Monday, March 13, 2006
Jemez Springs, New Mexico with The Chosen One
This is pronounced hay-mus...kind of like, Hey! Mus we go here? *g*
Again, this was a gray road. But we really wanted to visit the hot springs at Jemez Springs; maybe have a soak and perhaps even a massage. Then, we thought we'd have an early dinner at Los Ojos (which means The Springs), and retire for a relaxing night at Fenton Lake State Park. This plan went awry before it ever got off the ground. But that's why they call it an adventure, right? *s*
First, we stopped by the visitor center at Jemez Pueblo, and find out that the gray road we had planned to travel was 20 miles of paved road..."twisty, but not steep", and 20 miles of unpaved road. Depending on who you asked the unpaved part of the road was either "washboard rough" or "not too bad at all". We decide what the hell, we're gonna go for it...'cause that's just the kind of thing you do when you don't know any better.
Our first stop was the Bath House at Jemez Springs. We were expecting this huge natural hot spring that we could soak in together...even if we might have to share it with a few other folks. But what we got was two huge, deep bathtubs in a room together!? Ok..the water was really hot and relaxing. But I wasn't expecting to pay someone $20 for a bath! And since we weren't able to get a massage, so we opted for a short soak and trip across the street to Los Ojos for a burger and beer.
Los Ojos was really cool. It looked as though it had been there for ages. We chose seats at a booth next to the fireplace, rather than at the bar where the so-cool barstools looked as though they'd been rough-hewn from tree trunks. The burgers were excellent and the beer was so cold...just perfect.
I have to mention that during our meal we were joined by a very (and I mean VERY) inebriated Native American, whose name was Francesco...yep...Francesco. He stared into Mark's eyes for a moment and pronounced him "The Chosen One". Then he stared into mine and mumbled something I couldn't understand and he wouldn't repeat. Then he wobbled back to his own table for more tequilla shots.
We decided to drive on to Fenton Lake State Park for the night and finish up our Jemez Springs trip (the unpaved section) in the morning. Fenton Lake was small but beautiful; very wooded and secluded. And it was on the way to Fenton Lake that we began to see snow and ice-covered creeks for the first time along this trip.
Again, this was a gray road. But we really wanted to visit the hot springs at Jemez Springs; maybe have a soak and perhaps even a massage. Then, we thought we'd have an early dinner at Los Ojos (which means The Springs), and retire for a relaxing night at Fenton Lake State Park. This plan went awry before it ever got off the ground. But that's why they call it an adventure, right? *s*
First, we stopped by the visitor center at Jemez Pueblo, and find out that the gray road we had planned to travel was 20 miles of paved road..."twisty, but not steep", and 20 miles of unpaved road. Depending on who you asked the unpaved part of the road was either "washboard rough" or "not too bad at all". We decide what the hell, we're gonna go for it...'cause that's just the kind of thing you do when you don't know any better.
Our first stop was the Bath House at Jemez Springs. We were expecting this huge natural hot spring that we could soak in together...even if we might have to share it with a few other folks. But what we got was two huge, deep bathtubs in a room together!? Ok..the water was really hot and relaxing. But I wasn't expecting to pay someone $20 for a bath! And since we weren't able to get a massage, so we opted for a short soak and trip across the street to Los Ojos for a burger and beer.
Los Ojos was really cool. It looked as though it had been there for ages. We chose seats at a booth next to the fireplace, rather than at the bar where the so-cool barstools looked as though they'd been rough-hewn from tree trunks. The burgers were excellent and the beer was so cold...just perfect.
I have to mention that during our meal we were joined by a very (and I mean VERY) inebriated Native American, whose name was Francesco...yep...Francesco. He stared into Mark's eyes for a moment and pronounced him "The Chosen One". Then he stared into mine and mumbled something I couldn't understand and he wouldn't repeat. Then he wobbled back to his own table for more tequilla shots.
We decided to drive on to Fenton Lake State Park for the night and finish up our Jemez Springs trip (the unpaved section) in the morning. Fenton Lake was small but beautiful; very wooded and secluded. And it was on the way to Fenton Lake that we began to see snow and ice-covered creeks for the first time along this trip.
