Hey Fellow Members!
Well Pride season is here again, and with it a combination of opportunities, to both give back to our local community by showing your support, as well as a chance to have just a great day out in the sunshine, seeing all your friends & neighbors out having a good time, enjoying themselves, and showing their pride! Your Great Outdoors will be represented at both Santa Barbara Pride (July10th) and San Luis Obispo Pride (July 11th) with our annual informational booth. As in the past, I’ll be looking for a few great volunteers to help out with set-up, manning the booths during the day, and tear down in the evening. For Santa Barbara Pride I’ll be looking for a few more volunteers in the morning as we’ll be helping the Pacific Pride Foundation out with setup as well, as we’ve done the last few years. This not only helps them at a very hectic time, but also shows our group’s support for this fellow local non-profit group as well as our support for this fine local event. I remember a time in the not too distant past when we lost Santa Barbara Pride for a while, and I know I don’t want to see that happen again anytime soon… For people who have not volunteered before, what do you do when you work at the Pride booth? If you’ve been on a camping trip with the group, you can talk about that. If you’ve been to a potluck, you can talk about that. It’s not all about how many trips or events you’ve participated in, it’s more about how much fun you’ve had, the friends you’ve made, and the enjoyment you’ve gotten from your Great Outdoors experiences! There will be drinks and munchies at the booth for you hard working volunteers to keep fueled for the day! So please email or call me if you’d like to volunteer K? I can be reached at:805-588-1142 or via email at: Countryboyjoe1@gmail.com

Santa Barbara Pacific Pride Festival

They’d like us there between 7-8am to help with setup. Once we’re done helping out, and done with our own setup, you morning volunteers would be free to stay or go if you please. After that, I’ll be looking for the usual two folks to man the booth for two hours at a time.

Shifts are:
7-8am-10am Morning Setup, 6-8 folks • 11am-1pm • 1pm-3pm • 3pm-5pm • 5-pm-7pm Teardown Crew, 2-3 folks

San Luis Obispo Pride In The Plaza

Morning setup for this event is a bit later in the morning, the setup crew just needs to be in Mission Plaza at 10am, and we only need 4 people for this setup. Beyond that, again the usual two people for two-hour slots.

Shifts are:
10-12am Morning Setup, 4 folks • 12noon-2pm • 2pm-4pm • 4pm-Close Teardown Crew, 2-3 folks.

Anyone who’d like to volunteer for thisevent but is a bit unsure because of the distance is welcome to stay at my home in Santa Maria Saturday night, and ride up with me Sunday morning. There might even be some breakfast involved there…

Volunteering or not, I look forward to see all of you out there enjoying yourselves and the sunshine, and showing your support for your local Pride events! –Joe D.

Yosemite
Bridalveil Creek Group Campground
July 22-26, 2010

Explore the breathtaking beauty and magnificent natural wonder of Yosemite National Park with Great Outdoors. This trip will bring together lovers of the great outdoors to have a gay ole’ time and explore our country’s premier national park. The park contains the first land that was set aside for preservation and public use by the US federal government. We will be camping at Bridalveil Creek group campground, which is in Yosemite’s “high country” at an elevation of 7,200 feet.
We’ll be 3,000 feet above the floor of the Yosemite Valley – about a 45-minute drive from Curry Village. Although removed from the crowds of the valley, we’ll only be a short jaunt away and it will be an easy day trip to explore the beautiful hikes of the valley as well as the sites of Yosemite Village, Curry Village, and the Happy Isles Nature Center.
Activities will include: hiking, backpacking, fishing, and exploring the strikingly beautiful sights in the area. We will also be playing a variety of games and there will even be an arts-and-crafts table. There will be a “summer camp” feel with lots of (optional) activities…. Feel free to participate with the group or explore on your own.

Begin with a beautiful one hour boat ride escorted by playful dolphins, the wind in your hair and the sea all around you. The excitement builds as we spot land in the distance -our new, essentially uninhabited island home.
Spend a relaxing weekend at Scorpion Ranch, in a protected canyon with towering eucalyptus trees on one of the jewels of Channel Islands National Park-Santa Cruz Island, home of the Island Fox. Discover what California was like during an earlier time as we experience pristine, breathtaking scenery and explore a historic Californian island ranch.
Glide across the shoreline in a kayak exploring giant sea caves or find a secluded beach to bathe in the sun.

Camping - Snorkel, Kayak, Hike
Santa Cruz Island
July 23-26, 2010

Co-sponsored by the San Diego & Santa Barbara/Ventura Chapters of Great Outdoors.

Co-Trip Leaders:

Daniel Castro-San Diego Trip Leader: (619) 405-7602 or daniel92103@yahoo.com

Dr Gray Vogelmann-Santa Barbara Trip Leader: (312) 804-8284 or itsmegray@sbcglobal.net

Camping
Santa Catalina Island
August 13-16, 2010
Trip Leader:
Dr Gray Vogelmann (312) 804-8284 or itsmegray@sbcglobal.net

8-day, 7-night cruise
Long Beach to Puerto Vallarta,
Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Splendor
December 12-19, Sunday-to-Sunday
$549 for all eight days. Prices for this cruise range from $468 per person/double occupancy for an inside cabin, to $788 for a balcony suite! *