How was your month for Free Range Naturism?

[jbeegoode]

Resort golf courses are obviously available...at night.
Jbee

[nuduke]

I'm starting in Vancouver and then heading around the rockies and glacial lakes - pretty standard great Canadian locations and on the well trodden tourist trail, Banff, Jasper etc (not doing the Rocky Mountain train - too hackneyed!).  Then a standard train to Toronto (3 days!) and Niagara.  Not doing Montreal.
Wish me luck with getting out of sight for a bit of nudity and with reasonable weather! ...oh!  you already have!  Thanks guys.  I'm not hopeful of extended naked time (e.g. an hour!) but I will keep the SN radar on.
John

[jbeegoode]

And Lake Louise?
Jbee

[JOhnGw]

The only nude time I achieved on my visit to the Canadian west coast was a couple of skinny-dips in Sproat Lake driving across Vancouver Island and back.

[jbeegoode]

Its cold up there in Canada.
Two highlights over five days. Got into the exploration of the Whetstone Mountains over a weekend. Had three days at our favorite hotsprings. We did an exploration of the foothills of the mountains and buttes north of there, a part of every day.

I've been working part time during the month, which has kept me dressed several hours a day. Sometimes, I am so very ready to  get these bags off. Tonight, I dropped the clothes, rolled back the sunroof and opened the windows while still in the driveway and then drove home. Relief and sense of liberation.
Jbee

[Greenbare Woods]

April was mostly cold and rainy  in these parts.  There was 3 or 4 days in late April when the sun came out and I got started on my annual sunburn protection.  But it was warm for only a few hours in the afternoon.  I do need to move south. 

[eyesup]

Wow, John! All the way across Canada. 
Good thing you’ll be on a train. Is it a railroad pass so you can set your own schedule? Will you be taking side trips in a rental car when the impulse strikes?

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

Vancouver, BC is practically next door to my area.   If I knew you were coming I might have been able to meet you for a beer or something.

Bob

[ric]

spring in the uk has been pretty dire.... cold winds and rain ....   leaves on the garden hedges have only now appeared ... a month to 6 weeks late.   and weve finally got some warmer weather. 
during april naked moments were few and far between.

only one real bright spot on the one warm day we did have i was doing some work for an elderly widow who ive known for years .  shes a pillar of the local church, can (and usually does) talk the hind leg off a donkey,   a few years ago i mentioned naked gardening day and got a very negative reaction.
one bit of her garden is surrounded by 6 foot plus walls and totally private except for her bungalow windows.   anyway this particular hot afternoon she was moaning about the unacustomed hot weather, i dropped into the conversation that if i was at home id be gardening naked except the hedges were a month late....  she announced she was off for her afternoon nap , which would be an hour or so.... so i said well make a noise when you come out again  or you might  see more than you bargained for...   and got on with trimming the roses in comfort .  she didnt reapear until i banged on the back door to anounce i was going home.

every cloud has a silver lining ... if you look for it.

[eyesup]

We got back from our trip on Sunday afternoon last, and as I suspected in an earlier post, it was busy out in the desert. Chaco is 40 miles north of the I-40 and 20 miles at 20 mph, off the highway, down a bad washboard gravel road. But it was busy with people. It’s a famous place.

We had a great time at some ancient natural sites and ancient human sites. All great spots of natural beauty and amazing native buildings but absolutely no opportunity for naked adventures. I took a lot of pictures but none naked. I was actually hesitant to walk naked in the ruins, even if I had seen a chance, as I didn’t want to accidentally disrespect any of the beliefs of the Pueblo people. Wasn’t sure how that might have been interpreted. They believe that their ancestors are still inhabiting the sites.

Looking at what they had built it is a wonder that they spent over 300 yrs. in Chaco and then decided it was time to move on to the next episode of life. Many of the more recent pueblo tribes in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado are descended from the Chaco people.

At any rate, there was no chance, as even in those remote places the crowds were significant. But we got to see something few have seen in person.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

The natives were generally naked. They lived in close quarters. Any inhibitions are just accommodating the influence of Christian missionary and the illness that took over from that.

If the dead are there, it is in joy. If you come in respect, you will be accepted. If you come believing that your body is disrespectful, you are being disrespectful. It is all in the attitude and sincerity, not the act of being proper. Just feel it. Most people come into it as tourist and would never show them the courtesy to acknowledge or communicate. Imagine somebody coming into your home and ignoring you, just looking around and passing judgement.

Jbee

[eyesup]

That was sort of my take on it, Jbee. I had always read in articles about the Anasazi and that that name came from the Navajo and meant “ancient enemy”. On this trip we discovered that it had been misinterpreted and that it really means “ancestors around us”. A big difference.

I agree with your ideas on showing respect and honesty when standing in an ancestral house. After reading about their beliefs on their ancestors, I concluded that if I was respectful and acknowledged that they should be respected that I might have not had an issue with the locals, given the opportunity. My opinion on the belief would have been irrelevant.

At any rate there was no opportunity. All the sites were closed after 5 or 6 pm which would mean they were deserted. Although there was a couple near us in the campsite that once worked for BLM and was there photographing the Bonito site after midnight. He had permits to do so.

Duane

[nuduke]

Hi everyone - I'm back from the Rockies. 
Most of your comments below came after I left and particularly this from Bob:

Vancouver, BC is practically next door to my area.   If I knew you were coming I might have been able to meet you for a beer or something.

Awwww SHUCKS!  Had I for a moment thought you would want to drive up all the way from Spokane I would have mentioned it.  The holiday we planned last year that we had to cancel came down to Spokane, of course.  In fact, this time, we did have quite some time in Vancouver and Victoria before we picked up the tour and even then the tour started with Vancouver and Victoria so we were about 3 days there.  I am devastated, Bob, that we might have met but neither of us thought to probe a bit further! beforehand  An opportunity well and truly missed.


That said we had a good holiday without outdoor naturism.  We saw the forests and mountains, lakes and falls, bears, coyotes, elks and tourist towns (Banff, Jasper, Whistler etc.) of British Columbia and Alberta for about 10 or 12 days then caught the Canadian sleeper train from Jasper to Toronto to finish the holiday at Niagara.  The train was over a day late!  We managed a rush trip to Niagara though and good thing too - I was horrified at how commercialised it was.


I was also disappointed how efficiently the Canadians have got their great natural sights adapted for tourism.  That's not a bad thing as it manages the separation and conjunction of humanity with these precious places but it also means you are never far enough off the beaten track to hike off out of the way of other people or constructed paths and boardwalks.  I got a lone forest walk just once in the whole time but still with plenty of intrepid hikers around, so no Free Ranging, I regret.  I also walked round Lake Louise and a little lake called Lost Lake.  Louise just seemed to be the backyard of our hotel with many people walking the same track. Our tour schedule kept us pretty busy and not enough optional time to get away from the throng. 


As we travelled across BC across the Wheat belt and finally Manitoba and Ontario we passed countless cold, clear lakes of all sizes and I felt a gnawing longing to rip off my clothes and jump into one and swim until I was exhausted.  Sadly this ambition is no good when sealed inside a moving train!
I did get to dangle my feet in Emerald Lake and realised the folly of swimming at that time of year - there was still much ice cover on many lakes.


I'm now going to skip through the accumulated posts with gay abandon...well...abandon and see where I get to.  I may comment but it will be briefly.  Hope you've missed me a bit rather than disappointed I am back!!!
John
 

[eyesup]

Welcome back John! Hope the trip was enjoyable and full of good weather.

We got back from our 8 days in New Mexico and Arizona last Sunday. Good weather but very windy the 1st 3-4 days.

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

I'm contemplating a road trip to North and South Carolina in July.  Passing through Kansas and other places on the way there or back. 

Just thought I would throw that out there if anyone has any suggestions for side trips or stops along the way. 

Bob