House Project: Privacy

We knew that we would like a private backyard before even looking at houses.  When we put in the offer on the house, we know a private backyard would be a lot of work.  The property is in the shape of a triangle, with an elevated road running along the hypotenuse.  The entire back yard is visible around both sides of the house.

Our initial idea was a regular privacy fence.  We found a good deal on panels that would make the fence 8 feet high, and constructed a small section to test them out.  The test was successful, but I couldn't get over the feeling of how tacky a big fence would be.

We decided that plants would be better.  After a lot of research, our best bet was to try some (40) of these:

They were all planted more than a year ago.  Here's what we got so far:

It doesn't quite match the ad, but this is Wisconsin after all.  Plants don't thrive in Wisconsin -- they survive.  And these have a long way to go before they block the view from the road (which is on the horizon in the picture).

Blocking the view from the other direction was much quicker.  It was a bit expensive, but after planting, it fully grew within a couple of months!

Burning Man Statistics

After 3 years and 54,711 pictures, my preliminary research regarding nudity at the Burning Man festival is complete.  The background, method, metrics, conclusions, and future work are detailed below.

Background:

See the wiki page for Burning Man to learn about the festival itself.  This festival is of interest because it has several unique qualities:

• It's a secluded city of around 50,000 regular people that lasts for 1 week.
• The event is heavily photographed from all angles.
• The event is clothing optional, and is in a climate which encourages clothing-optional use.

Also of interest is my post from when I started on this project.

Method:

To collect a large sample of photos, I used a script.  I ran the script from the start of the festival until the end of November.  The script would check the Flickr RSS feeds for specific tags (listed in my first post but changing the year).  The script would poll the RSS feeds at a minimum of 30 second intervals, and a maximum of 15 minute intervals, depending on how many pictures were collected in the previous iteration.  Any new pictures it found were downloaded.  The script timing did change between 2009 and 2010, but shouldn't have an impact.

One limitation that Flickr has is a maximum of 20 items in the RSS feed.  If someone uploads 30 photos all at once, the script would miss 10 of them.  (The same is true for 100 people uploading photos, the most recent 20 are reported.)  This works to my advantage because it ends up creating a random sample of the overall pool of photos.

After the pictures are downloaded, they are all evaluated for instances of nudity.  The number of people partaking in the nudity were tallied.  The categories that were chosen are listed below along with their general legality:

• Male Nudity - Illegal in most areas.  Includes anything which shows the genitals (painted, shirt-cocking, etc.) 
• Nude Women - Illegal in most areas.  Involves nudity of breasts and genitals and may include bodypaints.  (This includes 1 instance in 2009 where the genitals were exposed but not the breasts.)
• Top-Free (no cover) - Illegal in most states (but not all).  Bare-breasted females.
• Top-Free (paint) - Laws are mixed.  Females with painted breasts.
• Top-Free (see-through) - Legally usually same as bare breasts.  Females wearing items over the breasts which still show the breasts.
• Pasties - Generally considered legal but not always.  Females wearing items which stick on, or are glued on, with the intent of covering the nipple and areola.

I should note that it isn't an easy task to classify pictures.  Some are grainy or low quality, some strongly imply nudity but don't actually show it, and some are difficult to classify accurately.  I did the best that I could.  If any researcher wants to double-check my statistics, I still have the original pictures from each year.

Secondly, I excluded pictures which would unfairly skew the metrics, like those taken during the Critical Tits bike ride.  If counting nudists in a city, one would not want to include the World Naked Bike Ride participants as many don't normally go naked.  Only a couple pictures ended up being excluded.

Metrics:
Here are the raw metrics:

Year	2009	2010	2011
Sample	21142	15342	18327
Attendance	43435	51454	53963
Nude Men	NA	73	59
Nude Women	35	13	14
Top-free (no cover)	120	97	134
Top-free (paint)	43	7	23
Top-free (see-through)	27	20	25
Pasties	41	32	56

Although the raw metrics don't paint an accurate trend.  The sample sizes are different, and need to be scaled to be equal.  The 2010 and 2011 metrics are scaled to match the 2009.  Below is the adjusted table with a couple additional metrics.

Year	2009	2010	2011
Nude Men	NA	100.6	68.06
Nude Women	35	17.91	16.15
Top-free (no cover)	120	133.67	154.58
Top-free (paint)	43	9.65	26.53
Top-free (see-through)	27	27.56	28.84
Pasties	41	44.1	64.6
Sum Top-Free	190	170.88	209.95
Sum Top-Free (incl. Pasties)	231	214.98	274.56

Other factors to consider are:

Burning Man attendees often say there is a lot of nudity.  Based on the nudity appearing in pictures vs. the population, I'm seeing about 0.6% participate.  Informal counts (in 1999) put the number closer to 5%.  Nudists that I talked to at Sunsport also guesstimated the number around 5%, with no apparent change in the nudity rate over the last 10 years.

There is a big limitation with the metrics: I don't have the total number of people who appear in the pictures.  Thus, I cannot find an accurate percentage of attendees who are nude or top-free.  My 0.6% number above assumes everyone appeared in a picture, which is a big and likely untrue assumption.

Additionally, I don't know the duration that people are nude or top-free.  They could take off their clothes just for the picture, or they could go all week that way.

In order for an instance of nudity to be counted in this research, it has to undergo a series of events:

• There must be a nude or top-free person at the event.
• There must be a photographer nearby.  (In some places, photographers aren't allowed or are strongly discouraged, like Critical Tits, the Human Carcass Wash, and any sexual-themed areas.)
• The photographer must take a picture.  Either by accident (where nudity is in the background) or with some sort of consent (if the main subject).  Sometimes photographers will take a picture even if there isn't consent, but it doesn't seem to happen frequently.
• The photographer must share the picture on Flickr.  This means they are OK with showing others nude on a public website, possibly against their consent.  It also means the photographer is willing to share their pictures freely and have a Flickr account.

Conclusions:

There seems to be a general downward trend for photographers capturing and sharing nudity.  In 2009, I flagged almost 600 pictures that had nudity.  In 2011, I flagged almost 350.  I'm not sure why this is, since I didn't track this metric very close.  It could have an impact on the conclusions below.  However, since the metrics count people instead of pictures, the picture count shouldn't matter.

Full-exposure is on a steady decline.  Both men and women are less willing to be fully naked in public.  It's possible that photographers are choosing not to capture/share it, but the remaining conclusions seem to prove otherwise.

Regular top-freedom is on a steady rise.  Women are increasingly willing to take their shirts off and go bare-chested, like a vast majority of men at the festival.

Pasties have grown in popularity.  Many may be part of a costume, but others seem to only be there to de-nudify.

Body painting seems to be less popular.  See-through clothing has remained very steady.

Top-freedom in general rose from 2009 to 2011.  (It wasn't a steady increase though, so it may fluctuate each year.)

It seems like conflicting information that top-freedom is rising, but full nudity is falling.  I believe that this indicates a sort of polarization. Top-equality, as an equal rights issue, is gaining support and gaining momentum.  Exposure of the genitals, on the other hand, seems to be more taboo in our current sexualized culture.

The increase in the use of pasties at Burning Man supports this argument.  The easiest way for women to remain covered is to wear a bikini top or similar clothing.  The majority do.  Some choose to show more skin, but add painful-to-remove pasties to remain "covered".  Pasties became popular in the 1920's simply to avoid breaking the law, and are still used today for that purpose.  There is no good reason to wear pasties at Burning Man since there is no law regarding nudity.  Many want to be topless while still being "covered", and resort to an extreme measure to make it happen.

If you have any conclusions from the data posted or other feedback, you're welcome to post a comment.

Future Work:

There hasn't been much academic interest in the "clothing optional city" of Burning Man.  Personally, I believe that Burning Man is a gauge for our culture's participation and acceptance of nudity.  I just wish I had better methods of measuring it.  Perhaps other researchers can attend the event, poll a random sample of participants, or collect more reliable data.

If there are any regular attendees who read this blog, I have an easy request.  Each year, set up a video camera on a busy street during a busy day and let it record for a straight couple of hours.  This way, a researcher can tally the total number of people that go by, along with their state of dress.  This would give a much more accurate statistic than I can generate based on pictures.  Plus, a rough baseline was already set for this in 1999.

Please let me know if you're a researcher who is doing related work.  I'm very interested in the results.

As a last resort, if nothing better comes along, I may repeat this experiment in a couple of years to see if the trends are still holding true.

Still Freehiking

I'm not sure if the Vernon County Broadcaster is still reading this blog. (Remember, they wrote an article about what we do. The only web copy currently is on the La Crosse Tribune site. The "reports" they mention are here.)

I just wanted to let them know that we are STILL freehiking on public lands. With the awesome weather we've been having this year, there have been plenty of opportunities to hit the trails before turkey hunting season (April 11th). We've gone to the Kickapoo River Wildlife Area - Wauzeka Unit a few times.

The first trip, there were several trees over the trail. There were no other footprints in the muddy areas. (Lots of animal tracks though!) No bugs, no ticks. It looked like we were the first people on the trail since deer hunting season last fall. As usual, we met nobody on the trail. Closer to turkey season, a few of the trees were moved. The bugs were still low, but the ticks were in full force. I honestly don't know how the hunters can stand it -- it would be impossible to spot ticks on camouflage, and they could easily sneak up inside pant legs and bite in places they don't belong! On bare skin they are easy to spot, easy to feel, and easy to remove. They don't get very far.

From the article: "There is no county ordinance specifically against free hiking, but those who cause a disturbance could be cited for disorderly conduct." There were no citations issued this season, even though we DID disturb several flocks of ducks, many other birds, some squirrels, butterflies, and a pair of playful otters. (Animals are all very skittish in this area -- normally they only see people with weapons. I'd be skittish too!)

Naturism is more that just nudity -- we have full respect for nature and intend to keep it beautiful. On the last hike, we picked up trash along the trail, including about 25 shotgun shells, a handful of cigarette butts, and a few beer cans. We brought the trash bag home for disposal after taking the following picture...


For more information on freehiking, I suggest an article by Mark Storey originally published in N 15.4 (and available online here). In it is one of my favorite quotes on the subject. He challenges people to "hike clothed out to the middle of nowhere. When you get there leave all your clothes in a secluded spot and bravely walk naked 100 yards in any direction. By the time you return you will have had an epiphany that will change your life." I think he's right. But if anyone puts his hypothesis to the test, please add a comment to let me know how it goes.

Monetize!

After years of Blogger tempting me with the "Monetize" option, and years of swearing that I would never put Ads on the blog for profit, I found a happy medium.

I'm holding true to my word that I am NOT looking to profit from this blog. There are others that need all the money they can get. They are the ones who will get the cash.

At the end of each year, I'll cash out the earnings and send a check to NAC. (This assumes there is enough to cash out, $100 or more.) I'll pay the tax on the income. If the taxes become too much (which is unlikely), I'll instead donate the money to NEF and claim the tax deduction. I'll put up a post each year with the summary and proof of the donation.

Not only is this bringing outside money into a critical part of naturism, it also encourages me to blog more and generate more buzz to increase page views.

If the Ads become too annoying and have too little payout, I can always shut them off. What's your vote -- am I doing the right thing?

Sunsport Gardens

After trying a trip to Florida twice (2010 and 2011), we finally made it this year! We attended the annual Mid-Winter Festival at Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort.

We decided to drive down in a rental and tent camp for the festival. On the way down, we stayed at a wonderful little Bed & Breakfast called Clearview Horse Farm. When the weather is good, guests can take the houses out on the trail. For us, however, it was cool and drizzle. But it was better than the snow we battled while leaving Wisconsin.

The weather was perfect during our entire stay in Florida. This allowed us to be nude for the entire festival. Even at night, keeping covered with a sarong was enough to stay warm. Per comments made during the festival, this year had unusually great weather.

When we first checked in, we were warmly welcomed by a young gal. She never said anything discouraging. Since we wanted to do some sightseeing in the Everglades, we asked for her recommendations. "You're in it" was the first answer, but then she recommended a place that wasn't too far away. We explored and saw a wild gater and other wildlife. After that, we were done being tourists and settled in at our campsite.

What did we do at Sunsport? He's the list of the daytime workshops we attended, with a comment or two. More info on each workshop can be found in the festival schedule.

• Sexting, a Naturist Issue? - Discussion where I think we concluded it is, sort-of.
• Valentine's Day Superstitions - A fun interactive workshop led by an energetic gal.
• Networking for a C.O. Beach in Delray - Met Dave who has been working hard to make this a reality.
• Speed Friending - Interesting way to meet people where each gets to talk for 3 minutes. Many found it difficult to talk about themselves for 3 minutes straight.
• NAC Current Issues - Informative as always. Learned the difference between the yearly Gatherings and Festivals. Gathering = TNS organized event. Festival = Organized by someone else and is a NAC fundraiser.
• Changes in Naturism Past & Future - Discussion, which was a bit boring. Decided to avoid similar workshops from same host.
• Intro to Naturism and This Festival - Good overview of TNS, Sunsport, and how the festival is organized.
• Henna and Body Tattoos - Possibly a new hobby for Percilla.
• The Greying of Naturism - Hosted by the person I was avoiding. Percilla went and observed that there were a lot of grey people.
• Privatizing a Backyard - Made us wish that our plants grew as fast as Florida's.
• Drumming for Novices - Percilla went, apparently the host was a novice as well. Ran out of drums so they brought out pots and pans.
• Involving Young Adults & Families in Naturism - Morley discussing why Sunsport is so successful for attracting younger people.
• Naturist Photography 2011 - Presentation by one of the photographers with stories.
• 2 Burning Man discussions - The most experienced person (10 trips) didn't lead either of them.
• Haulover Beach Ambassadors - Insightful discussion about how it works and how successful it's been. Finally got to meet local celebrity Richard Mason.
• History of Florida Naturism - Mostly about Lake Como, Cypress Cove, and a few others.
• Learn to Juggle, "success guaranteed" - Percilla went and proved otherwise.
• Why Are You a Nudist - Discussion. One middle-aged attendee grew up in a nudist resort and was the only one in his circle of friends to stick with it, so it was an interesting perspective.
• NAC/NEF Donor Reception - I gave them a good donation, and it wasn't as busy as I was hoping.
• Nude Art, Naturism, and Nazis - Interesting slideshow (with real slides!) of paintings and drawings with stories.
• Professors & Researchers SIG - Added myself to the group. See their website here.
• Where to go for Nude Rec. in Florida - Interesting review of coastal beaches. (Didn't get to lakes.) Two beaches were highly recommended and hard to get to, so I'd love to check them out in a future trip.
• Florida Naturist Groups - Big meeting of most groups to share info and strategies.
• Beach Groups - More info sharing between beach-related "Friends Of" groups.
• Informing Politicians of Naturist Family Values - Paul presented his amazingly concise, research-backed, informative book Naturists: Upholders of Strong Family Values. Listed here.
• Sunsport Gardens: The Vision - More from Morley on why Sunsport is such an amazing resort.
• Bipolar Bares - Percilla attended and said this was a wonderful support group and was very informational. (Some in her family have this disorder.)
• Science, Engineering, Technology and Human Concern: Mankind is Advancing Beyond Old Ideologies - I like edgy presentations, but I had to bite my tongue a lot. More about this later.
• Off the Grid: A Decentralized Approach to Mankind's Energy Needs - Same presenter as above, same effect.
• Wear Clothes: Destroy the Planet, Get Sick Quicker, Die Sooner - Discussed chemicals in clothes and how they get absorbed by the skin and likely cause harm. Also covered how destructive the manufacturing is.
• Women & Body Acceptance in Naturism - Percilla went and said they need more groups like that. It was a great support group. Nicky told a story about a woman who was screened for breast cancer and 47 lumps were found. Nicky persuaded her to not wear a bra for a month until her next checkup. At that time, she only had 3 lumps.
• Sunsport Memoirs: A Pictorial History - One of the photographers spent a year scanning pictures from a big box maintained in the office. Showed the history and told stories.
• Naturist Action Committee Area Representative Program - Great meeting to discuss what we're doing and how else we can help.
• Politics of Children in Naturism - More wise words from Morley.
• Writing for N Magazine - Learned that N is seeking more young writers.
• No Sex Please, We're Naturists - An insider review of Caliente Tampa's newer sexy advertising. Mostly a discussion on if sex hurts the nudist industry, inconclusive.
• Closing Friendship Circle - Everyone says a few words. Ideas and suggestions are recorded by Morley and discussed by the board for future improvements.

After-hours or special events:

• Campfire and Drum Circle - The most professional bonfire setup I've ever seen, and later at night it became fairly active. The weekly ones the rest of the year may be more fun.
• DJ Dance - A computer in the pavilion is used as a jukebox. Songs played one-by-one by request mostly. Not many people attended but it was still fun.
• Karaoke - Fun and well-run, much more popular than the dances.
• Bingo - Not part of the festival itself, but we played anyway the night before the festival. They have a good setup for it and they keep it fun.
• An Evening of Peace, Love, and Joy - Music by Faerie Elane. We thought it was slow and weird, so didn't stay long. Not sure about others.
• Armand & Angelina - We're still confused at how they developed a cult following in the naturist world. Everyone loves them.
• Clothing Optional Fashion Show - Showing off mostly jewelry and other hand-made items from the vendors.
• Variety Show - Entertaining show with a host who was full of good jokes.
• Haulover Trip - Amazing place to visit, especially when we tag along with an awesome beach ambassador in a 2012 Camero.

Outside of the workshops, we enjoyed most of Sunsport's facilities. The sauna was nice, the pool is big and warm, and the hot tub is perfect. (Heat for the water is mostly solar.) We watched the turtles and frogs in the ponds. The tennis courts, bocce ball courts, and volleyball courts were all professional quality. The food was wonderful. (And more healthful than what the restaurant normally serves outside of the festival.) Showers and bathrooms were comfortable. The playground was big and well-positioned, which is good for the many children around and the many parents that like to check in. Everything was well-designed and maintained. It seems that if they do something, they do it right.

I discovered a unique combination of outdoor facilities at Sunsport that provides the perfect recipe for a chilly evening. No other resort we've been to has this. First, I'd take a shower as required before entering the pool. Then, it's a short hop into the hot tub. Cycle between the hot tub and the pool as desired. Last, go into the sauna just long enough to dry off. You'll end up warm and dry before going to bed. At other resorts, there is usually no sauna. We need to make a special trip to trade sarongs (our usual) with towels, and we usually end up cold by the time we dry off and get into bed.

Sunsport drew a healthy demographic to the festival where all age groups were well represented. There was a healthy balance of gender. The general population seemed thinner than usual too. I've long been convinced that Sunsport is doing something right, and finally got to see it with my own eyes.

Not everyone is convinced, however. I was pulled aside by a permanent resident who wasn't fond of the noisy drum circles, thought the place was full of weirdos (partly due to a lot of holistic workshops happening nearby), and thought the festival was a rip-off for the attendees. I suspect this same person was the one who recently caused friction between Sunsport and the Florida Young Naturists. With beer in hand that morning, obviously not his first, he hinted at moving to a different state. Morley immediately came to mind. When talking about his ban on smoking, he said "Yeah we lost a few members, but we gained a lot more!" Sunsport may lose this member.

At Haulover, I got to meet the founders of the Florida Young Naturists. I also got to listen in on a lively discussion on what happened at one of the recent events, why they're avoiding Sunsport for a bit, and how they are working to resolve the issue. I hope that FYN will be back at Sunsport soon. I would love to attend one of their events.

Sunsport is on only 40 acres, but a many of these acres are undeveloped and contain a network of trails. The trails aren't as professional as those at Cedar Trails, but they are still quite enjoyable. I believe they keep the trails a bit wild (skinny dirt paths) on purpose. Unique plants have little signs by them all around the resort including the trails. I wasn't aware that wild coffee grew in Florida, but we found some. The biggest surprise was that, in the middle of nowhere, there was a big long grassy patch. If you want some privacy for a discussion, or a meeting place for women new to naturism, that would make a great spot.

Saturday night, I was pulled in to a game of pool with a group of guys. We all were decent players and the games were all pretty close. It was all laid back and fun. Then, a person not much older than me joined in. I'll call him Mark. (Short for "Marksman" since he does have a military history.) Him and I played, and I quickly gathered that he was far more serious about winning then anyone else. I was on the edge of saying "I quit because you're taking this way too seriously." He won against me (and I was happy to leave), but lost the next round (and he also left). Little did I know, he would go on to host the two most favored workshops and be the most talked about person at the closing circle (even though he wasn't there.)

Mark and I generally share a similar background. The only big difference is that he opted for military work while I opted for a Masters degree. I was the only person at the 2009 gathering using PowerPoint and lecturing. He was the only person at this gathering doing the same. He talked about technology and how it should be put to full use to change the world. I was the only person who cringed and sunk into my chair.

Mark's presentations, which he also presents everywhere via tours, are meant to get people excited about technology. He's certainly excited about technology -- so much so that he wants to rip out everything old and replace it with something new. (He's never heard of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" apparently.) He proposes putting small wind turbines on light poles, painting cars with photovoltaic paints, replacing sidewalks with piezoelectric generators, and all sorts of other technologies which produce a small amount of electricity in small quantities. Adding it all up, he believes there will be no longer be an energy crisis.

Morley asked for his recommendation on what to do at Sunsport. Mark suggested a small-scale wind turbine. I later emailed Morley citing this study and concluding that he would lose money by buying one. The best performing small-scale wind turbine in 2009 cost about $14,460 and generated 2,109 kWh in a year. Compared with buying that much from the power company at 10 cents per kWh, it would take 69 years to break even. The turbine will not last that long. So not only will you lose money, but the damage to the environment for manufacturing these things does far more harm than good. Most (or maybe even all) of Mark's suggested technologies are like this -- environmentally damaging and not cost effective. (But I should note that large-scale turbines and solar installations do end up cost-effective and help the environment.)

After he solves the energy crisis, he believes that the world socioeconomic structure will shift. Since technology can provide plenty of food, energy, and other resources, money will disappear and everyone will share by nature. He talked about numerous studies which concluded that people are naturally willing to share fairly. If one person gets a sandwich, and another gets nothing, the person with the sandwich will split it down the middle and share. I agree that people are generous when in front of researchers, but John List and other researchers, in the last decade, have proven that people aren't so generous in the real world.

I wish Mark luck with his new company, which aims to create an open-source off-grid factory to rapidly grow and harvest crops autonomously. He plans to deploy these to freely feed the hungry in poverty-stricken areas.

If there's one thing that rekindles my energy for naturism, it's a festival or gathering. I meet a lot of cool people -- "celebrities of naturism". I learn about new opportunities, get motivated to donate to NAC and help out as much as I can, and get motivated to work on my own projects that benefit naturism. I want to go back next year and host a whole bunch of workshops. I'm hooked.

Busy Busy

This year has flown by. For the first 3/4 of the year, I was on a project that relentlessly kicked my butt. It's the first time in my career that I've clocked 90 hour weeks. I'm sure you've noticed that blogging frequency took a nose-dive through the summer. Our social life has done the same: NO trips to the beach, NO visits to nudist venues (except for Turtle Lake, which was a working vacation), NO public lands freehiking or nude geocaching, NO trip to preview "Act Naturally" and meet some of the cast and crew, and NO nude parties.

Although the project ended and I'm on a much better one now, the work shifted to all those things I was neglecting. We contracted a neighbor to re-roof our house, which happened in August. While that was still going on, we broke ground to build a much-needed pole building ourselves. My family has been very generous in helping with that -- the only real progress happened on the weekends, most of which they were here for. Both the roof and the new pole building look very nice!

When the snow flies (any day now), I'm declaring ourselves as "settled in". There are no more critical projects that need to be done. (The roof was leaking -- I knew it would need attention the first year. And the attached garage is just big enough for two cars. We need way more than that in the garage.) Since the "needed" projects are out of the way, I can turn my attention to the projects I "want" to work on.

My biggest "want" was to get the hot tub working. We managed to squeeze in time during the summer to pour a cement pad for it, and lay patio blocks around it. I bought all the "guts" for it and have them assembled in the basement. However, there is no electricity run for it. So there is no reason to install the guts. I'm holding off on buying a good cover (~$300) until I know it works. We wrapped it up good with tarps and a wooden "roof" so it'll survive the winter.

I've been slowly working some other projects as well. I've been writing up a "Future Resort Redux", which spins in a completely different direction than the previous series. It's good stuff! I've also collected another year of Burning Man photos, which hopefully show a trend. (Three years now, so I should be able to derive some metrics from it.) Most recently, I initiated building my own PC-based arcade machine -- a project I've been wanting to do for years but didn't have the room for. Hopefully by Spring we'll have a classic-looking arcade cabinet to finish off a nice rec room. Maybe we'll host a party or two when the weather gets warm!

Forest Hills

Since my previous last-minute adventure was so much fun, I decided to try it again. Same type of trip, working two weekends with the week available to do whatever I wanted. I had a couple more days to plan for it. This time, however, I'd be doing the trip alone.

I decided to try Forest Hills Nudist Club and Campground. They are a smaller 45-acre co-op. Honestly, I prefer co-ops because I know they are not profit-driven. Any money that I spend there I know is going back into the campground somehow. They even have scheduled fundraisers where they specify what they intend to improve with the money. I like this.

The place looks nice on the website. They have a large pool, hot tub, cafe, lunch stand, pavilion, clubhouse, several games, and rental cottages. All I need for my stay is a place to sleep, water, food, and internet. What about internet?

Their 2010 brochure on the main page lists free wireless internet. But, I didn't see that at first, so I sent an email asking if wifi was available since I'd need to be able to work all week. The reply was "No sorry at this time WI-Fi is only available to members." This change in policy was to protect the privacy of the members.

I spent a moment thinking about that... I was prepared to stay in the cottage for five weekdays, which is a good chunk of income for them when it otherwise wouldn't be rented, but only if wifi was available. And it was available to members. Were they really going to turn me away? I asked them to reconsider. They did, and they decided to allow me to use it since I was staying an extended time and needed it. There were conditions though: All the obvious stuff, and I could only use it in the cottage since many laptops have cameras and they were concerned about privacy. No problem, I'd prefer working from the cabin anyway.

When I called to book the reservation, a different member informed me that the wifi does not work from the cabins. I had to use it from the clubhouse. I suppose I could do this -- the clubhouse looks cozy and there wouldn't be many people around to distract me.

Afterwords, I took a closer look at the facilities to see how challenging the week would be. Going through my list...

A place to sleep is easy, the cottage advertises a nice bed, nightstand, table and chairs, heater, and small refrigerator. The table and chairs appear to be a cheap set made for the patio. No big deal, since I'll be using the table and chairs in the clubhouse where wifi is available anyway.

Next on my list is water, which is also mentioned on the ad: "Our cabins are not equipped with bathrooms or running water, but these facilities are available in the clubhouse nearby." So I need to get dressed (if it's cold out) and walk to the bathroom? This is exactly what I do while tenting, so I guess I'm used to it.

Last is food. Both the cafe and the lunch stand are closed during the week, so I would need to bring my own food. What do I have available to store, prepare, and eat my food? A small fridge. There is no microwave or cooktop, and no dishes. This limits my food selection to sandwiches and snack bars unless I brought stuff. I packed my dishes for camping. Upon arrival, if there really was no microwave available, I was thinking of buying a cheap one for the cottage and telling them it's a donation.

As the days got closer, I checked the weather forecast. It would be in the 60's and rainy for a large portion of the week. Their pool and hot tub are both outdoors. If I used them, I would freeze as soon as I left the water. Everyone else at the campground would probably be dressed due to the cool weather.

Faced with an expensive trip to a rural location, being the only naked guy who hangs out in the clubhouse on a laptop most of the day, starving and fending for food, and having a challenging stay in a cottage, I decided to cancel my reservation. In all fairness, if there was warm weather and an event going on with food available, staying would be far easier and more enjoyable.

So why did I decide to write about a place I never went to? I wanted to illustrate a point. A lot of nudist venues are completely geared towards people with RVs. Most people under 30 cannot afford a RV. Without my own kitchen, bathroom, and basic house, I need to rely on what is available from the venue. Is a bed, water, food, and internet too much to ask for? Most cheap motels even provide these things. Staying at a smaller nudist venue is often more challenging than staying at a cheap motel, which is discouraging for the younger non-RV generation.