Attending a party in the buff was all I needed to finally embrace my sense of adventure.
I didn’t plan to go with a bunch of tourists and locals to a creek in Terlingua, Texas. I didn’t plan to skinny-dip under a night sky dotted with constellations of twinkling stars. I definitely didn’t plan to return to my Couchsurfing spot and hang out naked while drinking beer and eating pizza at a naked party. But that’s what makes traveling so special, it gives you the opportunity to try unexpected things that you’d never thought you’d do.
The day before the naked party, I set out for Terlingua from Dallas on an impulsive road trip to hike in Big Bend National Park. Money was tight, so I had booked a Couchsurfing spot with a 70-year-old man, let’s call him Bill, who split his time between Austin and Terlingua. Wi-Fi and a private room with a blow-up mattress convinced me to book my stay.
When I arrived, I met Bill at his house. Soon after setting down my bags, he insisted on taking me to the porch next to the Starlight Theatre to meet the other locals, some of whom lived in the area year-round, rocking t-shirts, shorts, and dust-covered Chacos.
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While sitting on the porch, I overheard one person mention visits to the nearby hot springs for nighttime skinny dipping. A little later, someone else brought up impromptu naked parties held in various homes.
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“Y’all sure like to get naked down here,” I commented, unable to resist chiming in.
“It’s so hot here, it just makes more sense to be naked,” replied one of the locals. I was assured that these naked parties weren’t sexual or exactly planned; they just happened.
Terlingua isn’t a nudist destination, although there are quite a lot of them in the U.S., like Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Kissimmee, Florida’ Prairie Haven Nudist Camp in Scranton, Kansas; and Wildwood Naturist Resort in Decatur, Texas.
The next day, Bill drove me into Big Bend National Park, where we enjoyed a short hike before heading to the hot springs. I jumped between the hot springs and the Rio Grande, fully clothed in my swimsuit, while Bill relaxed naked in the springs. Not long later, a guy and a woman in their early 20s traveling across the nation arrived. We all got to chatting, and Bill invited them to stay on his couch, and they agreed.
Manuel Garza [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0] FlickrThat night, Bill and I, along with the young tourists, returned to the porch, where a group of tourists and locals in their 20s and 30s gathered. We shot off fireworks and sang ‘90s favorites to the strumming of a guitar, before dancing in one of the empty restaurants down the street. Finally, someone suggested we go skinny dipping in the creek.
I’d never skinny dipped with others before, but it was dark, and I was caught up in the spirit of letting loose and having fun. As the Terlinguan local mentioned the night before, it was hot, even at 11 p.m. After an hour or so of skinny dipping, someone suggested we head over to Bill’s house, where—just as the locals described it—an impromptu naked party broke out.
I never imagined I’d attend a naked party, with the lights on, where everyone could see, well, everything. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any awkwardness or discomfort at the naked party. Instead, people looked each other in the eye when they spoke. No one touched each other inappropriately or tried to engage in sexual activity. We simply ate pizza and drank beer in the buff, as if it were any other late-night hang.
Boz Bros [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0] FlickrSince attending my first naked party, I’ve reflected on the experience and how freeing it felt for someone like me to be naked around strangers. Until this trip, I was known for being a little high-strung and fearful of taking risks. Admittedly, I often held myself back from doing anything fun or spontaneous out of concern that something “bad” might happen.
Since the naked party, I’ve been more willing to take risks while traveling, seeking outlandish, odd, or once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It has led me to more nude spaces like a sex resort, unique experiences like paranormal investigations in haunted mansions, and nights partying with professional snowboarders in Aspen. All it took was daring to shed my clothes, freeing myself to become the kind of traveler who says yes to adventure and embraces the
