The Family Tree
Volume 11, Number 8 November 2004
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: "Fools Talk, Cowards are Silent, Wise Men Listen" - Braulio Recolons (Barcelona Butcher) 

The SunTree Traveler

What Happened in October

SunTree Exposes itself in Desert Exposure (October Issue)
If you have not seen the October issue of the Desert Exposure, contact SunTree.  We have a few copies left.

Early Hauntings at Faywood? (UFO's?)
Even though this writer was in attendance at the last SunTree event at Faywood Hot Springs , I was not a personal witness to some of the events that took place and can only rely upon the word of those who claim to have seen the strange happenings.  Although, none of the attendees among the SunTree participants in that early October club event claimed to be from, or are related to anybody in Roswell, I think that maybe some of our members may be related to folks in that city colonized by extra-terrestrials.

Here are the "facts" as I heard them.  Judge for yourself what is true and what is not:

Sometime during hours following midnight on the morning of 3 October, some bright lights moved through the camping area of Faywood Hot Springs and hovered there for many hours. Apparently there was a very loud humming sound (anybody from Taos who can help us to identify nocturnal hums?) that lasted throughout the night. I, along with all other members of the SunTree campers (save one RV) knew nothing of these happenings and slept the sleep of the innocent. The residents of that one SunTree RV claim that they had unusual visitors throughout the night who woke them up. There were a number of seemingly intelligent creatures wandering around for several hours along with many bright and colorful lights illuminating the camping area.

Were those of us who slept through this adventure somehow anesthetized by hypnotic suggestion or perhaps overload of food from the potluck that night.  I cannot offer any conjecture on this, but only accept the testimony of those who claimed to experience these happenings at face value.

Are you ready for our Halloween event?  It probably will have happened before you get this newsletter, but if you are clairvoyant, you will have been warned.  I only hope that you (and I) will be prepared for whatever happens.

Organ Frigid Swim Party (The Hot Tub Was Great)
It seems that in the last month or so, the wet team from the SunTree gang has not had much luck in the swimming pool department.  Last month, at our Alamogordo event, the pool could not be used because it had developed a leak (all repaired now, so if you want to plan an ice water swim in December, contact SunTree).  We then had a steady breeze across the pool in Organ in October removing any heat from the swimming pool water faster than the pool heater could accomplish anything.  Actually, the people who turned out for this event really did not miss it too much. There were a few sunburns, a lot of good food, conversation and the hot tub got a good workout over the weekend.

That Halloween Event
As mentioned earlier, this newsletter is being written prior to our Halloween at Faywood event. Check back next month to see what sort of haunting occurred.

top of page

Events This Month

On the weekend prior to Thanksgiving weekend, we plan to pay a visit to one of our favorite places to have club events.  It will be at the beautiful Jardin del Sol in Marana, AZ.

If you plan to join us at JdS, let us know and, as importantly, let them know that you will be there with us.

For directions to the club and to make reservations, you can give them a call at 520-682-2537 or log on to their website Jardin del Sol.

A Repeat Alert from Last Month’s Newsletter

I would like to repeat the note that was in last month's newsletter concerning an event that the club is planning for late February. Here it is verbatim (almost):

We also want you to start you thinking about the event at the end of February when we plan to rent a condo in the Ruidoso area for a winter weekend. Those of us who want to ski will do that. We would like to find an appropriate size condo for the number who would like to go there, especially those who do not plan to ski and want to stay at the condo and fireplace or hot tub while the idiots (and some non-Redsox fans) are on the ski slopes.

November Celestial Events

Yet Another Month of Early Morning Activities
There will be a big "to-do" this month centering around the reunion of Venus and Jupiter. The night's two brightest "stars", celebrate Jupiter's predawn return with a tight embrace on the fourth and fifth, above Virgo's brightest star, Spica.  The crescent Moon joins them on the ninth, Jupiter as seen from parts of North America.  On the next morning, to celebrate the get together, there will be a parade across the morning sky.  There will be a beautiful vertical lineup (top to bottom) of Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars.  The erratic Leonid meteor shower is not expected to be visible this year. This has been spectacular in years past, but this year is claimed by the critics to be "Ho-Hum".  What there is of it will take place before sunrise on 18 November when the debris of Comet Temple-Tuttle will make a half-hearted attempt at a meteor shower.

There is not much in the night sky this month, so it is a great time to learn how to find the constellations.  Most everybody knows how to find Ursa Major (Big Bear) because part of that constellation is "The Big Dipper".  This month, during the normal viewing hours, that will be skimming along the northern horizon, only to get up into the viewing screen in the wee hours.  There is another array that is sometimes confused for the big dipper portion of Ursa Major and it will be high in the sky.  That is the portion of the constellation Pegasus known as "The Great Square of Pegasus".  It is a prominent square of stars.  The great square will rise (in early November) about dusk and climbs the sky to reach a point just south of the top of the sky around 10 PM early in the month and earlier as the month progresses.  It will reach the top around 7 toward the end of the month.  Just north of that square, you can see five stars which make the letter "W" (or "M" if you stand on your head) located on the edge of that white trail of Milky Way.  That "W" is Cassiopeia.

If you locate those two, then pick a spot approximately between them and scan toward your left (westward) until you see a sort-of flat arch of six or seven stars.  That will be Perseus.  If you are familiar with the stories of Greek mythology, it was Perseus who rode the flying horse Pegasus on his mission to rescue the fair Cassiopeia. From Perseus, scan southward to find the group of stars shaped roughly like the letter "V".  That is sort of a fishy constellation called Pisces.  Just below the point of the Picesian point is a dumbbell shaped group of stars called Cetus (the Whale). 

Look back at the great square when it is at the high point in the sky, then scan toward the south about half way to the horizon.  You can see a group of seven or eight stars in a rough circle.  Welcome to the constellation of Aquarius (named in the opening song of a famous play and theater popular in the late '60's and early '70's - later a movie).

© 2004 SunTree Travel Club - Site updated Summer 2008
Design and Maintenance by Paradigm Graphics & Web Design