Goatees, beards, and mustaches, oh my!

We just got back from the 4th annual "High Sierra Beard and Mustache Competition" in Lake Tahoe, and it was quite a sight! I don't think I've ever been in the presence of so much facial hair in my life. It was a fun event up at the Village at Squaw, and Ben did okay for his first competition- but you can see how much of a no brainer it was for the judges on who was the clear winner. His name is Jack Passion, he's 24 years old and has been growing his beard for the past 5 years. It's crazy how red his beard is! The 2nd photo is a picture of Ben and Jack, and obviously Ben has a long way to go to be able to compete at Jack's level. There were 3 categories- Full Beard, Mustache, and Partial Beard. The winner of the Partial Beard group is the gentleman in the 3rd photo, he goes by the name of "Toot" - go figure. :D
It helps to have a persona and a costume as well as a great beard/mustache, so Ben has to figure something out before he competes for "Beard Team USA" in the World Championships in Anchorage, Alaska next summer. There was a monk, bikers, a hippie, Old West costumes, an FBI agent, a miner, etc. The event even had a booth where kids could make up their own beards etc, and it was a hoot to see the little boys and girls in their beards and mustaches strutting down the catwalk! For more pictures and Ben's take on the whole experience, head over to his blog sometime after the next few days and he'll have something posted.