Pagosa Springs

No one in their right mind would get in a car and drive for two days unless they really love a road trip And no one in their right mind would plan a Spring Break to a place where their is four feet of snow on the ground, especially if they live in a place where the snow is just starting to melt and the temps are finally becoming more tolerable. I must not be in my right mind.

Along the way we met an old Indian in Elk City, Oklahoma. He said he learned to swim in the hot springs at Pagosa Springs sixty six years ago. He said back then there were streams of hot water bubbling up out of the ground and an old Indian had run cool water to the pools to cool them off, as some of them were nearly boiling. Back then the pools had tin sheds built over them. He said they used to swim in the pools and then go up to Wolf Creek to go trout fishin. I asked him if he ever skied. He said, 'well, no Who would want to slide down a mountain. That's dangerous.'

We laughed and told him there was a ski area at Wolf Creek now and that the hot springs was a fancy resort. I'm sure he wouldn't recognize the place. He said he didn't much care for snow.

We love Pagosa Springs. It's one of those places that although it has changed, you can still almost feel how it was before it became 'improved'. There are plans to build condominiums and hotels up at the ski area. I have mixed feeligs about this. On the one hand, it would attract more visitors to the area. But on the other hand, it would vastly change the character of both Wolf Creek and Pagosa Springs.

Well, I am not in my right mind. If I can get my daughter out of bed, we will be heading up to Wolf Creek to slide down a mountain on our boards. If we get banged up enough, we'll probably go soak in the hot springs and try to imagine what it was like sixty six years ago.