No Swimming Allowed

Water Everywhere, But No Swimming Allowed...

This is the First Summer of My Life I did not swim.

I moved to Las Vegas, which one would consider to have perfect swimming weather. The summer weather is always warm, and the water is too. There are pools every few feet, it would seem. I even moved into an apartment complex which has a pool. Every hotel, resort, or attraction has some sort of fountain, or water-feature. For a town that has so many water-features, it is amazingly prohibitive for swimming, or even just being allowed to play in any of the water features. As Fall came this year, it dawned on me that This is The First Summer in my entire life which I have not gone swimming. Not even once. I have only been able to even wade in a little bit of water. 44 summers in my life, and only one…this one… I have not gone for a single swim. This year, I did not get to play, swim, or even enjoy water during the summer time. Swimming was not something I ever tried to make happen, it just was always part of my life. I love to swim, and am an excellent swimmer. This year, the most I can claim to have done is wade into some water barely over two-feet deep. This was at The Las Vegas Wash. I got some fun pictures, and yes it did feel wonderful, but hardly deep enough to swim in. Wading does not count as swimming.


And even doing this I was risking a possible run-in with the authorities. In many places along The Las Vegas Wash, there are signs stating no swimming, no wading, and admonishing that one is not even allowed to be close enough to actually enjoy the water. The places I chose to enjoy, there were no signs.



















~Naked Alert!~
Caution... One of these pictures below shows my nekkid Butt... Look with open mind, or closed eyes.

The Water felt Great.... but it was barely over two feet deep.

You might ask why I did not visit any of the millions of available pools in Vegas, or even the one in my own apartment complex?
The answer to the one in my own apartment complex is simple. It never opened. When I moved-in, they showed me a sparkling clean pool, and even gave me the rules, and hours of availability. After noticing the gate was always locked, I inquired, and was told “Soon.” But soon never came. Finally, The Nevada Health Department chained the gates, and posted huge notices all around the enclosure stating it would not open, and anyone entering the enclosure would be subject to fines. Hmmm. The management will not say the reason for this. I find this to be triply ironic. First, I am extremely cautious about entering public pools which I cannot be sure of the quality or integrity of cleanliness. After seeing how some of my neighbors behave, I am certain I never would have even stuck a toe in the pool. The second reason I likely would not have used it is because of its location. It is situated as a “fish-bowl”… sort of a focal-point for all to view. I am never fond of being “on display” around people I do not trust. Yes, you can safely say I do not trust most of my neighbors. And the third reason would be that I will not go into any pool that is crowded with rowdy people. This pool, if it had opened would likely be nasty, crowded, and always surrounded by the lurkers. This whole city seems to be filled with people who like to lurk. Very creepy, indeed. There is no way I would swim, let alone even hang-out, anywhere near people who act creepy, lurk, and have no sense of personal-space.

This brings us to the next question: Why would I not go to any of the millions of available public pools? Simply for the same reasons as above. Vegas seems to be all about “The Party”. For some reason, people do not want to go to a pool to relax, and enjoy peace and quiet. I cannot understand the desire for crowding hundreds of rowdy people into a pool, serving food, alcohol, and adding a live D.J., and then calling it “a place to relax”. The very nature of the environment is the exact opposite of relaxing. Before moving here, ANY public pool I had been to would not allow rowdiness, or music audible to others. If someone wanted music, they played their own device politely and quietly, or used headphones. The idea of having someone else’s idea of music-choice blared at you without any regard for each person’s own preferences. And the fact that the public pools here actually encourage food and beverages inside the enclosure, AND IN the pool, too does not sit well with me. If people wish to have food or beverages around their own private pool, that is fine, but who in their right mind would ever take food and beverages Into their pool? They work hard to keep their pools clean, and safe, Why would anyone want to create an unsafe environment, especially in their own back yard? All my training in health-codes, and keeping public pools clean, and safe tells me that these pools in Vegas are far from clean. It really makes me wonder if there are any health-related certifications required to operate a public pool in Vegas. Then you add the idea that people are consuming alcohol, yes…Even IN the pools. People already behave badly enough without the added effect of the alcohol. There is absolutely no reason I would visit a place so unsafe, and filled with stress.

Also, there is the abundance of enormous fountains, water-features, and man-made lakes all over Vegas. Every single one of them prohibits anyone to even think about touching, let alone actually getting in, and enjoying them! I have been all over the U.S. and never seen so much prohibited activity. Most communities want people to enjoy the beauty, and comforts. Vegas does not want anyone to touch, or enjoy anything unless they can collect money for it. The reason Vegas builds such wonderful water-features is to make it Look appealing. These are only an attraction used to get people inside the establishments. (The state of New York had some rather unique rules about the same thing… but that is another post in itself). It seems Vegas did have a water-adventure park a long time ago. The only reason I can find for it having shut-down was because they do not want people to enjoy water here.

People in Vegas claim there is no money here. I beg to differ. It may be true that the locals do not have much money, but that is because they spend it on activities with ridiculously high prices. The prices charged to get into a pool around here are astronomical. They wish to encourage females to come to their pools, by giving them a “discount” compared to the price they charge men. There was even a recent lawsuit alleging that policy was discriminatory against males. The court threw it out, claiming “people go to a pool to see boobs, not men.” That is one thing I absolutely hate about Vegas. They are so hung-up on sexualizing everything, that they cannot even see something for a non-sexual activity. Excuse me?!? What happened to going to a pool for swimming? If you wish to have a place to lay-down near the pool, there is a charge for a chaise lounge. If one wishes to not rent the lounge, or chair, the only option is to be in the pool, or stand. I would venture to guess that many here actually do make a lot of money, because of the events in which they choose to partake in. Even if I could afford such extravagances, I likely would not. The pool environments here are absolutely not comfortable. There are many pools that are not as expensive, but they cater solely to kids, or people with kids. They encourage running, screaming, and total rowdiness. The pools are only 5-feet deep, with no diving boards, or actual places to swim. It seems people do not view a pool as a place to swim anymore. They view a pool as a place to hang out and be incredibly misbehaved. They crowd hundreds of people in, and there is rowdiness, and raunchiness, but nobody is actually swimming. It seems the pool has become just a wet-club in which to hang-out. Perhaps there are pools in Vegas that do in fact exist for the purpose of swimming, and relaxing. Could there be a pool that is not a party scene, a pool that is clean, and respectable? I have yet to locate them.

Maybe I have been spoiled in life. (HA!) Maybe by having learned how to properly be quiet, respectful, and clean, it has jaded me. Maybe having been certified in pool-maintenance, and health codes has made me unwilling to compromise? Could it be that knowledge, and respect are a bad thing? Maybe by learning how to relax, and enjoy a peaceful environment, allowing others to find peace, and relax, too has tainted me. Could it be possible that the people around here, and those who come as tourists have never before been taught peace, cleanliness, respect, and how to enjoy life without being rude? Could it be that this is how they have always been shown to behave, and have not had the true joy of enjoying life? Could it be they think they must be rude to have fun? Could it be they do not understand that a clean, safe environment can indeed be wonderful? Could it be that the notion of personal space is a completely unheard-of concept? Could they actually believe cramming thousands of people into a small place is a good thing? Could it be that having learned the joy of swimming in nature has made me unwilling to be confined in cramped spaces with lots of others? Could it be that, having had the joy of wearing no clothes while swimming makes me look at swimming pools with required swim-costume necessary rules makes me not want to participate? Keep in mind that just because a pool is open to the public, it is not always mandatory to wear a swim-costume. I have had the pleasure of using many apartment, condo, hotel, motel, campground, and resort pools and jacuzzis all across the nation without having to wear a swim-costume. Very few actually have rules requiring the wearing of a mandatory swim-costume. For whatever reason, most people choose to wear a swim-costume, but it is not required.

I believe I am one of a very few who feel this way. I see photos all the time of people supposedly having fun in such an environment. Perhaps their idea of fun is different than mine. Perhaps they have just never experienced true joy, peace and relaxation.

As kids, we were in the pools from birth. We learned how to be expert swimmers, and there was no place we could not swim. There were pools all over the place we enjoyed. Some were private, some public. Every single one of them had the same expected rules. If you ate, or drank, it was never in the pool. Rowdiness was not allowed at public pools. In private pools, you could be rowdy only if the others also wanted to be rowdy. If rowdiness disturbed the other pool users, the rowdy one(s) were expected to calm down, or leave. Respect for personal space was always adhered-to. You knew you had to respect the rules, or you would lose the privilege of being able to enjoy swimming.

We would go to the beach, and swim in the ocean. We would go to the rivers, and lakes… and swim. The little creeks which ran through town had parks, and everyone always played, and swam in them. At summer camp, we would be encouraged to swim all the way across the lake to get another merit-card. The large public pools had high-dives, and diving boards. The mountains had cliffs 100-feet high over a deep spot in the river. You would jump, or dive-in, and then swim in the pool below. There were canals for irrigating the farms, and we would swim in those. Water meant you could get in it, and enjoy it.

Every place I have ever been, you could freely swim in the rivers, lakes, and streams. (Again, New York is the exception, which I will cover in another post). Most cities allow people to enjoy the water-features, and often you will see people playing IN the fountains. Before moving to Vegas, I Did look at all the maps, and made sure there was water. I just did not expect it to all be supposedly off-limits. Yup…even in the middle of a desert, there is plenty of water. But for some reason they want to keep people from swimming.



As Soon as I put The Ducks in this fountain,
The Police were questioning me.

Even just putting a few rubber ducks in the water for a picture will attract the police very quickly. What the *@! They do not even want a simple rubber duck to go for a swim! (To be fair, there are a few that do not react as if you are breaking the law by putting a rubber duck in the fountain…. But not many.)

Caesar's Palace is one of those places which does not seem to jump to harrass those who play with the fountains. Here is a fun shot of my friend Colleen Quickly puting her duck, Cheese, in a Caesar's Fountain. We had a blast that day, and not once were we bothered about touching the water.



(please visit Colleen, and here wonderful Ducks at http://duckshow.com/ )

I find it incredibly strange that I could go an entire summer without having gone swimming even once! And the Only water I have actually been in was a couple of times along The Las Vegas Wash, where I possibly could have gotten in some sort of trouble for even touching it, let alone getting in. One time, I noticed a cloud of dust approaching very fast on the other side. I used my binoculars and saw it was two police cars speeding toward me. I was naked, but I did not worry, because I know the laws, and even if they sought to arrest me, they could not, because simply naked is not illegal. (Lewd and Obscene Are illegal, but I was neither of those.) I did not run. I kept wading, and walked downstream. They followed me along the far side of The Wash, and watched me for about an hour. They never came where I was, nor did they motion for me to come to them, but it was clear they were in a hurry to come watch me, and then continue to do so. Perhaps they were just curious about me, and my ducks, or perhaps they were hoping I would do something they could use as a reason to come closer. But they only watched, and followed. Perhaps it was a slow day, and the idea of watching a naked man pose Rubber Ducks, Flamingos, and Trolls for pictures was amusing for them.
~Naked Alert~
The Picture below shows Me Naked...
But Nothing is visible.
Look with an open mind, or Closed Eyes...
You might just find how funny it really is! (and can see why the officers might have been amused to watch me.)


Even Though I never found deep enough water to swim in along the wash, I always Find plenty of fun!

I am 43 years old. Every summer for forty-three years I swam. (Yes, the year before I was even one counts.) This year I did not.


I will continue to explore, have fun, and play anywhere I can do so legally. I am sure that eventually I will find my groove, and find an acceptable place to swim in, or near Vegas. It cannot be possible for ALL water around here to be illegal, or a party-zone, can it?





A BEAR (or is it BARE) In The Desert!

A BEAR (or is it BARE?) InThe Desert!

How would You React to Seeing a Bear, or BARE in The Desert?

“At Least I Know I Will Not Run Into Any Bears while hiking in The Desert.”

That is what I told a friend the day before I went hiking in The Desert…AND ACTUALLY RAN INTO A BEAR!

While at work, a friend and I were discussing the differences between hiking in the mountains, and hiking in the desert. We were discussing the different things you might encounter in the different regions of The U.S. The topic of snakes, critters, and other dangers came up. The possibilities of what one may encounter while in remote regions, and the dangers that could harm someone while hiking are as varied as the different types of regions. I am an avid hiker/ trekker/ explorer. I have been all my life. I am always curious, and want to learn what lives in any region, and the dangers those critters (big or small) may present to a Human. I do not have fear (usually) of these critters, but I DO Have Respect for them! If one goes through life in fear, they will likely forget to enjoy what nature has to offer, and often make tragic mistakes. Fear blocks the mind, and does not allow one to make logical, sensible decisions when faced with the danger. Understanding, and knowing what to do is a key to surviving what nature holds.

While discussing this subject, we were also discussing all the new things there were to learn, and understand. I had just recently moved from Oregon to Las Vegas. I have previously been in many different regions of The U.S., but The Mojave Desert is new territory for me. We were discussing how different snakes behave, how different spiders, and other crawling critters behave. I am quite familiar with snakes, and spiders. Scorpions are another story. I expressed that I was actually looking forward to finding Tarantulas, Scorpions, and some of the snakes I had not previously encountered. My friend mentioned that those are scary, and a good reason to NOT Go out in The Desert. I find those to only be a threat if you are not aware they are there. Awareness is a huge key to not getting hurt. I would rather hike with those than where the bears are. Bears are beautiful, and I have hiked around them most of my life. Bears are also THE ONE THING that Scares me! I have had bear-surprises more times than was comfortable. I have always done what one is supposed to do, when a bear is suddenly face-to-face with you, and never had a bad thing happen from a bear. Even camping, or backpacking, I have woken to bears in my camp, and even looking right at me through the tent-door. But I ALWAYS took the needed precautions, keeping food away from the tent, hung from a tree, and made sure to never wear food-smelling clothes into the tent. I Have had some scares, but never more from a bear.

When I was leaving work that day, and knowing I was going hiking the next day, My friend told me to “Be safe, and watch for the deadly critters while naked out there!” I laughed, and replied, “At least I know I will not run into any bears in The Desert.” Ha! Famous last words!

Well, I DID See a BEAR While Hiking in the Desert!
The funny thing is, There was BARE, and BEAR! Yup! While Hiking naked, I also found a BEAR!


Ya gotta love the humor of some people! I was at least five miles from the nearest anything, and suddenly, here is a recliner-chair, and a Giant Stuffed Bear! I am sure many would find it odd to see someone hiking totally naked in the 120-degree heat in the middle of a Desert. What I found unusual was that someone would go to the effort to haul a chair, and a stuffed animal out here. They set the bear up in the chair, on a small hill, overlooking the valley, and facing Sunrise Mountain. It would seem the bear has been out there for many years, and is quite content to sit and bake all day in the sun. He has a great view, and watches the sunrise every morning. He gets to see all the critters come and go. I am sure he sees his share of intrepid hikers go by, and probably has seen more than one could possibly imagine.

This bear is crusty with what nature has dealt him in this harsh environment. He has been through blazing heat in the summer, and below-freezing temperatures in the winter. I guess that would answer the life-long question about whether or not bear meat can in fact be frozen, then thawed, and still remain good! This bear seems to have been frozen, thawed, and baked to a golden-brown hundreds of times. And while He seems to be a little on the weathered side, He still seems quite content to sit here, and watch the sunrise every day. He has seen His share of flash-floods as they wash below his perch. He has withstood many freak- storms, as The Desert is known for sudden, and even violent Thunderstorms. He has seen rain, and likely is still wet inside from the soakings, and probably has dents in his head from the hail that has come. I am sure He has made friends with many scorpions, ants, snakes, and other assorted Desert Critters.

It makes me laugh to ponder all the possible reasons this bear was placed here, and the circumstances, and events that happened in the process of him being placed here. I can imagine the hilarity that followed, and even the many visits those people have made back out to visit this bear. I can imagine all the photos of this bear, and all the varied people that have posed with him. I can imagine the surprise, wonder, and humor that every single person who has stumbled upon him has enjoyed. I can imagine the caution, yet curiosity of the wild animals that live out here. Imagine the Coyote that comes out for his evening hunt, and suddenly finds this bear in a chair. Imagine the process that coyote goes through for endless hours trying to figure out this new thing. Is it safe? Why does it smell like Humans? Why does it not move? Why is it here? Is it edible? And, imagine as this timid Coyote is edging closer to this new thing, the breeze suddenly makes a bit of it wiggle, and the coyote jumps a foot high!

 I laugh at the possibility that this may have actually been placed with a hidden camera, and they are filming everyone and everything that comes near. (Picture me discreetly scanning my surroundings for a hidden camera.) Often we go places, and do things which we likely would be less eager to do, if We KNEW there was a camera. It gives me a laugh, though, and then rather than worrying about IF There was a camera, my mind turns to: “I wonder where I can see the footage they capture?” While most of what I do anymore in life would not change one bit, camera, or not, I still think occasionally like I did when I lived a Secret naked life. I am not secretive about much anymore. I have learned to embrace who I am, and What I do. While many think naked is somehow illegal, it is absolutely not. I do not do anything that could get me arrested, nor will I do anything that could land me in jail. (Simply naked is not illegal. For it to be illegal, it must be either Lewd, or Obscene… or both. The trouble comes when Most Do NOT understand the laws, and automatically think naked by itself is illegal, and even harmful. I simply enjoy as much of life as is practical without clothes. I seldom am where groups of people will see me, and the few that do are quite welcoming, because of how I go about it.)

(Not Sure You Are Comfortable Seeing Photos of Me Enjoying Life Nekkid?)

Look at your own level of comfort:

Here, you see many photos of me Bare with The Bear. I did not include anything too revealing. I was having a ball, and had not a care in the world while out there. I do not hide the fact that I love life naked.

My slogan in life (and the name of my blog) is: “Enter With An Open Mind, Or Closed Eyes”. I have found that when given a choice as to how much you view, or not, most find it quite welcoming, comfortable, and even funny. Many in my life who had previously thought naked was bad have been happy, and even comfortable around me while I am enjoying life in this way. For those of you who have seen me struggle and accept who I am in the past, can appreciate how much growth I have discovered along the way. I have written many blogs about the troubles, and torment I have been through. Rather than list a dozen links, You can just look to the list of labels to the right;
-------------------->>>
 Pick any label you want to see more of my thoughts on, and it will take you to the blogs. So far None of my blogs show any nudity. This is the first which shows any at all. The blog may discuss naked, and tell about it, but it is not to force anything on anybody. I like to let people discover for themselves what level of comfort is good for them. I have started the blog exploring what makes me who I am, and the struggles of what has brought me to where I currently am. Naked is a huge part of who I am, and What I do. Those who accept me into their lives do so at their own comfort level. BARE In The Desert is a major part of my life, since I currently live in a desert. Humor is also a huge part of my life. Thus, Bear, or Bare in The Desert is very fitting.

Many times, I have discovered that people want to explore naked in a “secret”, safe environment. That is another reason I freely make my photos available for all who play nice to view. Many people are not sure they want to see someone Bare in person, so they look through my photos first, and decide from there, it IS indeed safe, and even comfortable. (every photo in my blogs links to My Flickr phot account.) Feel free to explore at your own level of comfort…(and also know there is no way for anyone to know you were even there. The ONLY time I know who visits my pages is when they choose to leave a comment. There will NEVER be anything illegal, sexual, or even anything that is not family-friendly. You want to look, but cannot see what you want? Or You see more than you wish? My profile in Flickr details how to control what you do, or do not see. How much you see, or not is completely up to you. There are many levels of comfort. What you do is entirely your choice.)

I Hope You found joy, humor, and even comfort in discovering a BEAR (OR IS IT BARE?) In The Desert!
I Hope you have a SAFE and Wonderful day, and Thank you for Entering with an open mind, or closed eyes! JOn ~=:-)