Mark & Dara: Camping

Camping

Campers, people been working HARD to ensure you will be as comfortable as possible. Please read this long post to see what ups, what to expect, all about bugs, snakes and HOT showers.

At the bottom is the suggested list of what to bring

Invitation
You are welcome to camp out at the ranch from Monday, 6/23, through Sunday afternoon, 6/29.

Important info
There are two primary concerns about camping that we would like everyone to observe:

We face extreme fire danger along the coast. No fires, no open flames, no candles (not in tents, outside tents, in the porta-potties, nowhere). Please help each other on this one. The one exception to the candle rule will be the night of the reception, around the central garden.
Due to the large number of campers (which is awesome!) we seek to minimize the number of cars parked at the ranch, and trips up and down the driveway, so please make all possible efforts to carpool. Ideal would be to let the On-site transportation persons, Jan Tackett and Markus Welcker, know where you are going when you have room. We’ll also have a ride-board for people to offer/find rides.

Welcome Center
We ask that everyone “check-in” soon after they arrive. The check-in desk will orient you to where things are. We’ll have information about parking, where to set up your tent (and where not to), food, showers, kitchen, and more. We will also have a map of where you end up putting your tent so that people can find you. The activities message board and ride-share board will be here as well.

Food
We have organized group meals for Breakfasts and Dinners. This keeps things relatively simple, and minimizes the fire hazards of multiple groups cooking on camp stoves. Most of you are on assigned teams and will help in preparing food for the entire group of campers. In addition to the meal teams, every meal will also require some volunteering of help. Please step in where you can, but at the same time, don’t burnout. When we all help out, there will be plenty of hands to accomplish everything. Meal plans are emerging, and the one’s we’ve heard of so far sound awesome! We will be coordinating all the shopping for these group meals, and as such will buy all the food. We’ll find a simple way to calculate a per-person-per-day cost so everyone can chip in for their meals. We expect this to be quite inexpensive.

You are on your own for lunches and snacks. We will have limited refrigerator space, some freezer space, and a bunch of coolers with ice. We will also have food storage bins in which food can be safely stored (to keep it safe from the critters!) Only bring food you intend to eat, as no food can be left at the ranch at the end of the weekend.

We will have beer and wine at the reception and the Friday night BBQ. Please bring your own for earlier in the week, if you so desire.

Camping
There are camping areas and no-camping areas. The camping areas are really sweet, if we do say so ourselves. We will have two or three “villages” (clusters of tents), depending on our final number of campers and the number of cars. Camping will become dense as the week progresses, so please welcome your new neighbors as they arrive. We are encouraging everyone to carpool from the airports or other locations – make sure to connect with our airport carpool coordinator Tracy: tracy_tackett <> hotmail <> com . A few places are off-limits for camping areas to preserve sightlines and view-sheds, to create space for play and relaxation.

The camping “villages” will have basic amenities: accessible drinking water, hand-washing water, and a porta-potty near-by. The villages are relatively close to the main ranch house, but removed enough that it will be dark at night. Bring your headlamps and/or flashlights!

**See list of what to bring below**

Showers
We will have four outdoor, rustic showers: two heated with actual shower heads, and two solar showers that utilize solar bags. When the sun is shining, use the solar showers. Please bring your solar shower bag if you have one! Also bring ONLY biodegradable soap and shampoos, as our showers will drain into the orchard.

Primping/Getting Ready for Wedding
You can plan on having a place to hang any nice clothes inside the ranch house. We will also have a large tent close to the ranch house for campers to use on the wedding day for primping and getting ready. This tent will also be used during the reception for costume changing – don’t forget to bring a crazy outfit or two.

Sanitation
Two important things: First, Wash your hands frequently. We’ll have hand washing stations set-up in convenient locations. Particularly because we are doing group food, it’s critical to everyone’s health that we all wash hands frequently. Wash before touching food, touching group kitchen gear, preparing food, or just eating at a group meal, et cet. Second, as is typical with most country septic systems, the ranch septic was not designed for 50 people over a week, so we have porta-potties. We’ll have some fancy solar-powered flushing poopers and one standard outhouse. Please use them instead of using the toilets inside the ranch house.

Swimming
There is an unheated outdoor swimming pool, a deck and an amazing view. The pool will be lightly chlorinated. There will be a solar shower nearby to rise off before and after. Bring your suit!

Other Do’s and Don’ts
*Please don’t pick the fruit…There are some fruit trees. Given our numbers, we’re choosing to close them to general picking. Please leave the fruit for the extended Newell family. We may use some for group meals, but we want to ensure that the long awaited fruit is enjoyed by those who wait all year for it.

*Do explore…Hiking in the forest, down the redwood canyon, along the creek, up the mountains are all open. Enjoy. It’s beautiful. You may come across first nation artifacts. Please leave them. Bring hiking shoes or close-toed shoes, unless you want your hiking socks full of grass stickers/barbs. There are two other residences on the property - please respect their privacy as you’re hiking around.

*Don’t get poison oak.

*Don’t bug the cows. They have been known to charge humans. Best is to just give them wide-berth.

*Do marvel at the fact that the entire Pacific Ocean starts just below you and goes for thousands of miles.

What to else to expect
Weather: The typical weather is warm to hot, but can also be cool and clammy if the fog is around. The ranch is situated above the Pacific, at about 1200’, and the fog rolls in and out. For up to date info on weather in Big Sur, check this link before you start packing: http://www.wunderground.com/US/CA/Big_Sur.html. Best is to prepare for a cozy fleece layer or the like, as well as summer beach wear.

Bugs: At the ranch, you will find occasional mosquitoes, and some flies, even a few biting flies. While at the ranch over Memorial Day weekend, we also found a number ticks on the dogs and a few on our selves after hiking. The good news is that ticks are very easy to deal with and the variety we found are not the ones typically associated with Limes Disease. The bad news is ticks can give some people the creeps.

Poison Oak: There is poison oak around (Arrg, Matie!). It will cause itchy rashes. It can spread by scratching it. It’s not much fun. We’ll help you learn to identify it at the welcome center/check-in.

Critters: Keep in mind the ranch house is rustic and built in the 1930’s. It is also not inhabited full time, nor are there any resident cats, so instead we have resident mice who leave daily offerings to remind us of their presence. As a result, food storage and kitchen cleanup is very important. Also, you should not store food in your tent, unless you want new friends.

Big Critters: There are no bears. In the area you may see, if you are very lucky, bobcats, mountain lions, wild turkey, fox, coyote, and wild boar/pigs. You probably will see deer, cows, condors, redtail hawks, turkey vultures and other wild life. You will see lots of blue belly lizards, an occasional alligator lizard, and way up high, you might see a horny toad lizard. All are harmless.

There are rattlesnakes, primarily diamond back rattle snakes. Their bites are dangerous but usually not deadly. If you come across a rattlesnake, they are either out flat, relaxing in the sun or coiled up and rattling. In either case if you find one, just back away slowly. We’ve never had any one get bit. If you get bit, stay cool, relaxed and keep the bite elevated. Have someone else go for help. In general, when you are hiking stay alert about where you are putting your feet. Sightings are rare and you probably will not see one. There are other snakes, but they rest are harmless. We have gopher snakes, garden snakes, and ring-neck snakes.

Are you excited yet? We sure are. See you soon!

**What to bring**
Tent, pad, sleeping bag or the like
Headlamp/flashlight
Biodegradable soap/shampoo
Clothes for cool, warm and hot weather
Swimsuit
Closed toed shoe for hiking
Crazy outfit/costume(s) for the reception dance party
Lunch and snack food
BYOB for all days except Friday and Saturday
Bring your own coffee mug unless you don’t mind using something compostable
Nalgene and small backpack for hiking

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Camping at local campgrounds – There are many options. Here’s what I would recommend, in order of preference, the Newell Ranch of course topping the chart:

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Andrew Molera State Park