Ojo Calliente, NM

 "Warm Eye" in Spanish

As one of the oldest natural health resorts in the U.S., Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa opened its doors in 1868.

Steeped in myth and legend, these ancient springs have been a gathering place and source of healing for thousands of years. The use of the waters can be traced back to the earliest human migrations in the region. The ancestors of today’s Native American Tewa tribes, built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs.

Tradition tells us that often-warring tribesmen would set their weapons and differences aside to gather in peace at the springs to enjoy the benefits of the waters, and to trade and heal their wounds and ailments without conflict.

In the 1500’s the Spaniards, in their quest for gold and the Fountain of Youth, also discovered the springs.

 We had tried to make plans in years past for a visit. This time we made it happen. They have beautiful hotel rooms and cabins that include early entry to the springs without a charge. We stayed with the  riff raff in the treed RV section for $40 per night and would walk over to the springs and restaurant and pay for our use of the pools.
Mornings and evening was the best and most comfortable.

  We got a chance to be a kid again in our unique Mud Pool. Where else can you slather mud all over your body and bake in the sun until done? Toxins are released from the pores of your skin as the  special blend of clay dries. You come away feeling cleansed and refreshed!

The mud bath was a new experience. Slather mud from a fountain all over the body, lay in the sun until it dries. I did wear my sunhat which now has the ring of red mud on it "souvenir". Then step into the cool mud bath water to rinse off some of the mud. Then stand under the buckets to rinse off the rest of the mud. Mike offered to take some dirt from New Mexico so I could do it all again once we left and he would hose me down. But the appeal isn't the same. We left all of the dirt there.

The unique combination of four different sulfur-free mineral waters: Lithia, Iron, Soda and Arsenic, with more than 100,000 gallons a day steaming to the surface revitalizing us.

A Native American legend tells that the giant rock in the Iron Pool guards the place where the ancient people of the mesa once received food and water during times of famine. The warm, iron-rich water bubbles up from the natural pebble floor, providing hot spots to discover in this mystical outdoor cliffside pool. Iron is considered to be beneficial to the blood and immune system.

The people visiting the hot springs seemed to be moving in slow motion. I move and talk fast often and found this a bit odd. Maybe the minerals and arsenic was starting to affect them. 

 Every so often a person from the front desk would walk around carrying a paddle with small chimes that read "whisper zone". After a while, I started to slow down a little bit. It could have been that I was getting relaxed from all of that warm water.

Ojo's Santa Cruz Church built by the Spaniards in 1793. They were determined to convert the Natives Indians to Catholics.

Back at the spa...

Smoking mesquite 

National Historic Bathhouse

I had trouble disconnecting while walking the labyrinth. I just kept looking around at everything instead of clearing my mind. I guess that is how I roll.

The hiking trails from the Hot Springs went into the national forest. The Posi Trail and River Bosque Trails.

The waters at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs have been deemed sacred by the 8 Northern Pueblo tribal communities for nearly 3,000 years. Pueblo ruins rest just above the property.

Pottery chards along the trail

This group was going through a smoke purification ritual before their hike. It was getting pretty warm as we returned from our hike.

Old roundhouse.

Old ovens



 We put in for a 6 am wakeup call (set the alarm on my phone) which startled us. Once we remembered why the alarm was going off, we got ready for an early morning hike up to Joseph's Mica Mine. As we walked the 2 miles up to the mine, I wondered how a person would decide where to start digging a mine. As we walked up the last rise before the mine, the ground started to sparkle in the morning sun. At first I though someone had crushed glass all over the side of the hill. When we looked closer, we saw it was "fools gold" mica.

Mica was sparkling all across the face of the hill.

I could have missed this horned toad if he hadn't moved.

Even though we stayed at the hot springs RV park for 4 nights we only used the hot springs one day and opted for massages the next. It was a good base to hike and visit other sites nearby. The temperatures in New Mexico's desert were in the 70s and 80s which sounds great but gets toasty in the sun making electric hookups and air conditioning a good thing.

The restaurant had amazing food. Blue corn and pinon nut pancakes with berries and burrito with green chile and tomatillos. This place was definitely A1!

Wallowa Lake, Oregon

Northeast Oregon

Wallowa Lake State Park

 As we traveled around Oregon, people kept telling us that we needed to visit Joseph and Wallowa Lake. We managed to get 5 nights with full hookups in the state park, so we could checkout all of the hubbub. Our first two days were pretty cold with lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. The space heater was working overtime as we awoke to snow one morning. The park ranger said that the campground was not too full since many people asked for refunds and left early. That just made more room for us.

 

  Wallowa Lake is a glacial lake at the base of the Wallowa Mountains in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. 

 

We had full hookups but no WIFI or Sprint service at our site. Once a day we would walk to the marina and use their WIFI and watch the fishermen catching kokanee salmon.

 

 We hiked along the Chief Joseph Trail on the West Fork of the Wallowa River to the BC Falls on our first hike even though it was chilly and rain was in the forecast for later in the morning.

Many of the small wildflowers were in bloom.

 We hiked through several sections of landslides that gave me the willies.

Our handy bear spray was nearby for an easy reach. But when a dog came charging and showing his teeth at us on the trail, we were glad to have our poles in our hands. He saw them and headed around us. Shewww!

 



The second bridge to the second waterfall had been washed out but we could see it from where we were standing.

Town of Joseph

We enjoyed the small artsy city of Joseph named in memory of a Native American chief which is just 6 miles from the campground.
 

Chief Joseph, respected in his Nez Perce tribe, was misunderstood by the white man in the 1800s, and especially by the U.S. government. Today, however, he is recognized as having been a strong, compassionate leader.

 

The Wallowa band of the Nez Perce had lived peacefully in the remote Wallowa Valley for centuries.

As white settlers began to move west and north, they eventually reached the land of the Nez Perce. Chief Joseph recalled:

“The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark . . . . They talked straight and our people gave them a great feast . . . . We had a great many horses of which we gave them what they needed, and they gave us guns and tobacco in return.”
 

This was in 1805, and the good feelings lasted for several decades. But in the 1870s, settlers and the U.S. Cavalry started to force the Nez Perce from their homeland. Chief Old Joseph had signed a treaty in 1855, but when the discovery of gold nearby prompted the government to take back millions of acres, he renounced the treaty. In 1863, a new treaty divided the tribe into treaty and non-treaty bands.
 

The chiefs eventually agreed to new boundaries, diminishing their lands to one-tenth their original size.

Wallowa Lake Tramway

The small Wallowa Lake Tram carried us up the steep 1.8 miles from 4200 feet to 8150 to some beautiful views and nice hiking trails on Mt Howard.

 

On our last day, we trekked up the steep East Fork of the river from the Alpine Trailhead. The river was running high with multiple waterfalls along the way. Fortunately, the temps were in the low 70s.

There are so many trails to hike and small towns to explore I this area. But we chose to stay nearby the state park.

 A local man was hiking the West Fork with his son and was showing us the mushrooms and how to distinguish between different types and how to prepare them. This one sells for $24\lb in the market. We saw a few morels but left them for the deer.

 

La Grande, OR

Heading to La Grande, south of Joseph, we stayed at Grande Hot Springs Resort on Hot Lake. The warm hot springs were refreshing for our sore muscles.

 Grande Hot Springs hot mineral water is sourced from Hot Lake Springs. It is collected at 171F and pumped to the property. The large pool was 96 degrees and small spa 104.5 after being mixed with 77 degrees domestic well water which is geothermal mineral water.

 The hot springs were a great place to visit at the end of our hike or bike rides.

The Grand Bikeway goes through Union which has a rural charm with a population of just over 2100 and Victorian style homes, buildings and tree-lined streets. This was where we would start our bike ride through the farms and ranches towards Cove.

     

Cove with a population of 680 is known as the land of the big prize cherries, and the home of apple pies. As we rode by the farms and ranches the cherries trees looked ready to be picked.

 

The winds were strong on our final day blowing in rain. As much as we would  have liked a bike ride, we opted for a hike in the Mount Emily Recreation Area. It is a huge area and happened to be having a mountain biking event. We just chose trails that weren't in their plans for a nice hike. La Grande turned out to have much more to offer than we had expected.

 

It has been quite an interesting couple of months in Oregon. From the beaches of the Pacific Ocean to the Willamette Valley, Cascades and the eastern farms and mountains, Oregon has not disappointed.