Camping it Up: Lazy Bear 2008

August 7, 2008

Lazy Bear was a blast. 5 nights in Guerneville, a small town outside of San Francisco, along the Russian River.

5 nights with 3,000 men in tents. Pool parties. Swimming in the River. Drinking beer. Cooking (once or twice) at our little stove. Seeing Eduardo camp. Dancing to good and bad music. Meeting many new, cool people.

As much as I might complain about dirt and porta-potties, and cold showers, and cold tents… I do love being outside, in nature. And the Russian River is such a beautiful place. Leafy trees lining the river, gorgeous rays of sunlight slicing through the forest. Swimming in the cool cool river. Feeling the sun on my face. Hearing the wind and the birds.

This was mine and Ted’s 2nd time at Lazy Bear; our first time was two years ago– if you don’t know of Lazy Bear Weekend it’s pretty much 3,000 (mostly bear-identified) men invading Guerneville –the resorts and campsites–for a week of hanging out, meeting people, going to pool parties, bbq’s, campfires. You meet men from all over the U.S. and beyond.

This year we took Eduardo and Caglar and met up with Aaron (from NYC), John T, and Fernando (both from SF, but formerly NYC), Jason F and A.J. I drove up with Jason W. Yes, drove. From San Diego up to SF in one day. But it took two days to get back we were so tired. We stayed at Camp Outback, owned by the wonderful Mike and Tracie who served continental breakfast every morning and greeted us with smiles and great conversation. They are really remarkable people– thanks for having us! (all 250 of us…).

We had such an awesome group of guys with us. And so diverse! From Mexico, Turkey, Panama, and Santee (me).

That’s the other thing, maybe the most important thing, about Lazy Bear weekend– being with friends, making new friends, camaraderie, hugs/affection, support, laughing, honesty, messy hair. We don’t do that a whole heck of a lot in the gay community– we are often so concerned with appearance and image and ‘going out’ and partying that we tend to forget to enjoy the little, silly things like making a pyramid in the middle of the Russian River; cooking hotdogs wrapped in bacon on a camp stove; taking goofy pictures; dancing to bad techno.

Rumor has it that Eduardo really DID have a good time (and might be back for more next year…).

Here are a few pics. The first is Jason W’s Hello Kitty Princess tent, which was the hit of the entire Outback Campsite.

Group photo: Caglar, Aaron, Jason W., Ted, unidentified man, Eduardo, John T, Fernando.

And, of course, me. In my Starsky & Hutch Sunglasses and new bushy stache.

You can see more on my Flickr account by clicking any of the photos.