Hot Springs is a neat town. Population around 35,000 and a pretty good arts community – in no small part due to the involvement of my friends who helped found the KUHS 97.9 FM community radio station, a community arts center and gardens, among other things. I got my camper popped up in their driveway and we set out for a hike. The national park is interlaced with the town proper, so it both runs through town in some parts…
Another glorious sunrise! “Red skies in morning, sailors take warning” Uh oh. After breakfast and coffee, we took Argos for a walk to the trailhead about a mile away. We broke camp and tried to meet up at the hot springs, but my new friends were leaving just as I pulled into the parking area. They said taking a dip was well worth the time, so I hiked in. There were a number of people in the large open hot…
Gila Cliff Dwellings and more hot springs I woke up and took a morning soak. I could get used to this. Pugsly seems to like stomping around in the leaves. After my morning soak, coffee, and breakfast, I packed up camp and headed for the Gila Cliff Dwellings about 8 miles up the road. I stopped at the Visitor’s Center and arrived just in time for the 15-minute informational movie. The Puebloans of the Mogollon area built these dwellings between…
Tuesday, December 20, 2016 Silver City and Gila Hot Springs Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice and yesterday I climbed a mountain to find some hot springs, but first stopped at Silver City, New Mexico. Silver City, NM is an artsy little town similar to a couple of other mining towns I’ve visited, Jerome and Bisbee, Az. It’s interesting that artsy little towns grow from the chaos and destruction of the mining industry. On the way to Silver city, is the…
It’s easy to lose track of the day of the week out here. I wish I could lose it altogether. I stopped at a little Sharky’s Shack in Klamath Falls, OR. Found it on Yelp as I passed through and decided to stop for a sandwich. I chatted with the woman behind the counter who turned out to be the owner. I don’t remember what all we talked about, but it was a good laughter-filled brief discussion while she made…
Mono Lake was the saving grace of highway 395 for me. It is otherworldly and worth a visit. The “Tufa” rock towers form when underwater springs rich in calcium mix with the waters of the lake, which are rich in carbonates. The resulting reaction forms limestone. Over time the buildup of limestone formed towers, and as the lake receded (been used up…) so much over the years we now have a small forest of these entities. A nice young tourist…