Its Finally here cooler weather and a full month of activities. We start with the AANR West Fall Festival October 11-13, The Bare Buns Desert Run October 25th, and then the Halloween Dance November 1st.

The Halloween Dance is a members only event with reservations required. Reservations open to Residents on October 1st then Members on the 8th. You can only make a reservation for yourself not for anyone else. We will not take reservations for a room or RV site without a reservation for the dance, with limited availability for the dance we do expect it to fill up quickly. 

If you would like to volunteer to help with the AANR West Fall Festival reach out to us here in the office. We will also be looking to our members and residents for help with the Bare Buns Run but that will be closer to the actual date of the event.

We are sending out reminders of rules and regulations for everyone. As a general reminder all guests need to check in and pay for their visit in the office. If you bring in a guest you need to make sure that they register and are paid for their stay. If you have a unit here at the ranch and have someone checking on your unit while you are away that is ok, but if you have someone staying at your place while you are gone that is not allowed nor are sublets of any kind.

Just a reminder if you see an open site that does not mean the site is available. 

As the sun goes down earlier and earlier remember to make sure the lights on your golf cart are functioning and that when you are out and about in the dusk and dawn times that you carry a flashlight. 

SHANGRI LA RANCH is more than a just clothing-optional resort; it’s our neighborhood and our home. We live on 50 remarkable acres of desert landscape, rich in history and with a climate conducive to nude living most of the year. There is an amazing array of plants and wild life, not to mention all kinds of amenities, for all of us to enjoy.
One of the key tenets of the American Association for Nude Recreation is visible altruism, the observable behaviours and actions that demonstrate a selfless concern for the well-being of others. It can range from small, everyday gestures of civility, such as holding the door for someone, to more significant ones like volunteering.
Daily care of the Ranch involves a dedicated team who is on duty keeping the business of the resort running and its facilities operational. They work long hours, sometimes under interesting conditions, and have a never-ending list of tasks; but that’s not the whole story. We also depend on an exceptional group of volunteers who donate their time by giving back to our community. From cleaning the public facilities to watering plants and clearing weeds; from maintaining the dog run to caring for our trees and shrubbery – and we cannot forget those individuals who help with festivals and special events throughout the year. These are folks who take pride in their neighborhood and want to make a contribution. The key is that the altruistic act benefits others, even when it involves some degree of self-sacrifice, be it time or resources.
So, how can you get involved? It’s easy: stop by the office and let Patty, Cyndi, Danielle or Gary know that you want to volunteer and how you would like to help. Whether it’s offering just an hour or two here and there, or pledging to take stewardship of an area – it all helps. It’s a great way to say thanks for this little corner of paradise we call home!

• UVB rays primarily cause sunburns and are strongest during the summer.
• UVA rays, which cause premature skin aging, remain constant in their intensity throughout every season. They can penetrate deep into the skin, contributing to wrinkles, fine lines, and the development of skin cancer.

The wind came soft over the mesas, a warm hush that carried the scent of creosote and distant rain. At Shangri La Ranch, where the saguaros kept their stately vigil and the cottonwoods whispered over the wash, evening settled like a shawl around bare shoulders. The campfire cracked and threw up sparks that drifted into the desert sky like tiny new constellations. Someone laughed. Someone tuned a guitar. Someone passed a plate of cut watermelon, juice running like sunset across fingertips.

I arrived just as the first coyote call stitched the horizon. My name hardly mattered here—names always seemed heavier back in the city. Here, the breeze peeled them off the way the sun stripped shadows from noon. The ranch wasn’t just clothing-optional. It was story-required. The kind you tell with your whole self, without buttons or hems between you and the night air.

“Trail or tale?” asked the caretaker with a wink, gesturing toward the trailhead and the fire in the same motion.

“Both,” I said.

And so I walked the twilight trail, the earth giving a little under my soles, dust rising in a thin halo around each step. The desert kept offering small miracles to anyone slow enough to notice: the pale bloom of a night-blooming cereus unfurling like a held breath, a quail convoy shuttling across the path, the sudden silence that wasn’t silence at all but a thousand tiny lives in careful agreement.

When I returned to the circle, the guitar had found a rhythm that sounded like footsteps on packed sand. People scooted in, the way campfire people do, making room that didn’t look like there was room to make. I told them about the flower in the dark, about the hush that held it open. Someone added a memory about a monsoon that baptized them on a dare. Another shared a story about finding a ring at the bottom of the pool and returning it to its owner three summers later. The flames nodded, approving.

Somewhere after the last chorus, a shooting star unzipped the sky, and for a moment we were all barefoot children again, making wishes we didn’t say aloud for fear they’d come true too quickly. I looked around the circle and understood: Campfire tales traveled farther than any trail, crossing from mouth to mouth, heart to heart, like sparks on a friendly wind.By the time the embers turned to ruby, the desert had written its story on each of us. We just had to carry it gently home.

1 lb Italian sausage (mild or spicy)

1 (19 oz) package frozen cheese tortellini

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, cubed

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

December 6th is our annual Gift exchange, keep in mind if you plan on attending and participating this is a gift that you would like to receive, not a white elephant. 

December 31st New Years Eve Dance this is a residents and members only event, with more details being announced as we get closer.