September 28, 2020 Volume 20, Issue 14 Weekly Newsletter Cover Photo This weeks cover photo was taken with a drone in the spring of 2020. The drone was above the main parking lot looking west giving us the view of the activities center and across the blue section of the resort. Inside this issue Gray Mountain Hiking Demographics Of Nakedness ...... 3 Social Distance Dipping 3 DeAnza Wash begins cutting its way through the Gray Mountain horst at a narrow ............... defile that was the easiest passage for wildlife to migrate through from the slopes of Rude To Be Nude ........................ 4 Table Mountain to the springs along Carrizo Creek. High rock pinnacles line the wash Addicted To Sunbathing ............. 4 on either side of this defile, but the pockets of flat ground hidden within the pinnacles Taking a Nudist Cruise ................. 5 on the south side of DeAnza Wash were perfect spots for Kumeyaay hunters to camp Naked Winter Holidays ............... 6 out and wait for game to wander by. Connecting Through Naturism .... 6 There are pictographs here among the pinnacles, pictographs that have lost their meaning, but one can speculate that the pictographs depict the hunt or are prayers to Naturist Insists ............................ 6 the spirits to lead game here. This was certainly not a large village site but may have 'Nothing But My Birthday Suit' .... 6 been a training ground for young hunters beginning to learn their craft. But there may Naturism = Escapism ................... 7 have been something about this site that was more than just a hunting camp. For Zoom it ........................................ 7 beyond the defile DeAnza Wash drops down from the western slopes of Table Moun- The Rising Popularity 8 tain, called by the Kumeyaay mat-kusiyaay, Mountain of the Shaman. It is one of the .................. four sacred mountains of the Kumeyaay and no one but the spiritual leaders of the Kumeyaay were allowed upon its slopes. Between Gray Mountain and Table Mountain lies a barrier of pinnacles and boulders that are all but impenetrable, a fence between the sacred and the profane. On the northeastern slopes of Gray Mountain, the Kumeyaay were free to roam, and indeed there is an old Kumeyaay trail that runs from the hunting camp southeast along the edge of the barrier and down a canyon to the floor of Jacumba Valley. But beyond the barrier the Kumeyaay were forbidden to tread, for this was mat-kusiyaay. Read more 2 The Demographics Of Nakedness I’ve fallen behind again on my blog. I never got back to finishing my travelogue for our trip through naked Australia, with reviews yet to be completed of the luxurious BB at Byron Bay, or our final stop at the famed little resort near Tambourine known to loyal followers as BoBrene. And since then, I had a brief stay in Thailand that afforded a visit to a new resort in Phuket called Lemon Tree Resort – a very sweet little naturist re- treat just a short drive from the waterfront, including a boat trip out to a makeshift naturist beach on a small mostly deserted island. But alas, I feel a sudden urge to trump – if you’ll pardon the expression – my typical agenda of travel writing with a brief outburst of a philosophical nature, spawned in large part by some lovely people I’ve met in recent days during our first visit to a bu- colic little resort in Honduras called Paya Bay. (Yet another review to be written!) As is usually the case in making new acquaintances with naked people, the first topic of conversation was something of a naturist travel roll call. “Have you been to that little place near the Mexican border? How about one of those Big Nude Boat sailings? You were on the Royal Clipper to Venice when? Hey! I think we were on that boat!” Read more Naturism is the celebration of living without the hindrance and inconvenience of clothing. Social Distance Dipping Is skinny dipping the ultimate social distance activity? Let’s look at the pros: It gets you away from crowds. It gets you out the house. It’s good for mental health. It’s good exercise. It’s an escape from everything that’s going on in the world. You don’t need any money, anyone else or anything at all in fact, except your own skin. Sounds like the perfect activity in this social distance covid world, wouldn’t you say? It dawned on me during lockdown that what Scott has been teaching me this past year (how to find these remote hidden swimming spots and where the out-the-way un- known camping spots are) is the ultimate social distance strategy. In the forest you can forget about covid, you can forget about the problems of the world and just enjoy the trees. When you’re getting off the beaten path to seek out skinny dipping spots you don’t need to worry about social distancing because there’s no-one around. If there are others around then it ain’t a good skinny dipping spot and you better move on. Turns out Scott is a master of social distancing, he’s been doing it for years. Thanks to his skills I was able to fly to the US during a global pandemic, continue to do what I love and not be at any risk of the virus. Skinny dipping=social distancing! There’s no denying that this covid bullshit is getting everyone down. But we gotta roll with the punches aye!? Got to adapt and try to make the best of the situation. A great time to try something new I figure. Why not search for that secret little swim hole where you can be naked and free? Read more 3 It Isn’t Rude To Be Nude — The Children’s Book That Aims To Normalize Nakedness A new picture book aims to help remove the shame of nudity — and its message is as much for parents as for children Open Rosie Haine’s debut children’s book and you’ll meet a page of bums. They are lilac, brown, red and peach-toned and accompanied with the words: “Everyone has a bum”. The bums are followed by a page of nipples of many shapes, sizes and colors proclaiming: “Nipples are normal”. The following pages are peopled with dancing bodies and playful expressions, soft lines and warm colors. It Isn’t Rude to be Nude is a joyful exploration of the human body, from childhood to old age. “We don’t really see normal representations of nudi- ty,” says Haine. “We’ve got really confused about nudity meaning sex and being obscene and shame- ful. But I’ve observed in children a healthy attitude to nudity, and lots of them will have spent most of lockdown naked. They already know it isn’t rude to be nude. Read more Please don’t feel like you must hide your naturist lifestyle from your friends and family. Be open and honest and tell them what naturism is all about. They may even want to practice it with you. Being Addicted To Sunbathing May Be Genetic, Study Finds The craving to bask in the sun and soak up the rays might be genetic, scientists say. Researchers have found genes associated with addiction, behavior and brain function which are linked to a penchant for sunbathing. They are also the same five risk-taking genes which lead people to experiment with drugs, smoking and even multiple sexual partners. The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, looked at the genes of more than a quarter of a million people and revealed the genetic predisposition. As a result of the genetic role, not everyone is at equal risk of the hazards posed by excessive sun exposure. To find out if and how sun worshipping was influenced by genes, researchers looked at detailed information on identical and non-identical twins. The TwinsUK study, run by King's College London, provides detailed health infor- mation on 2,500 individuals. It revealed identical twins in a pair were more likely to have a similar sun-seeking be- havior than non-identical twins. As identical twins are, by definition, identical, they can be used to see if a trait is due to genes or if it is unrelated to a person's genetic code. Read more 4 About Us DeAnza Springs Resort is the largest and one of the newest clothing op- tional resorts in North America. Situated on more than 500 acres of high desert (at 2600 feet) in eastern San Diego County, it is ideal for year- round vacationing. The resort is comprised of 311 spa- cious RV sites with full hook-ups and plenty of spacious tent sites for dry camping. Luxurious rental units con- sisting of fully furnished park models, midsized RV’s and motel rooms. No matter what activities you enjoy, you will probably find them available at DeAnza Springs Resort. Surround- ed on three sides by fantastic hills of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the resort grounds include grassy lawns, Shade trees, and sparkling pools, as well as typical desert vege- Why Everyone Should Consider Taking a Nud- tation. ist Cruise Other amenities include two heated Poker chips are spread across a table occupied by a group of men and women clutch- swimming pools (one enclosed for ing cards close to their chests. A woman outside lounges on the deck of a boat as an- year-round swimming), a hot tub, other woman stands over her, giving a massage in the sun. Later that night, music spa, well equipped gym, tennis and pumps out of speakers near the bar.