coords.
(37.41514444444444, -121.4833333333333333)

edit:
Or maybe here.
Is this the gate? (upper pin)

A quick update:
- the roadwork is finished! There are some soft spots where the dirt is very powdery, though. That and the shoulder of the road should be avoided (not yet stable).
- I've got tomorrow off for shopping and packing up food and equipment.
- I bought a travel trailer! We'll have an honest bathroom!

Hope some of you can make it!

Pardon my ignorance (and my curiosity ), what do you do with all that land? Are you going to build a house on it? Or is it farm land?

That's so cool, building a house is one of my dreams. Although I'd definitely need some exernal help as my DIY skills are on a par with Homer Simpson and his spice rack.

The only problem it seems is that decent plots of land in the UK cost an absolute fortune. One of my favorite shows is Channel 4's Grand Designs and it seems that many of the people they have on the show who aren't super-rich have either inherited or been given the land that they build their houses on.

I've seen Grand Designs. I enjoy watching it, although the people on it are usually so rich that the project is difficult to relate to.
I remember one show that followed the construction of a hay-bale house for the caretaker of some woods. That was very interesting!
Low budget and very 'Earth friendly'- much more my style.
I don't think I'll build a hay-bale house, but I would very much like to take advantage of sun and shade for maximum effect on temperature control. I've got a lot to learn- that's why I'd like to build a cabin first and get through a lot of the process on a small scale before trying for a full-size house.

I must admit I'm sort of enchanted by the whole 'off-grid' concept. It will be a challenge to do it on a budget, though.
Just to have water will seem like such a luxury from where I'm starting!