Glenwood Springs

Reunited after 18 days, Nancy and I struck out westward once again. I'd already been to Glenwood Springs, but wanted to visit there with Nancy, and it is also halfway to Moab. It was snowing as we crossed the Rockies, limiting visibility but thankfully not affecting the roads. So, Nancy saw little of the high peaks, but was luckily able to get a good look at some bighorn sheep:


The snow ended just before we drove through Glenwood Canyon, so she was able to take in the spectaclar views there. We passed by No Name, and into Glenwood Springs where we made camp. We had a mixed bag of weather during our two days there: alternating snow squalls and tenuous spells of sunshine. Here is the view from camp during a rare and brief moment of clear skies:


I spent some time cleaning the Whale (third time in a week), washing off another layer of road grime, salt and sand. We went into town and walked among the shops, restaurants and cafes. And we spent and afternoon at the hot springs:


There are two pools: a smaller one, the "therapy pool", maintained at a toasty 104 degrees, and an enormous pool, 405 feet long, kept at 93 degrees. The water bubbles out of the earth at 122 degrees, 350000 gallons per day, and gets mixed with fresh water to keep the pools at the desired temperatures. There is Sodium Chloride, Potassium Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate, and Calcium Bicarbonate in the water, giving it a noticeable odor, and adding to the buoyancy you feel when swimming.

We enjoyed 5 or 10 minutes per at a time in the therapeutic pool, getting all loose and relaxed, then "cooled off" in the big pool, looking up at the mountains and the occasional snowflake that swirled by. We definitely enjoyed our first mineral hot springs experience.

Oh, and I don't often take joy in the news of the violent death of another human being, but in this case I make an exception: Hooray for the death of Osama Bin Laden!