Okay Drifters, you know the drill. The place has been set and I think everyone will be quite pleased to know that Rancho del Oso, "Ranch of the Bear," will be host once again to our annual celebration of life, love, and happiness. This makes the 7th in a row. Or is it eight? That's a frikkin miracle. Many thanks once again to Scott, Carol, and family for making this get-together possible. Rancho del Oso is located 19 miles North of Santa Cruz at Waddell Creek, in Big Basin State Park, the oldest state park in California.

The beach at Waddell Creek

	MUSIC After 10 years of riding on everyone elses coat tails, Stan is musical director this year so anarchy, chaos, and all sorts of unexpected things could happen. Possible bands that have shown interest are the Rolling Stones, The Dead, Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Bands most likely to play are Mamma's Cranky, Victims of Variety, Stanimals, Ren and Skimpy, Jim Lewin's Latest Project, Continental Drifters, Randy Boys, Raw Deal... Anyone have a low voltage lighting system they could bring out? Perhaps even an extension chord and a lamp? Last year we had some exquisite mood lighting. Let's see if we can improve upon this. Laser anyone?
	FOOD Saturday night is feast night. On Saturday we're going to have the big family reunion feast. Bring a dish to add to the festivities. The barbecue will be primed and going and yes, you can throw that tri-tip up on the grill right next to those tofu burgers. Don't be shy. Ribs, chicken breasts, fancy steaks, potato salad... all the goodies. Bring what you can. Because it's a sleep-over / camp out, be prepared to bring something for the celebration and something to wake up to in the morning. Bring more of everything. We're going to need money to keep the bar alive too. So bring loads of cash to put in for all the beer we'll be drinking.
	DRINK The bar is always open! Bring lots to drink and money to buy more. And of course, bring lots of drinking water as well as juices and soft drinks.
	KIDS RULE This is a kid friendly environment, if your child has the usual shots and can kill a rattlesnake bare handed.
For anyone who needs a reminder, here's a map to this years celebration. More detailed instructions will be arriving in the mail with your secret codes for your decoder rings.	DIRECTIONS

Don't forget folks, at this years gathering, like every year, bring warm clothes, and plenty to eat and drink. Be very careful after dark. This year the lunar cycle will leave us very dark so bring your little flashlight for scooting around and a lamp to plug into the network power supply.