We are still at the Orient Land Trust. It is organized to preserve the land around what was once known as the Orient Mine. There are several ecological layers creeping up the mountains, ruins, fun wildlife, a tremendous bat cave, and hot springs. The entire property, bordering on Federal lands is clothing optional. One overwhelmingly potent descriptive word for this place is “VISTA!”
We venture through the woods to tour some of the tent camping sites.
Crystalline Daisy
We awaken to the sun rising above the steep mountain above and down into our eyes. We are awake a tad late, but it IS a vacation. A stream gurgles a few feet from the tent, everywhere we see rich greens. A slight pocket of blue can be seen through the tree tops. Hardcore nudes, we quickly prepare to dash out of the dark forest infested by a swamp-like infestation of mosquitoes and out into the safe sunshine for a blueberry/banana smoothie breakfast. `The tense crowded feel in an unfamiliar kitchen is passing as we begin to get orientated and the weekend crowds go off to work. We are settling in and loving this place.
I am ready for a shower and then head to the agua caliente mecca, but curiously, at 9:00am the bathroom is being cleaned. I inquire and I am directed to the pool showers. Cleaning up feels really good, the first air dry of the day.
Bats at Dusk
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Orient Land Trust is organized to preserve the land around what was once known as the Orient Mine. There are several ecological layers creeping up the mountains, ruins, fun wildlife, a tremendous bat cave, and hot springs. The entire property, bordering on Federal lands is clothing optional. One overwhelmingly potent descriptive word for this place is “VISTA!”
When I was a kid, there was always a place found for secret or private activities. It was our own little world. It sometimes was a meeting place, or a clubhouse. We would find this in the blank spaces along the housing development, the highways, or the farming fields. It was usually wooded. Everywhere that I lived, Virginia, on military bases, around Paris and in Michigan, it was very common to find these spots. We could talk freely, we might smoke some illicit smuggled tobacco, camp-out where we could walk to, or just have a place to feel free. They were used as a base for secret naturism, or walk with girlfriends, or drink on weekends, as I got older. Sometimes, there was a creek, or water flowing there, sometimes a ridge with a view, sometimes just a clear spot among trees in a strip of forest.
These spots were sometimes identified as places where other kids weren’t hanging out. Sometimes the other kids weren’t there in any frequency. Younger kids would stay away from where scary older ones were frequenting.
We can utilize these same spots for sunning, or other naturist experiences. We can find similar in more remote, or more populated areas. These can be found in someone’s small forest on top of a hill, a wind break, a property boundary, a spot waiting to be developed, or a field lying furrow for a season, or a real-estate investment languishing for years. In the countryside, it can be a creek area that floods, or has too much slope for farming and so is not useful to cultivate. A spot that is used to collect mushrooms, or a wild crop in season, or a stand of Christmas trees, or lumber growing may be a safe harbor. I’ve lived back east, I’ve lived in Europe and I’ve traveled extensively in both, mostly at a young age, in which I was attuned to these kinds of places. Sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car looking out of the window, they are found everywhere. The mischievous teenager watched for these places, too.
Everything needs its place and sometimes to be hidden. Can you find it?
We took off Friday afternoon after DF got off work. Our plan is to get under a huge cottonwood next to the Gila River tonight, set up the quick dome tent and get an early start in the morning. It is more than a twelve hour drive to the Orient Land Trust and its hot springs in south central Colorado. This way we can save three or four hours this evening, giving us time to more leisurely cruise through the back roads near Reserve, New Mexico, a place that I had been curious about for years.
