Hot Springs Adventure

We made it out of Texas and into Arizona (now in CA). We stopped off for a couple of days in Las Cruces NM and it was wonderful. We went to White Sands in the morning and then Jason and I went to soak in the Hot Springs on the Rio Grande in a town called Truth or Consequences (how’s that for Step One all my recovery folks out there!). It was hands down, one of my favorite things I have ever done. I loved White Sands. It is truly an alien landscape in the middle of nowhere but soaking in the hot springs was my wish come true.

Ever since I can remember I have hated the cold. Not in like an “ugh, it’s cold, can’t believe I have to put on an extra layer,” but like “I HATE THIS TO MY BONES, GOD MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!,” kind of hatred. When I was little, you could often find me sitting in the shower until the hot water ran out. Still can some days. I was once told that I died in the cold in a past life by a healer, and BAM! I believe in past lives now because that rang 100% true to me. I detest the cold; I cannot stand when an a/c blows on me anywhere. It feels deeply unnatural. The first time I went to Cozumel, it was my first tropical experience when I was 12. I stayed in the water snorkeling one day for something like 8 hours. I had to soak in our hotel tub with a snorkel to get the salt off of my skin because it was starting to itch and burn. I had found my home out there in the water and I knew that in the future I would live somewhere tropical. Somewhere hot. I would much rather sweat than shiver. Plus, clothes have always been annoying to me. The less the better (amiright?). I am privileged enough to be able to live pretty much anywhere I want, which I know is not the case for all. What I have worked toward was making sure I would end up in the tropics. When Jason and I started dating, I made sure he would be willing to move to Hawaii someday. Not in a cute way, but in an, I-almost-made-him-sign-a-contract-kind-of-way. He verbally agreed and also said I would never have to live anywhere cold for too long. We lived in Saint Augustine for 8 years which can freeze (usually every other winter) and is pretty cold for about 3 months out of the year. That has been 3 months too many for 8 years. I get crabby, mean, and hateful in the cold, and especially without the sun. I need the sun y’all. I do not know how anyone agrees to live in Seattle. I am sure it is lovely in many ways, but if you can live anywhere, why there? I will never understand. You can regale me with all its loveliest qualities, and I will still say, you know you can live in Hawaii right? Have you been there? You should go there. And really do not go there, because then everyone will want to live there, and it is not big enough, so, keep on putting on the layers and brewing your craft kombucha and we will see you on vacation. Mostly I love to get to be in living water. The ocean or a mountain stream suits me best. One of the biggest draws of the tropics…

Back to New Mexico…My husband dismissed the hot springs on our last trip from California to Florida when we bought and drove our motorhome cross country. I was so sad. I long for them. Not only is it a warm bath in the middle of the desert but is a bath of living water in the middle of the desert. It is not full of chemicals that dry your skin like chlorine or fluoride and all the unfiltered pharmaceuticals. It is living, fresh water from a Hot Spring!! Our poor dermis these days really gets the raw end of the deal with tap water. Our beautiful skin flora (beneficial bacteria etc) does not need harsh soaps and lotions to live its best life. It needs to be supported with healthy, clean water and all-natural cleansers like oils and dry brushing to enhance our natural beauty. I have found that nature knows best and that anything you see on TV is selling you away from your own natural intuition. The intuition that tells you how lovely a raw coconut oil with maybe some essential lavender added to it that leaves you not only relaxed but connected to your body and products in much more grounded way than some chemical in a bottle on a shelf. But again, I digress. The Hot Spring we chose was Riverbend Hot Springs at the recommendation of a local. It was straight from heaven. It was quiet, on the river, 72 out, sunny, with a slight breeze. The pool overlooked the Rio Grande and was about 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Jason and I had not been alone, without our phones, or any distractions for two straight hours in I-cannot-remember how long. We did the communal pool for the first hour and a private tub for the second hour. It was nice to don the birthday suit and get to be in the sun and water for a little. For a little while I got to get back to nature in the very purest way. If you get the opportunity to get naked in the desert, I highly recommend it.

I love being in water. I like the grounding feeling. I like the cleansing feeling. I like the meditative time alone without a device demanding my attention. I like the time I get to spend in my inner world, connected to who I am without all the inundations and input from the outer world. A sanctuary.

So yeah, go there. Do the thing you love. It is worth it. Amen