Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Chase left around noon to head to Joshua Tree, and I took advantage of the warm sun to have a hot shower outside. In the early afternoon, Marv, half of a gay couple I’d recently met, texted and asked if I’d been taking nude walks yet. I told him I had showered outside naked and walked around the campsite and asked if that counted. He said it didn’t. I asked if he and Jason had been out walking the paths naked. He answered in the negative. We had a discussion about what sissies we were and why was it so difficult for us to be naked in public. It wasn’t because we were any less attractive than the others walking around. We were both in much better shape than the average nudist here. We couldn’t come up with a good answer, so I told him I would meet him halfway between his campsite and mine, sans clothing. We met on Ave H (I stay on Ave G, Marv and Jason are on Ave I) and walked around a bit while I considered moving to a new spot closer to them. I decided Ave H was deserted, fairly flat, had lots of small trees and some big saguaro cacti and that if I moved, it would be to a big open plot there. Marv retreated to his big 5th wheel, but I was enjoying the warm sunshine and feeling a little bit proud of my newfound bravery, so Cosmo and I took the long way back to my van, following one of the many paths that make up The Magic Circle. We passed a few other (naked) people on the way and stopped and chatted a couple of times. It was a really nice afternoon. I still haven’t fully processed being naked, and why it is such a big deal. I see others walking their dogs, or riding their bikes around and everyone seems so comfortable. If I’m totally honest, I really do love the feeling of freedom, of being so primal out in the desert, and not wearing clothes seems perfectly normal when I do it. Living in a van was partly due to wanting to live closer to the earth, and shedding clothing seems like part of that process.
Monday was overcast most of the day, and aside from playing a game of “chase the ball” outside, it was mostly an inside day. Tuesday started out pretty much the same with it being so dark and overcast that I slept until nearly 8:00 a.m.
The entire Magic Circle is several thousand acres and nearly no one comes out on cloudy days. There is an occasional dog walker, or a pickup truck coming or going from town, but otherwise, it is very quiet.
On Wednesday, I decided to go into town and pick up a few things. When I returned I my road and went one road farther (I was staying on Ave G and moved up to Ave H) because down near the end of Ave H there was no one. I drove down to a huge clearing and got set up. It was sunny and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The temperature was up to 75⁰ so I took my shirt off. After several naked people walked past, I felt a little foolish being the only one with pants on, so “When in Rome…” I took my shorts off and set to work building a firepit out of the many large rocks in the area. People walked past on the path and waved or stopped for a chat and soon I forgot I was wearing only flip flops and a hat. I got Cosmo and we headed south on the path and soon came to an old van at the end of Avenue I. A man was outside and waved and when I waved back, he came over and struck up a conversation. His name is David and we really hit it off. I invited him over for my Winter Solstice Fire the following night.
I decided to stay in Quartzsite until Christmas when I’ll go back to Ehrenberg to see Bonnie and then on Tuesday, I’ll pick up some things I had shipped from Amazon to the Ehrenberg Post Office. I’ve made some friends here and it turned into the perfect combination of privacy in my huge spot and having people I know within walking distance. There are several trails throughout The Magic Circle, and I’m parked fairly close to one of them. It is easy to follow that trail to go visit David or Marv and Jason who are all over on Ave I.
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Our Winter Solstice celebration was perfect. David arrived first, bringing with him a sage smudge stick. I felt immediately that we were kindred spirits. I told him my usual Solstice Ritual of writing down on a piece of paper all the things that I wanted to be rid of or let go of in the coming year. He said he LOVED that idea and said he wanted to get rid of the resentment he had for a previous girlfriend. We chatted and shared some of our past. I felt so comfortable with him, like we’d known each other for a long time. We lit the fire, smudged each other and were soon joined by Jason and Marv. We all wrote down what we wanted to let go of and threw the index cards into the fire. We talked and got to know each other a little. David was the first to leave saying he gets up well before the sun most mornings. Marv and Jason hung out a while longer and after they left, I sat by myself and just enjoyed the warmth of the fire, the beauty of the starry sky, the contentedness of everything in my van working perfectly and the kindness of my newfound friends. It was a very good night.
It rained all day Friday, and so Cosmo and I stayed inside. I made a big breakfast of hash browns, eggs and pumpernickel toast. Later, I watched a couple movies Bonnie had loaned me. I sat for a long time and just watched the rain come down and smiled at my musical van doing its thing in the rain.
On Saturday morning, I woke up to sunshine burning off the haze. There were dark clouds to the north, and to the south, fog had filled the valley at the foot of the mountains.
The sun was starting to warm things up and Cosmo and I took a walk. It was still early so we had this incredible beauty all to ourselves. I swung by to see David and he invited me into his van. We sat for a long time and filled in tidbits of our past. When I meet nomads, almost immediately I know who they are. It takes a little bit longer to learn how they got to be who they are. David and I are well on our way to learning that about each other.
Lessons From The Road: I’m still sorting out the whole “being naked thing.” I was reluctant at first, but then I became very self-conscious to be one of the very few in The Magic Circle to walk around fully clothed. It was easier to wear clothes when it was cold out (“Cold” for me now means below 60⁰), It felt like a good excuse. With the temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s it feels awkward to be the only one wearing clothes, and after one naked walk, it just felt perfectly natural to be naked.
Nudity does come with it’s own set of problems. No Pockets is the main problem for me. I can’t lock my van if I go for a walk because I have nowhere to put my keys. I carry my phone with me, but nothing else. When we went to visit Dave, Cosmo pooped right outside his rig. I reached to my back pocket for a poop bag, only to realize that I didn’t have a pocket OR a bag. I anticipated this issue a couple days ago, and I ordered a saddlebag for Cosmo and a tiny satchel for myself from Amazon. I’ll have both by Tuesday and won’t be caught without a poop bag or my keys after that.
The other issue I often think about is territoriality. When I was set up on Ave G, I was the very last one at the end of the road. I was still within easy walking distance from people I know, and it was a very short walk to the main path that winds around The Magic Circle. But on Tuesday afternoon, a Class C pulled in just beyond me, about 30 feet away. I was annoyed. I read that there are over 11,000 acres in The Magic Circle. Why would someone I didn’t know pull in so close to me? It is government land, and anyone is welcome to stay for the entire season for a small fee. There are no designated spots, so anyone can park anywhere. Still, it bothers me when someone invades my space when there are hundreds if not thousands of spots available, with plenty of space between campers. I moved to the end of the next road, with the closest person in a van about 2 football fields away. The next morning, he got up early and moved one “street” over. I wondered if I had invaded his space. I’m hoping that when I return from my Christmas visit to Ehrenberg, this spot will still be empty. I like it here a lot.
See you down the road!
Scott
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx9L4rW4Orsox-BDA4ebmmQ