Days 26 and 27 – June 14 and 15 Do as the Romans . . .

Grand Coulee Dam by the morning light

Looking forward to the drive through the North Cascades, I broke camp early and was on the road before 8 a.m. I also was looking forward to my camping experience the coming night.

Boxes ready to be filled with fruit

While I was isolated out on the wildlife refuge, I realized how nice it was to change clothes without having to seclude myself in a room or my tent. Being outside, feeling the air on my bare skin was a sensation I appreciated. Thinking about that, and knowing I was heading for the west coast where it’s more prevalent, I decided to investigate the possibility of camping at a nudist club. I found one about an hour from my sister’s house near Seattle, and the camping fee is only $10 a night. And actually, the camp is called “clothing optional,” which left me an out if I felt too uncomfortable disrobing around people I didn’t know.

I stole a few cherries from the tree near the highway

After a lovely drive - sunny and warm through the valleys where there were orchards of cherries and apples almost ready to be harvested, and  beautiful, cloudy, and cool through the Cascades -  I arrived at LARC, the nudist camp. No one was at the office, so I self-paid as I have been doing in most of the campgrounds where I have stayed. The rules for this campground were a little different from what I have encountered to this point.  As I was driving to the lawn where I could set up my tent, I ran into Patti, the wife of the couple who were filling in for the managers this week. She gave me a brief tour and explained how things worked.

 

The first surprise was the showers. Included in my $10 camping and $15 day use fee, I could use them whenever I wanted, and they were very clean and very nice. They were also open – no individual shower stalls – and for both men and women. So while showering, I’m sharing the space with anyone else who wants to shower. I actually was disappointed that there was no one else in there when I showered last night – what a strange feeling that must be.

It was a little cool and cloudy when I arrived, so the first few people I met were wearing clothes. But  being the kind of person who jumps in the deep end of the pool, I decided to visit the hot tub which is not clothing optional – no swim suits allowed. I wrapped a towel around myself and walked over to the tub. It was in an open room so it’s the best of both worlds – protected from the elements if it were raining, and in the fresh air. No one was there, so I dropped my towel, showered in the open shower which was required before entering the tub (no shower curtain of course), and stepped into the tub. It was perfect and the warm, jetted water was perfect. While I sat there, a man, nude of course, pulled out a lawn chair a little ways away and soaked up some of the now-emerging sun.

 

It’s amazing how quickly one becomes accustomed to the nakedness. No one here has the perfect body of a model – what we’ve come to think of as the desired body to expose to the world – and no one seems to care. There are people of all ages and all body types – as Christi, one of the full-time residents here at the park, told me, there are members here who weigh over 300 pounds. And it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I admire how comfortable people are with their bodies here.  It is contagious, and I find some of my negative body image slipping away the longer I stay here.

The first test of being up close and personal with someone else nude was while I was in the hot tub. A man in his fifties, Cal, came and joined me. He was a nice-looking man, fit and tan, and we sat in the tub and visited for more than an hour. The initial awkwardness I experienced soon dissipated, and it was a comfortable conversation. I went to the community showers after that and got ready for the evening.

I decided to jump in with both feet and attend the meet-and-greet at the fire pit sans clothes. I carried along my towel (a requirement to sit anywhere) and a flannel shirt in case I got cold. It was a little chilly, so I wasn’t sure how long I could stay nude. When I got to the fire pit, the man, Dennis, who was building the fire, was fully clothed.  No one else was there yet.

After a few minutes, people started trickling in. Each person – some I had already met, some not – had clothes on. Pretty soon, there were about 10 people there, and I’m the only one with no clothes. What could have been perceived as something one only experiences in a bad dream was nothing more than a comical situation to me.  I said to a few of them, “I’m the new person here, and I’m the only one naked!” They laughed and said it was too cold! It just didn’t matter, and I relaxed into the situation. Before long, one or two others showed up nude, so I wasn’t the only one bare for the whole evening.

My outfit for the day

But it got cold, so I returned for clothes from my tent, and spent part of the evening dressed. A few of us took one more dip in the hot tub, and we sat in there for quite a while before calling it a night. One of the people I met and visited with the most was Tara, who lived at the camp during the summer with her husband, Bill. They are great people, and Tara and I decided we must have been sisters in another life. We spent most the evening getting to know each other and enjoying each other’s company immensely. We’re already contacting each other through email and the blog.

The next morning, the sun was out and the day was warm. I spent the morning sitting at my campsite, writing and soaking up the sun. With no clothes on, the sun feels great on the skin, and there was a lovely little breeze. I said hello to people as they passed by. One man was walking his dog in his shoes and socks only. A few other people went by in golf carts, and one man was even riding his bike nude. After a very little while, the surprise of seeing people naked wore off, and it seemed perfectly natural to see people unclothed, carrying on about their day.

The Upper Falls at the camp

I decided, after a quick run to town for which I put on clothes of course, to go for a hike. The camp had two short trails leading to two separate water falls, and I explored both of those. What an amazing sensation to be naked and hiking through lush foliage among ferns and trees. I felt a bit like a forest nymph (except for the hiking boots of course) and the experience was fabulous. I wanted a little more hiking, so Steve, Christi’s husband, showed me how to go through the forest to get to a deserted logging road. I was able to hike a good 30 minutes down that road and hiked till I came to a nice overlook. The road was lined with wildflowers, and butterflies floated along with me as I hiked. There were no bugs and no annoyances, and I was amazed at how comfortable I was hiking in only boots. And it was a good, easy hike for my slowly healing foot.

Returning, I took another dip in the hot tub, then visited Tara at her RV. We talked a while before I left for Nude Karaoke.

Nude Karaoke, as I posted on Facebook, is just as unbearable as clothed karaoke. The singers were all really bad, but they were having a good time, and that’s all that matters. Some of them were completely nude, some had just shirts on, some had just pants on. Watching a man with only a wife-beater on, belting out an off-key version of Queen, is quite an experience.  It was really great to witness the freedom people felt with their bodies.

I eventually migrated over for one last dip in the hot tub, and a few of us sat in there and talked for about an hour. I met another woman with whom I hope to keep in touch, Teressa, who travels as a single woman also. She’s just getting ready to head off to Europe, and we exchanged information, promising to keep in touch with each other. When the evening was over, Tara and Bill gave me a ride in their golf cart back to my tent, and we promised to stay in touch. The connections I made over these two evenings are some of the strongest I’ve made on the trip.

As I got ready to head to my sister Sally’s house the next day, I reflected on what a great experience this was. I don’t think it’ll be the last nudist camp I visit.