Digging the 'Nude'

[caption id=“attachment_4017” align=“aligncenter” width=“450” caption=“Top- Digging crew. Bottom- Reuler & me on jackhammer.“]

I know, I know. The images are all messed up. Sorry. I had the most difficult time with a scanner I was using, and ended up with what you are seeing. You can click on each image & see the larger one, so quit griping & mumbling. Back in 2000,  Andy Macdonald  phoned me at Mission Valley skatepark, which I was running at the time. He told me to get to the house, because we were going to help dig out the ‘Nude’ bowl. He added conspiratorially, “Don’t tell a soul!”

We ended up driving out & meeting up with Dave Reul & a large crew that had–already–been digging with earth-moving equipment… for 18 hours! These guys had a huge amount of the dirt & debris removed by the time we arrived. We helped jackhammer the remaining coping off & help reset new blocks in place. We swept & shoveled, then rode a bit. It was rough, pock-marked & gouged.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last. Shortly after this, locals shut it down again. I was out in Joshua Tree a few weeks back. I decided to stop on the way home & see what was up with the ‘Nude’. I parked, hopped a big tall wall, and hiked all the way up there in the wind & rain. It was 6:00 am. There is a huge pile of building debris, dirt & trash on top of the pool. The mound is over six feet higher than coping level. There is a ton of earth & stuff in the pool.

The only area where you can see coping is at the shallow stairs. People have made the pilgrimage & dug it out to tile depth. There are small pieces broken off the tiles & coping, as pilgrims have collected souvenirs. I took a small quarter-sized piece for Salba, Reuler, Sam & myself. As I left, I saw a rainbow nearby. I took it as an omen. The skate gods, along with Jeff Phillips, Fausto, Baby Paul, Rubin Orkin, Andy Kessler & others, were pleased with me. R.I.P. guys. I miss the ‘Nude’ bowl. Never forget the skaters & spots that have passed on. Thanks to Scott Ward & Andy Mac for a few of the images. Skate-Ozzie