Photo of the day: in the nude

What caught my attention was not the, ahem, bum line-up, but the caption for the photo:
"CALIFORNIA—Near Bakersfield, 1983"

The Bakersfield I know--from 1991 on--was one conservative place.  A couple of years ago, it was rated the most conservative city in California, and the eight most in the country!!!  And this was only eight years before I first got to visit Bakersfield?  Did the transition happen that fast?  Is the caption incorrect?  Hey, anybody from Bakersfield reading this?  Any stories to tell?

BTW, that was not the only photo from "near Bakersfield" ... there are more.  As always, only the best photos from Magnum (via Slate)