Visit Report 5/1 - 5/3
Well, I missed Naked Gardening Day at the Everson Ranch once again. It was abbreviated this year, and I was just having too much fun at the hot springs to drive down to the ranch. I will catch it next year. Here are the highlights of the visit -
Capacity is still limited to less than 50% of normal. This created a different dynamic. There were more nudists and very few textiles. Interestingly, women outnumbered men. There was a good spread in ages, perhaps weighted toward the young end. Most guests we talked had been there often in the past. The big downside to the Covid restrictions is that the number of people in the ponds is limited, and you need to reserve a 30-minute spot in the Apple Ponds. Therefore, the social interaction with the other guests is way down. This is one of the things we always look forward to.
The weather was warm bordering on hot the first two days we were there. I got a few great naked hikes in followed by soaks. On the third day, it snowed, which was a nice change of pace. I had a little too much sun at that point. My skin needs to recover from 6 months of winter.
Thanks for the great report! Very interesting to see the demographics and reflection in the culture. Like everyone, I look forward to the day without the covid restrictions. But I hope OLT staff/board never go back to the previous capacity limits, maybe more like 80-90%. I think this could be easily achieved by reducing the number of Day Trippers allowed. They bring a different mindset and agenda when just blowing thru on their way to the Sand Dunes etc. For a variety of reasons, I believe they present an inordinate amount of strain on staff, volunteers and facilities, and impact VVHS culture negatively (don't grasp guidelines and adhere to the philosophy of Recognition, Respect, Responsibility). I'm talking about the ones that are blowing thru the SLV hitting all the Instagram checkpoints of VVHS-Crestone-Sand Dunes. They never stay long enough to understand what makes the place unique. There should always be room for those that intend to come for a day while waiting to catch an overnight vacancy the next day etc. and as a way for the true seeker to get an initial taste of the vibe. I know that may sound elitist, but as a camp host, and I think any frequent visitor would agree, a lot of the conflicts and issues come from the day trippers, IMHO :). - Nudeprewd 5/6/21
Your observations are right on. Talking with one of the staff who was emptying trash cans, he observed that trash was down by about 80%. That is somewhat out of proportion with the reduced attendance. I am sure there are other examples how the different demographic has affected the springs and the experience, but it is hard to sort that out from the effects of just the reduced attendance. Aside from that, one very notable difference was the weekends are no longer any busier than the weekdays.
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