The night we arrived we just walked around the downtown area and grabbed a drink at a local bar. The people were so nice. The owner told us about several other places we should try while in town, including a German restaurant/bar that we loved!
The next day Bond had a meeting to attend for most of the day so I headed out to explore. I started by getting dropped off at the mountain view tower. Here are some views...
Afterwards I headed to a trail and started down the mountain.
At the base of the mountain there is a park area and walking trail that runs behind bathhouse row with stairs leading up to the hiking trails.
There are hot springs dotting this area. Much like this one...
After my hike I went to the visitor center. The visitor center is actually in the Fordyce Bathhouse which was a working bathhouse from 1915 to 1962. When I got there they were starting a free tour of the first and third floors. The guide explained all the basics of the bathhouse, but also went into some specifics about the "cutting edge medical" treatments and equipment used at the time.
The Fordyce bathhouse also had all the original stain glass (except one small window that was broken and replaced during neighboring construction). The men's bathing room has the most exquisite ceiling...
Below the stain glass window was this fountain which represents a native attempting to give Coronado water from the Hot Springs.
After the tour I walked down to the Buckstaff Bathhouse. This is the only bathhouse on bathhouse row that has been in continuous operation since 1912. At the front desk I asked to have a mineral whirlpool bath and a swedish massage. No reservations are taken, but I was able to walk right in without a wait.
First you get a 20 minute soak in a bath of hot mineral water. During this the attendant brings you glasses of mineral water to sip. Then you do a sitz bath for 10 minutes, which is a bath you sit just your lower back in. This targets your lower back muscles. After that you are laid down wrapped in hot towels. This is called "packing" and it continues to loosen and relax your muscles. You spend about 10 minutes in the packing room too. Then in to the steam cabinet. This is a primitive version of the sauna and the steam is directly from the hot spring water so it is really hot! You can only spend a maximum of about 4 minutes in this. The last part of the traditional mineral bath is the needle shower. Her is a picture of the needle shower from the Fordyce bathhouse...
It has shower heads all around the shower stall. The shower heads shoot small "needle" like sprays of water with various levels of pressure. Then I had my swedish massage to stimulate the muscles. It was wonderful!
Have you ever been to a natural hot spring? Where?
2 comments:
Your Dad and I went to Hot Springs on a birthday trip for me quite a few years ago. I loved the bath houses. I'll never for get the woman who comes in to scrub me in the hot tub. She asked if I wished to be covered by a towel. I thought, "Okay, get over the modesty. Have the full experience. After all, she is a professional." So I said, "No, that won't be necessary. I'm sure you've seen it all." She starts to scrub my bare chest and says, "Actually, this is my second day."
Your re-design is beautiful!!
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