Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Faywood Hot Springs, Faywood, NM
October 23, 2006
Pools were divided into warm, hot, and hottest. Zorah's favorite was the foot bath, which was coolest.
We stayed there for a while. Since I didn't feel like going in, never really caring for hot tubs, and detesting them since the incident of 2001, I wandered around and took pictures. Here is the path to the outhouse:
As we were leaving, an old man with a shock of vertical white hair disrobed (completely) and sank into the hot pool He had such a look of total bliss on his face I wanted to snap a picture, but I didn't want to be rude.
The next morning I promised that I would go in too. As we approached the pools, I heard this loud clicking. The closer we got, the louder it got. Finally, I saw what it was and ran back to the trailer to get my camera. It was the sound of thousands of bugs eating! No one staying at the place had ever seen them before, and they flocked in just about when we arrived. They weren't just outside the pools, they were also in the showers, toilets, everywhere.
As we drove out of Arizona, flipping through our campground bible and searching online for places that would catch our fancy, Brian came across a natural hot springs. It was a little bit out of the way of the main drag, but it looked good to him. Why? It was clothing optional. The idea of being allowed to be naked in a hot spring was just too much for him to resist. I myself am not a big fan of hot tubs, but he promised that hot springs were different, and we all agreed to give it a try.
Faywood Hot Springs is a small place about 30 miles off the highway. It's entrance was hard to find, just an opening in a chainlink fece and a small sign. We still weren't sure we were in the right place, as we had to follow a winding dirt track through brush and hills. Finally, however, we made it to the actual office where they had a very interesting garden of cacti. First this lovely specimen:
One that made me think of a snowman:
I don't need to say what this brought to mind:
I think that the people who ran the place liked the fact that the campground was difficult to find, as did the campers. When talking to a few, they said that they made sure to visit for extended periods of time.
After we unhitched the trailer and got all our lines connected, everyone but me got into suits and took a walk around. There were clothing optional and clothing required pools in three different locations. We went into the clothing required area. Ian certainly didn't feel that there really was an option. And neither did I.
We went through the door to the clothing optional pools, and stepped onto this windy, overgrown path, with no pools in site. Little clearings would open up to decorative sculptures. Pretty cool. Finally, we reached the pools. They were simple adobe, in keeping with the whole atmosphere of the place. Tiles and bright colors would seem garish here.
We stayed there for a while. Since I didn't feel like going in, never really caring for hot tubs, and detesting them since the incident of 2001, I wandered around and took pictures. Here is the path to the outhouse:
As we were leaving, an old man with a shock of vertical white hair disrobed (completely) and sank into the hot pool He had such a look of total bliss on his face I wanted to snap a picture, but I didn't want to be rude.
The next morning I promised that I would go in too. As we approached the pools, I heard this loud clicking. The closer we got, the louder it got. Finally, I saw what it was and ran back to the trailer to get my camera. It was the sound of thousands of bugs eating! No one staying at the place had ever seen them before, and they flocked in just about when we arrived. They weren't just outside the pools, they were also in the showers, toilets, everywhere.
Anyway, we skirted them and went into the clothing optional pool area again. This time, Brian and Zorah both took the option. I didn't. A few people came in, saw us there, and left. Brian told me it was because I was wearing my suit, and they didn't want to make me uncomfortable. I told him that was a spiel to get me to take my suit off.
When the fourth person came and left, and Ian went back to the trailer, I decided to call his bluff. He was right. After that other people came into the pools. The water was actually nicer without the suit on. The adobe surfaces acted like Velcro to the swimsuit material. Still, I didn't stay in long. Though it was better than a hot tub, no chlorine, and softer water, it was still a hot tub, if you know what I mean.
Eventually we got dressed and went to have lunch and to decide what to do with the rest of the day. What we did turned out to be my favorite part of the whole trip. Not just in New Mexico, the whole entire trip.
Benson KOA, Benson, AZ
October 22, 2006
Who would ever think that such aan average sign could cause such elation! The rest of the trip was uneventful. We started getting tired of driving as we approached the Arizona-New Mexico border, and decided to stop at the KOA in Benson, Arizona. What is Benson? Well, it's a small town close to the Arizona-New Mexico border! We didn't stay and see the town, really.
And I saw this one lovely flower in a sea of dry dirt.
The campground's swimming pool was really interesting. They had those big spool bases for umbrellas, and a solar heating system I hadn't seen before, but which made perfect sense. An area by the pool was fenced off, and inside were black hoses laid in coils which ultimately emptied into the pool. Isn't that neat? I kind of felt like taking a picture of that too, but thought it would be way too geeky, even for me. Zorah enjoyed the pool immensely.
The next morning, we got up early and headed out to New Mexico, but not before taking a picture of Zorah next to our friendly Cochise. They had different tribes for the different sections of the park. They look kind of alike!
Okay, so let's see if I can remember everything that happened more than six months ago! Lucky I took all these commemorative photos.
Another Rule: Fill up the tank the night before you set out!
As we pulled out of Desert's Edge, it was early, and we were tired. I noticed that we only had about a third of a tank of gas in the truck. On any other occasion, this wouldn't be a really big deal, but when you are towing a trailer behind you, it is. Of course, we decided that we would wait and fill up when we got out of the city. We were sure there would be plenty of diesel-selling service stations on the road to New Mexico.
Well, we were wrong. I kept glancing up at the miles to empty indicator, and noticed too that 2 or 3 miles were ticking down on the meter to every one mile on the odometer. So it looked like we actually had about 10 miles until empty, maybe less. As the miles ticked by at normal speed and 3x speed, my anxiety increased. Each gas station we passed had no telltale yellow or green pump. At least the motorcycle had gas if we got into the same situation as before. And then, I saw the sign, like a beacon from heaven. I was so happy I took a picture!
Who would ever think that such aan average sign could cause such elation! The rest of the trip was uneventful. We started getting tired of driving as we approached the Arizona-New Mexico border, and decided to stop at the KOA in Benson, Arizona. What is Benson? Well, it's a small town close to the Arizona-New Mexico border! We didn't stay and see the town, really.When we checked in at the campground's office, we were greeted by a lovely and incongruous Korean couple. One would think, being Asian-American myself, I wouldn't be surprised, but I was. At least I didn't comment on it, like the gas station attendant who told me I spoke English so well when I asked for a pack of Marlboros. After we unhooked the trailer, Brian gave Z a ride around the park.
And I saw this one lovely flower in a sea of dry dirt.
The campground's swimming pool was really interesting. They had those big spool bases for umbrellas, and a solar heating system I hadn't seen before, but which made perfect sense. An area by the pool was fenced off, and inside were black hoses laid in coils which ultimately emptied into the pool. Isn't that neat? I kind of felt like taking a picture of that too, but thought it would be way too geeky, even for me. Zorah enjoyed the pool immensely.
The next morning, we got up early and headed out to New Mexico, but not before taking a picture of Zorah next to our friendly Cochise. They had different tribes for the different sections of the park. They look kind of alike!
