As the temp climbs to a scorching 98 degrees, the scooters line up in a row, facing the setting sun. No one bothers to put on a shirt. The sunflowers droop their heavy heads in a bow. And a man on a Vespa revs his tiny engine, the sound a buzzing, joyful defiance against the weight of the weather.
The connection to the sunflowers is more than just scenic. The farm, run by a patient family named Gruber, plants these towering yellow giants specifically as a privacy screen for the nudist section of the trail. “We’re not trying to shock the neighbors,” says Marta Gruber, wiping sweat from her forehead with a sunflower-print towel. “We’re trying to remind people that a body in the sun is just a body. The sunflowers don’t care. The bees don’t care. Only the thermostat cares.” Scooters Sunflowers Nudists Temp
Sometimes, you have to strip down to find out what really moves you. And sometimes, you just have to go 25 miles per hour to feel a breeze that actually saves your life. As the temp climbs to a scorching 98
And the heat does care. It dictates the rules. By 11:00 AM, the pavement is too hot for bare feet, hence the Tevas. By noon, the plastic seats of the Vespas become miniature frying pans. I watch a woman named Diane drape a damp chamois cloth over her seat. “Secret trick,” she winks. “Evaporative cooling. Also keeps you from sticking to the vinyl.” And a man on a Vespa revs his