The Family Tree
Volume 11, Number 11 March 2005
A Publication of the SunTree Travel Club
SunTree Travel Club is an affiliate of The American Association for Nude Recreation
(AANR), AANR-West, the International Naturist Federation
and The Naturist Society

Thought for the Month
My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

The SunTree Traveler

What Happened in February

Valentine's Weekend camping trip to Faywood Hot Springs
The weekend before Valentine's Day looked like it might be one to warm the heart of the mudlarks and the ducks returning from their winter vacation. The Rio Mimbres was at full flow as the SunTree folks crossed it on the way to Faywood. It is rare to see any water in that river, but we got to see a rampaging torrent, not only in Grant County but also twenty miles south as the Rio winds its way though Deming. Water occasionally ran across various roads and the road to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument was closed due to a washed out bridge. 

In spite of all of the dire omens, the weekend turned out to be wonderful.  A little wet, but it cleared up on Saturday. Because of all of the delighted forecasts of floods and doom being spread by the broadcast news readers, it was surprising that as many of the SunTree crowd showed up. It was an excellent turnout. We even had some members show up who seldom are able to get away from their employment obligations to participate in the club events.  It was nice to reacquaint ourselves with them.  Maybe we need more of these flood situations to bring out the diehards. There were some people in the Faywood Hot Springs campground who would not have been there but for the rains. They had plans to camp farther up the road, but could not make it. We were happy to invite some of these to join with us on our Saturday evening potluck and Sunday morning breakfast. 

I must add a note here from the staff of Faywood Hot Springs. They wanted me to convey to the participating members that they really appreciate the help that the various SunTree members offered in preparing their clubhouse for the SunTree invasion. The people who helped in installing the signs and curtains (they specifically noted the help of Mr. Hake) and, later removing and packing these same after the event was over efforts were truly appreciated.

Annual Ski trip to Ruidoso
Due to the cold weather and various illnesses, the turnout for the "annual" ski trip to Ruidoso was down to nothing when the weekend finally got here. For the skiers, this has been one of the best years in recent memory, but most of the SunTree folks were not enthusiastic about the cold that seems to accompany the fantastic mountain snowfalls. For that reason, the ski weekend was moved from Ruidoso to Taos with only one participant who happens to be the editor of this newsletter. Everybody who participated had a fantastic time, both on the slopes, in the hot tub and at the dining table. See you all back again next year.

March Events

March Celestial Events

Spring Suprises Everyone by Appearing While the Argonauts Show us Saturn
Everything comes together in the right way for poor little Mercury this month as it offers its best display of the year. It is located straight above the point on the horizon that the sun used as a harbor to set for the evening. There is no other star nor planet in the vicinity at that time (40 minutes after sunset) to mislead you. It is best seen on the first ten afternoon/evenings of the month.

The Moon has agreed to be a guide once again this month to help us find bright Saturn and Jupiter. On the evenings of 18 & 19 March, the Moon will be hanging in the sky near Saturn. It will then drive over to the vicinity of Jupiter for the evenings of 25 & 26 March.

Another sky sign which has been helping us with locating planets over the last couple of months and continues to be a good "locater" is the constellation Gemini, those devil-may care twin brothers who can be found in the southeastern sky during prime viewing times this month. Gemini is the only constellation that really looks like what it is supposed to be. Alright, some folks say that the Big Dipper really looks like a big dipper, and it does, but that is only part of the constellation of the Big Bear (Ursa Major) and that takes a little imagination to make it into a bear. The Gemini really looks like two brothers standing next to each other (actually they are only stick figures, but that is the best form of drawing that I can accomplish, so I am willing to accept it).

I Greek Mythology, these twin brothers has a sister who was known as Helen of Troy. The twins sailed aboard the Arcos with Jason. The twins were considered by the ancient Romans to be protectors of sailors. We have a common phrase (though somewhat dated now days) relating to those ancient sailors. The Roman sailors would declare their veracity by swearing by Gemini (now it is By Jimminey and has nothing to do with any crickets).

The two stars that normally indicate the twins serve as their heads. The bright Pollux (which looks orange in a telescope) and his dim brother, Castor (who, when looked at through a telescope appears to have had his head split in two) are those two stars.

Since I started all of this about Gemini to show that it is a good locater, I will continue by saying that the Planet Saturn will be traveling this month in the Gemini constellation, just below Pollux. Saturn is bright this month and stays in the sky all night. If you have a telescope, you can see (on the right side of the planet) the shadow of the globe on its rings.

Jupiter, the other planet that will be pointed out by the moon as mentioned above, will be very bright and continue to get brighter through the month. In the early part of the month, it will not rise until about 8:30 in the evening, but it will rise earlier as the month continues. By the end of the month, Jupiter will be rising as the twilight of sunset is fading and will be high in the sky by the time of nighttime darkness. Jupiter, this month is vying for the title of Evening "Star" because of its brightness (Hint: Wait until next month, it will be the undisputed Evening "Star" then, but I do not want to give away any of the excitement of next month, so I will quit that conversation now.)

The Sun will cross over the equator at 5:33 MST on 20 March. Coincidentally that just happens to be the same time as the Vernal Equinox. SPROING!

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