Welcome to New Almaden

New Almaden, CA The Best Kept Secret in the Silicon Valley

Welcome to the online journal about the historic town of New Almaden. Featured here are some of my pictures of the town, as well as historical photographs.

Click Here to visit the photo gallery

Click Here to learn about history

Click Here to preview community events

So, you really want to know more about New Almaden...

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Where's My Obama Beer? The Police & New Almaden

Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. wasn't the only one who was surprised by a cop coming to his home. This morning, I was sitting on my front porch blogging at 6:20AM, and a police car pulled up. At first I thought the officer was just sitting on the side of the road, near my home, waiting for speeding cars. (It's a 25 zone). Within a few minutes, the police officer gets out of her car, walks over to my car (right on the edge of the road, parked legally) and starts writing a ticket.)

Now, I see motor cycles drive past the house at about 90 - 150mph, just about every day, just for kicks... and where are the cops when that happens? Someone could get killed crossing the street.

Anyway, the officer didn't see me on the porch, but I walked over and said, " what's wrong with my car?"

Then I learned that you can't park facing the direction of oncoming traffic, even though you're off the road, in front of your own house. Why? Because you have to cross the double yellow line to do it. "But wait," I said, "If I parked in the parking space occupied by our neighbor, next to the house, I still would have had to cross the double yellow line."

She glared at me. I said, "I can move it." She didn't seem moved.

I said, "I just moved here, and I had no idea you weren't aloud to park facing the wrong direction off the street, in front of your own house."

She seemed to realize I had caught her on a slow crime day. "Oh," she said, "I guess that would be fine. I'll void the ticket."

That afternoon, I had my own little beer. No Obama. No Officer. Just me, my dog, and my sig other. I couldn't help but think, there's a lot going on in the world. When the law is so tedious, or interpreted in ways that seem ridiculous maybe it's time to rethink things.

164 Year Old Town Gets Its First Blogger (New Almaden)

I'm blogging from a 164 year old town! Yup. It's a cool evening after a long hot day, and I'm sitting with my coon dog, barefooted, typing on my MacBook on the front porch. Neighbors are walking bye and in the breeze, American flags are waving from their holders on the phone poles that dot New Almaden's street.

I'm not sure if I'm New Almaden's first official blogger, but if so I'll gladly claim the title. I grew up in the Bay Area, where it's not really possible to be first at anything anymore. Someone has already written a book about the town, it's been written about in newspapers, and thousands of people, including Abraham Lincoln himself have visited the small town that is home to the largest mercury mine in the United States, (it also played a major part in the North winning the Civil War... With our own mercury, we didn't have to rely on foreign sources... gee... sounds like oil today). Hey, the San Jose Mercury News had to get its name from somewhere.

What's new with the town? Well, the historic museum (AKA Casa Grande) is still being rebuilt down the street. The roof is off, but they've finally got the new windows up. It's also a great time of year for roses. The ones in our back yard are doing well (the secret is not to water them too much). The heat has also been pretty bad here the last few days, I think it got up to 106 degrees the other day.

I moved to New Almaden after looking all over the Bay Area, and Seattle, for a good place to live. With the loveley recession the country has been going through, it wasn't easy to find a place that was remotley affordable, or worth the money. However, this little slice of nirvana is just perfect for someone looking for a quiet place to call home, in the country.

I know, you're asking, "but it's twenty minutes away from Costco, that's not country." Ah, but it is. I don't reccomend living here if you want a hot nightlife, great public transportation, or cell phone reception. But if you want a place where horses walk by on the street, and mountain lions come out at night... well, this is it.

Enjoy the holiday weekend everyone. Keep cool and enjoy your loved ones.