I live in a gold-rush mining town in California, Grass Valley. Most mining has stopped now, and there are often tours of the mines and surrounding areas. This is dwarf country, where it is traditional for men to go around with beards, pot-bellies, massive amounts of blood-alchohol, and pickaxes.
Luckily, this is rather rare nowadays.
To head a lot of confusion off at the pass, while it is in California, it is in "Nevada County". There is a neighboring state (province for you foreigners) that is also called Nevada, but it is not related. There is also a tourist town nearby Grass Valley which is called "Nevada City", but this is also not related to Nevada State.
I'd like to see if there's much interest in having the 2010 Dwarfcon in this quintessential dwarfy location.
Pros:
- Tour a real mine!
- Other Tourist activities!
- Hotels both cheap and fancy!
- There's a reason they call it "Grass" Valley.
- Moderately close to Sacramento (1 hour or so). About 2 hours from San Fransisco and Reno.
- Per Capita, more to do here than in most cities.
Cons:
- Significant travel time involved for some.
- Despite CA location, not known for surfing community.
- Adams' Bros. travel costs need to be subsidized (about $260 ea. for two-way flight).
- Not a lot a Capita.
Of course, this is all subject to Toady One and Three Toe's approval.
EDIT: I'd want to have the meetup in june or july, a little later than we had last year's meetup. This would allow some people to visit while on break from college or work.