Posts Tagged With: naking

Our Introduction to Sycamore Canyon

2018-06-15

I had planned a three day excursion into the Wilderness of Rock and Lemmon Pools. June is a hot time, a dry time in the Tucson Valley, and the cooler temperatures at 9000 ft. are something to long for. There has been two years of drought, but water would be found there in the pines.

As the date nears, I realize that a plan B contingency will need to be taken. The monsoon appears to be approaching early. Lightning popping off at the high elevation of those mountains, with that immediate cannon-like thunder is risky, if not traumatic.

The monsoon comes sooner to the southern part of the state than others. It generally creeps out of Mexico and then works its way north in increments. I checked the National Weather Service’s predictions and then my bucket list for a backup plan. Soon enough, with plans had to change, we are now on our way to Dewey in northern Arizona to visit with a pair of our naked hiking friends.

Thursday night, I undress in my truck after topping off my tank for our morning departure. That same evening, DF drops her clothing as she walks into her door ready to load up. That should be the last of the formality of clothing for the next three days, other than to pump gas and dine.

Friday morning, we will carnude up to Dewey, meet our friends at their hilltop retreat and head up through Cottonwood to Sycamore Canyon. DF and I have never been there. Our hosts will be our guides.

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Monsoon Dawn into Sunrise

2018-07-24

Night into Day

I like to feel the dawn. The nakedness most certainly adds to the wonder. Senses are alive. It perks up my consciousness. The animals are all responding, birds singing, night life is going to rest. Most species respond to each other sexually at this time, awakened by the sun. I can experience the energy of the associated sensations myself, as a fellow animal.

Then, there is the morning sunlight, its warmth, its relaxing effects. I sometimes feel like a lizard warming myself on a rock, getting the sleeping blood to lighten up.

During the monsoon, the morning display of the sunrise clouds can strike spiritual awe. There are the beams of light, the angle of it casting longer shadows, making everything that much more distinctive.

Rain Far to the East

This morning, there is a blessed cool breeze circulating around the fresh green growth and my body. It will be 110 later today, breaking another record. This is a pleasant respite.

Monsoon sunrise, wondrous sunrise, hews of gold, silhouettes of saguaros and purple mountains. I see turquoise thunderheads over the Catalinas.

I wonder, am I ever closer to earth and my nature in the universe, than as these nude times?

This body feels loved by a universe, welcomed this morning, as another piece of nature. A part of what is wondrous. The unique smells of the monsoon, its plants, flowerings, the earth soaked with moister and cleansed, every miracle, I am a part of these, too. I am this, simply because I was born to perceive it fully.

Out at White Sands Missile Range, a day’s drive east, someone has pushed a button and set off a rocket. I see the glowing trail from where I stand. The sun enriches its display. I watch, as it floats apart, growing into a long golden cloud itself. For all of man’s world, its war, its technology, the interplay of seemingly important activities, there is irrelevance. None of it truly matters in a moment during a monsoon sunrise. All of it is diminished by a thunderhead over a mountain range, the sound of sweet life, and the smell of a desert exploding with bounty after rain.

This is all best savored without an agenda. That is only within this moment, not preoccupied with a list of chores and concerns, just awareness and sense of gratitude, being here, now. The rest can wait…maybe until after going back to bed for a while…in peace….

Effects of a Setting Sun in an Eastern Sky

 

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The San Pedro River: Part II

2018-05-20

We awaken in into an Eden in the San Pedro River. It is time for a stripped down walk about.

Part #1 can be found here:

The San Pedro River: Part I

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The San Pedro River: Part I

2018-05-19

The San Pedro River flows north, somehow a rarity in North America. It hosts over two hundred bird species. This is a major migration corridor for 85% of our bird species. The river is part of the two percent of Arizona’s landmass that is considered riparian area.

Ninety-five percent of these riparian water sources are damaged or destroyed. There has been an ongoing struggle to protect this natural treasure. It has dry spots and much of it only flows seasonally. The ground water, which feeds it from the surrounding mountains, is being sucked out with the growth of thirsty communities like Sierra Vista. Conservation measures are in place, but the influence of money, profit and politics, greed disguised as good economics, continue to whittle away at our true wealth.

There is a 40 mile long belt on the river that varies in width that is for wildlife preservation. The river is lined with huge cottonwoods.  Mesquite bosques lie beyond. I only recently found how extensive that this preservation is. I called the visitor center and was told that there was water at the bridge there. Downstream, they didn’t know. We have been in drought for two years. We will use the visitor center bridge section as a backup, in case the river is dry.

There are fewer people downstream near the bridge close to the ghost town of Fairbanks. We are heading to Fairbanks to look for flowing water in the river. We are continuing our birthday celebrations weekend, traveling from a late morning start in Gardner Canyon.

Here is that story:

Gardner Canyon Revisited: Part I

We’re picking up where it left off.

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Monsoon: The Desert Springs Back to Life: Part III

Summer 2006

 

Another Monsoon Day

This morning, I am compelled to walk out the old jeep trail behind my house and take some pictures. I’m chronicling the rebirth of the desert in progression and recording the blooms of the monsoon plants for myself. The desert around my house has been transformed into a grassy meadow.

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Monsoon: The Desert Springs Back to Life

Summer 2006

After a record burying drought, the monsoon has been exceptional. Weird climate change weather patterns have brought incredible life back to the desert. Amazingly thick foliage now blooms.

The desert streams have been flowing more often than not and all through the day. I even got flooded in and out of the neighborhood one day (it hadn’t happened in years and never from the summer rains). The dry washes that create dips in the roads filled with flowing water. There is risk to be lifted and be swept off the road downstream.

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Gardner Canyon: Part II

2018-05-18

 

After arriving in Gardner Canyon, we continue our search for an old camping/hiking grounds in nearby Cave Canyon. Part I is here:

Gardner Canyon Revisited: Part I

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Gardner Canyon Revisited: Part I

2018-05-18

 

DF and I are having Birthdays a week apart. Her celebration is first. She had a number of festivities this week and a well-attended party last week and a celebration birthday suit backpack trip on Mt. Lemmon. Today, my Birthday, we are heading out in our birthday suits again, to camp and hike in the Santa Rita Mountains and explore Gardener Canyon.

It has been decades since either of us have been here. She has come nearby with her women’s group outings. I last visited with my now defunct Southern Arizona Naturist Society (SANS). I have written a story of that outing and its nudity strategy and need some pictures to go with it. Our intention is to also make a new story today.

The Santa Ritas

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Redington B-Days

2015-05-18

We are going upstream from our usual haunts at Redington Pass for an overnighter. Our original plan of three full days on the Verde River backpacking has been decimated by the rain and colder weather that has popped up there. This alternative scaled down event will work out just fine. Saturday, we were in town having diner and celebrating DF’s Birthday. Sunday we are off to a camp-out and Monday we will return in the afternoon to celebrate with dinner for my B-day.

We arrive and park the car. Downhill a piece and through a palo verde tree, stands a guy peaking from behind his SUV. He just keeps staring. It is odd, creepy. A cat and mouse voyeur?  I am not dressed having carnuded from town. I labor to wrap my kilt around my body, while he stares at me getting out of my car. It was obvious that I was driving up undressed and am now getting dressed… As I suspected, he then comes out exposed to me. He isn’t dressed either. He has been hiding, waiting for my next move. He has been waiting to find out if DF and I were textiles.

Gotta Love this Place!

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Whetstone Weekend: Part III Oaks in the Forest

2018-04-08

Morning:

A bird alights on a branch just above our heads. It sings a greeting, a morning song to us. It then moves on to more pressing business. The skies are blue and clear, the air wonderful. I climb naked out to stretch and take a bodily inventory of the toll of the past day’s activities. I’m moving well, and breathing in life deeply.

Today, we have another road to travel, one that I also spotted from the satellite. This one travels deeper into the mountain range. There are indications of forests and internet descriptions have backed that up. Wee shall see what wee shall see. Continue reading

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