UNCOMMON Summer Guide 2016 is SENSE a sensual experience by Dennis Myers, Jeri Chadwell-Singley, and brad bynum
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul,” wrote Oscar Wilde in the second chapter of The Picture of Dorian Gray. When the novel was first published in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, the hedonistic behavior of the main character offended British moral sensibilities. Well, we here at the RN&R are hedonists, too—though probably not to the degree of the Dorian Gray character. I mean, we’re definitely not sold on the idea that youth and beauty are everything. Nevertheless, we’ll take a page from Wilde’s book—in a manner of speaking—and encourage you to unleash your inner hedonist with these arousing summer activities.
The water at Carson Hot Springs varies between 95-110 degrees.
Get an eyeful Mini golf is one of those things that’s generally good for people of all ages— an excellent option when family's in town or anytime there's a lull in summer events. There’s just something about the forest of silly obstacles that calls for good-natured behavior and reconnects us with our youths. Think back to your youth. What did you want to be when you grew up? A pirate? There's totally a pirate ship at the mini golf place. A knight in shining white armor? There are plenty of dragons— some two-headed—for the slaying. How about an intrepid explorer?—then you won't mind when your ball gets lost somewhere within the dark, spidery recesses of the putt-putt pyramid. Visit Magic Carpet Golf, 6925 S. Virginia St., 853-8837, this summer. There's a special magic about the obstacles there, which—like childhood memories are wont to do—have become a little worse for wear. They may have faded with time but, if you use your imagination, there's still a bit of magic there.
PHOTO/ERIC MARKS
14 | RN&R |
JUNE 9, 2016
It’s hot outside; take off your clothes. Summer ’tis the season for skinnydipping, whether that’s soaking in a sulfuric hot spring, or diving into a cool pool at some secret swimming hole. And it’s great to
get naked and have fun—wholesome or otherwise—with your friends. And, you know, don’t be a dick about it. No need to leer or make shitty comments. Just enjoy the sights. There are few things in the world more beautiful than naked humans—in all their shapes and sizes. Drive across Nevada in the dead of night. The highways are long, straight, dry for miles upon miles. At, say, 2 a.m. somewhere between Battle Mountain and Elko, stop. You don’t even have to pull to the side of the highway—there will be no traffic. Shut off the car and lights and get out of the car. There will be a blackness all around, and also an alluring silence— no hum of the city. And straight overhead will be the most brilliantly clear stars you have ever seen, none of them diminished by the lights of the city. Don’t bother telling anyone about what you saw and felt when you get back to civilization. There’s no communicating it. It has to be experienced.
Play it by ear The regular season of Major League Baseball is 162 games long. That’s not 162 games total—but 162 games for each team. (In the National Football League, by contrast, each team plays a tenth as much—just 16 games a season.) That
