The Middle Tennessee Camping Club has sprouted as the latest Gay and Lesbian social club in the region.

The club is currently a very new and small group, but it has high hopes of expanding their membership as word gets out. The group currently consists of five committed couples who camp on a frequent basis (but being a couple is not required for membership).

“We actually got started with the Music City Couples group here in Nashville,” says Shane Moore, one of the founding members, “We all met and realized that we have camping in common. We try to camp at least once a month, but it generally ends up more than that.”

Favorite camping spots include Edgar Evins State Park, Montgomery Bell State Park, and Cedars of Lebanon. On July 4th weekend the club will head to Townsend, Tenn., in the Smokey Mountains to camp over the long weekend. They also plan to continue their yearly Atlanta trip for the Gay Rodeo in July.

Activities on their excursions include hiking, fishing, and enjoying each others company around a campfire. A few of the members also have boats that they periodically bring along. The club also tries to have a pot luck dinner on Saturday nights, where everyone gets together and enjoys a big meal.

Members camping styles are found to be as varied as their personalities. Tents, pop-up campers, travel trailers and motor homes are all common on their expeditions.

The group tries to keep things very casual, they don’t require any dues and don’t hold any formal meetings. But don’t let that lead you to believe they aren’t serious about their camping! The group is already working to engage with other camping groups across the country.

“We just want to provide a way gay and lesbian people can camp with other gay and lesbian people,” states Moore.

The club does want to stress that they are not a nudist group and do not want prospective members joining in hopes of “hooking up” with other members.

Those interested in joining the club can contact Shane or his partner Greg at dodgeguys@peoplepc.com.