Chebo Falls the Reunion 2014

[eyesup]

Oh, yeah! I remember! I also remember thinking about who was going to come and clean that place up. It was sad to see how people treated a great camping area that is provided for their use.

When we were in Scouts, the last thing we did at every campsite was a "trash sweep". We lined the Scouts up and walked across the campground picking up everything we saw. We told them that it didn't matter how it got there, we intended to leave the site better than we found it.

That campsite would have been a great spot to have camped originally. There wasn't much traffic and it was situated so we might have been able to camp naked. Sitting up on that hill and eating lunch in the high grass was absolutely wonderful. We were screened from the road and we had direct sunlight all during lunch.

My biggest regret about that weekend was that I had to leave and go back to the city. 

Duane

[jbeegoode]

So, we do it again this year? A new place? Hey, Ken!
Jbee

[eyesup]

Sounds like a good idea! Without the rain this time?
And we can check out Ken's progress on the trail, this time reporting back with a photographic report.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

Would you be interested in 4x4, or backpacking into the Verde River area, like Red Creek? Maybe one of those spots that the forest service guy suggested? Thinking mountains? Hey, Ken....
Jbee

[kensunwalker]

Hi you guys.

The trail in the  Mingus Mountain is over a mile long - beautiful and private, but walking it should probably wait for another month.  Verde Valley should be warmer sooner.  I'm interested if you decide to come this way.

[eyesup]

I've never been to the Verde River but I've seen the pictures.

I sort of looked into those places the ranger recommended. It didn't look like an area frequented by many people. If we do a backpack I need to get out and get my hiking legs back. 8 mile dayhikes aren't the same but it's a way to get started.

I looked at a map and that was Juniper Mesa and/or Apache Creek. Most of it looked 4x4 anyway so backpacking or no, it's a 4x4 trip. Looks good to me.

Didn't he give you a map with trails and water locations?

Duane

[jbeegoode]

We marked on a map and wrote on the edges. I'm sure that I have the notes and some research on this computer. I just have to dig a little. That rocky area where the gold digger suggested sure turned out fun. Water is the priority, I assume.

Ken, how's the house coming?
Jbee

[eyesup]

That's right, Ken!

When we were there, you were saying that they were about to get started.
Pictures and a report, that is if you don't mind.

Duane

[kensunwalker]

We are still in progress of getting a loan.  We thought the house was about to start when we met; so did the builder.  Then the loan officer quit.  We have by now gone through three different mortgage companies - hopefully we've got the right one now.

[eyesup]

Sorry to hear that, Ken.
Hope things move along better now.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

This last one, I started out with a big room and then have just added on as I was ready. I was raising a young son and divorce and my business had whacked my financial fortune. Now I have more house than I need. As time goes on, I become more and more minimalist and just don't care for the monetary hassle.

I used several contractors. One for the plumbing, one the floor pour, one the framing and roof, one came by one afternoon and installed the vents. I did the drywall, stucco and painting. A friend with a pool company came by one day with a crew and sprayed the outside with shockcrete. I worked along beside and learned and am more intimate with my home. I saved tens of thousands and also earned the sweat equity. I just did the coordinating that the general contractor does and filled in. Three bids, networking, developing relationship. I resent paying rent to an untrustworthy bankster.

I am continuously investigating longevity, health and lifestyle. As I see more and more, those that live longest have a built in exercise program to their living. They are more primitive, and less luxury. The Japanese have to get up off of the floor several times a day. Some chop wood, or live in mountains where everything is either up or down hill. There is more to that, but I am driven by my thoughts of last year nude luxury camping. There was much good healthy exercise built in there. Naturism expands further than learning about being naturally nude in nature, but squatting, bending over, lifting, etc. without the encumbrance of clothing. I did much of the work on my house nude.
Jbee   

[eyesup]

. . . those that live longest have a built in exercise program to their living. They are more primitive, and less luxury.

You are probably right about that. A good portion of the day should involve activities other than moving from the couch to the kitchen.

I'm not interested in primitive, but a good deal less of the luxury and pampering that comes with city life would be ok.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

I'll never live without a dishwasher, but for limited luxury camping cleanup....inconvenience is more time and work, but that is where the exercise is. Washing machines, chopping wood, refrigeration, all contribute to less health, but where is the balance? I figure growing food, preparing food, perhaps living lower toward the floor so that getting up is more difficult, might be a good start for me. I can get truly lazy around the house.

There always seems to be something to do when camping. It is built in. There is squatting, chopping, gathering, latrine building, less handy stove, fire in a pit or other, cleanup in a bowl or a creek, gathering water. All of these are good exercise. I like this for a couple of weeks at a time and that is the plan during retirement. Around the house is a different story. I need to work part-time and I'm thinking that that should be something totally new that requires me to be on my feet and moving two or three days a week. My focus needs to be health during retirement to maintain quality of life, not chasing a buck, or stuffing my ego. Just being useful, connected and getting a reasonable workout, can go a long way toward being out naked on the trail and traveling.
Jbee

[eyesup]

The daily drudge of the manual labor tasks will wear you down. It's why, in all those pictures of pioneers you never saw anyone smiling.

Having the modern tools to enable me to camp far away from cities is most definitely a convenience (luxury?) I wouldn't want to give up. Keeping busy with activities is my intent when I finally retire.

Duane

[nudewalker]

The daily drudge of the manual labor tasks will wear you down. It's why, in all those pictures of pioneers you never saw anyone smiling.

Having the modern tools to enable me to camp far away from cities is most definitely a convenience (luxury?) I wouldn't want to give up. Keeping busy with activities is my intent when I finally retire.

Duane

I still remember going into my place of employment and being greeted with what sounded like "mourning" instead of "Morning".  Manual labor exacts a toll on the body as many of my contemporaries are now having knee and hip replacements, shoulder surgery  or suffer from some sort of lung or heart disease. That's not to mention cancers or ongoing problems from old work injuries. Not many pictures of people smiling unless it's a retirement photo.

Sometime I wonder with all the things that have cropped up since retirement how did I ever find time to work? Maybe it's all those people that think since your retired you have time to do this or that but I still demand and schedule Y time into daily routine. Even if it's only a thirty minute naked walk on the treadmill. Got to keep the legs in shape for hiking season!