The owner of Tucson’s first nudist camp, Jardin del Sol, stated that volleyball was the nudist’s national sport. So, when he built his nudist camp about 35 miles northwest of Tucson, he made sure the volleyball facilities were top notch. Volleyball and nudity go well together, he told a reporter, both are freewheeling activities.
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1978 Star files
Dogs like to go to camp, too.
Longtime nudists, Vern and Jane decided to open Tucson’s first nudist facility in 1973, because they had been unable to find anyplace in Southern Arizona where they could walk and play nude without prying eyes. With their motto “A clean mind in a clean body,” they built their camp on 50 acres of remote desert land and called it Jardin del Sol. Shangri-La, north of Phoenix on Black Canyon Highway, was Arizona’s first nudist camp.
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By 1978, the club had 63 members who paid $130 a year. The members, who were known only by a first name, would visit the park for picnics, swimming and that ever popular volleyball. The facility was open seven days a week and there were spaces for travelling nudists to hook-up their motor homes.
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1978 Star files
Sitting poolside at Jardin del Sol.
Membership was open to anyone who sought a “wholesome and family oriented, not sexually-charged” experience. If married, both spouses had to belong. The club wanted to maintain a ratio of male to female members, which meant there was usually a waiting list of men. Fewer single women would apply to join.
There was no alcohol allowed at the camp. According to Vern, drinking and nudity were a bad combination, especially at a family-oriented camp like Jardin del Sol.
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