Ojo Caliente and a Day Off

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We woke up early as Ed and I had the whole day to ourselves and didn’t really want to waste a moment of it. By 8am we were at breakfast at a local favorite, Michaels Kitchen; by 9am we were on the West Rim Trail of the Rio Grande Gorge. Ed went mountain biking and I went hiking. We both had a fabulous time. I got my walking meditation in and Ed got his rolling meditation in (although it was more like paying attention to the rocks in the path). There is not much I can say about it other than the temperature was perfect, we only saw one group of mountain bikers the entire 90 minutes we were on the trail, there were beautiful hawks circling overhead most of my walk (Ed was probably not looking up so might have missed this part), and it was great to just have quiet time with no demands on us.

By 11am we hopped back in the car totally refreshed and ready for the next stop which was Ojo Caliente, a mineral hot springs and spa. There we soaked in natural hot tubs filled in arsenic, soda, arsenic/iron combination, iron, and mud. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing (children are pretty discouraged and quiet whispers the rule). Someone I met there mentioned that you either leave invigorated or comatose (but either way you are happy). I ended up the former and Ed the latter (as you can tell from one of the attached pictures). We had a tasty lunch and then on to our massages.

Both of us got incredibly good masseuses and an added benefit of great conversations. We soaked a bit more after the massages, then cleaned up and left. I should mention that the paragraph above might be short but lasted around 5 hours (IT WAS GREAT!).

Our ride back was eventful in a fun sort of way. It should be about an hour back to Taos from the springs. Well our trusty GPS device (Garmin, whom I will call ‘she) had an interesting selection of roads. At one point after we got back on the road, I asked Ed if he thought we had to cross the gorge because we had to take the bridge on the way there so shouldn’t we have to cross it on the way back. We were not sure but kept on going. Well 7 miles down a small road, the small road gets smaller and changes to gravel with a sign reading “Steep road ahead, tight turns, gravel,…” We were really unsure so turned around and headed back. We asked a local who laughed at us and said she took her bus down that road. So not to be outdone, back the 7 miles again, here we go. Now for those of you who know how I drive, if I tell you I drove in the center of the road at 15 miles/hr, you could probably picture this road. It took us to the bottom of the gorge and we drove along it for a few miles. It was great once we got to the bottom and luckily the way up was paved (whew!).

Ed here, Ojo Caliente. What can I say. I have never been this or that relaxed in my life. When I went into the iron pool, 2 minutes after that I had a metallic taste in my mouth. It was the same with the arsenic pool, yes arsenic, but the dose that the great EPA assures will not kill you. Then to the mud bath, yes, I said mud bath. Rub a dub dub dub in the mud, and then take pictures. Great thing for adults to make mud pies again, on their bodies that is.

A BIG thanks to my parents for making this day possible.

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