What says PHP more than renting a lodge in the middle of the woods and living with a bunch of geeks for the week?

Wha? Yes, you read that correctly.

When some of the PHP Community crew put together PHP Appalachia a couple years ago, I was jealous. I love camping - that was my week-long sabbatical last September - and I happen to know a bit of PHP. But unfortunately, I found out about it at that last minute and just couldn't do it.

This time around, I poked Elizabeth Naramore and Ben Ramsey about doing a sequel to PHP Appalachia. That started the discussion rolling and Elizabeth did some digging around and found a number of lodges near Gaitlinburg, Tennessee such as:

http://www.alpinechaletrentals.com/viewproperty.aspx?PropertyID=18016

So here's the current plan:

• A week in September 2008;
• Up to 50 geeks staying together in a large lodge;
• A couple days of unconference chaos and fun;
• Local activities like whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and Dollywood - yes, Dollywood!;

So here's the problem:

In order to reserve the space, we need to put down a deposit... a pretty sizable deposit of about $2500-3000. Therefore, we're opening registration now. If you're interested in attending, contact Elizabeth Naramore at elizabeth _at_ naramore _dot_ net for Paypal information. We're trying to collect $200 for lodge and $15 for registration. It's probably the cheapest - and most unconference - conference that you'll go to all year. I'm registering this evening... you might want to do the same, spots are filling fast.

And if you have suggestions, feel free to contact Elizabeth and/or me.

Not sure how I got roped into this one, but we will be recruiting a few others to share responsibilities. If you're interested in giving us a hand, let us know!