I sit on the back patio of the Trimble Hot Springs Guest House. The night is crisp and clear. I can hear the occasional car sailing along the road between Durango and Silverton. A very impressive piece of real estate to be sure. It is around 11:30 at night. This is our last night here.
The place has been a joy. Firstly, the guest house is wonderful, clean and exceptionally well equipped for this family of four. The springs are nice and the olympic size pool, which I kind of scoffed at, is wonderful and great at wearing out Joel, who loves to do laps with his snorkel and flippers on.
The cabin has everything you could want from a french press coffee maker to a dish washer. It even has HBO. The wireless is a little weak but if you can walk a few feet down the hill to catch the signal you are good to go.
The springs of course are what helped us make this choice. We are spring whores. I admit it freely. Yet I have no intention of changing this behavior even if criticized for it. I love a good soak in spring water. The minerals are delightful and you mellow right out. Even the kids don't fight after about 20 minutes in the magic waters.
Yesterday we went to Mesa Verda. This national park is a great opportunity for people, on this continent, to get to see ancient ruins. This park is so unique because you get to crawl through some of these structures from 500 - 1250 a.d.. This is a great perspective check for the kids. I think it is very important to see things like this, that show the kids, that the roots of North American civilization go back farther than the ships coming from Europe.
We took a tour of the Balcony House which required climbing 32, 15, and 12 foot ladders. I must admit that climbing the 32 foot one was way outside my comfort zone. This ladder was two people wide and would have several groups going up at once. The kids were fine. Me, well I made it. As I was climbing the 32 foot ladder this dude climbing beside me started saying things like "don't look down" to which I said "Dude, really, don't be that guy. No one likes that guy...". It was good comic relief in a difficult situation.
The place included many rooms with separate areas for sleeping, cooking, hanging out etc... It reminded me things I had seen in Turkey during the early 90's. The Balcony House wood beams were dated back over 750 years.
Today I took the boys horseback riding through the mountains. It was fantastic. We rode to a cave like those used by the early Anasazi people. We had to make our way down a path that lead under the overhanging ledge to the cave within. This cave had a water supply and would have been a real winner for a family trying to keep out of the freezing cold winters.
It was great to see my kids riding horses and enjoying the adventure. I on the other hand, I had a little more trouble. I got tossed on my butt by my horse that was testing me and trying to rub me into a tree. I got tossed off the side onto a protruding rock. My butt has just begun to change colors. I know, Too Much Info, yet I have to go on.
After I fell, it was time for one of those moments where you have to show your strength. I had to look that horse in the eye and climb back on his back. I was shaky but did it. (here is one of my inner secrets, I have always had an anxiety fear that I will try to get on a horse and will not be able to drag my butt up there. I will get stuck there with people pushing my butt up onto the horse, with a look of mortificaiton on my face.) Yet I did a great yoga breath and pulled myself up reasonably well from the ground without the help of a much needed stepping stool. I had been tossed off a horse before so I had that memory from 25 years ago to build on. I was much more forceful with the horse from there on and he complied beautifully. Thankfully I have nothing more than a multi-color tush to show for it.
So now I sit, after about a 2 1/2 hour soak in the pools, making and eating dinner, and packing up most of our stuff. I sit staring up at the 1000's of stars visible above me at this very moment. I am snuggled into a blanket I dragged out from the bedroom. The beauty is all around. The mountains and their strong, rugged, magical energy are all around me. The stars are crisp and clear. The Milky Way is sailing through the sky right down the middle of my view.
There are few places on this earth that have the kind of pull the mountains provide. The air is clean and view is not invaded by lights and smog. I am so glad that Colorado is so close to my home. I know that while we have been drawn back time and time again, this is only the start of a beautiful relationship.
Tomorrow we move on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. More updates as they become available.
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