Montezuma Hot Springs

May 28, 2023

Howdy again,

Well, we finally fell in sync with a local tradition, at a much treasured local landmark, the Montezuma Hot Springs.  Having been here for 2 ½ years now, this has long been on our list of things to go check out, but, up until recently, we had done nothing more than driving by to see what it looked like from the road last year.  Now, Erin has a group of girlfriends that all live in Las Vegas that she met via the local food co-op last year, and they all routinely go to the hot springs at least once a week, if not multiple times.  So, after this weekend, Erin has now gone four times and I finally made it there for my first visit.  Sunday morning found us hanging out there with all the regulars and locals and I think that we've just begun a weekly tradition!  These are lithium springs, apparently, as opposed to sulfur or other types of springs, and have long been known for their therapeutic value, being seen as a cure for everything from tuberculosis to depression.  As early as the first US military expedition that went through the area in 1846, this legendary local secret of the natives was soon found out, and certainly must have been known by the earlier Mexican and Spanish settlers of the area, too.  Immediately upon its discovery, the US Dragoons set up a military hospital on the site for wounded and ailing soldiers.  At some point this was then turned into a hotel: first the Adobe Hotel; then, the Hot Springs Hotel.  Hot springs are not uncommon out West, but these are interesting in that they were developed commercially by the railroad after it made it to the Las Vegas area in 1879.  Within three years, by 1882, a narrow-gauge railroad had been built to conduct people from Las Vegas, about 5 or 6 miles away, straight to the hot springs where yet another new hotel, Montezuma's Castle, had been built.  These different buildings served many lives as a hotel and health resort and now Montezuma's Castle is the administrative building for the United World College, which is the American campus of this worldwide school, where 200 teenagers from over 95 countries spend their junior and senior years, right here in quiet, little Las Vegas, NM!  They can literally walk to the springs from their rooms!  The water comes out of the ground at 138F and then ranges anywhere from 94-120F in the nine or ten different pools that I counted with names such as: the Lobster Pots; the Cube; the Toaster; and others that I can't remember.  Just a few feet away is the Gallinas River that tumbles out of the Rockies and winds underneath all of these geothermal pools through one of the lushest, greenest areas that we've yet seen out West!

So, this morning I tumbled out of bed at about 5:30 or so to let the dogs out.  The boss is away on vacation, so I also walked up to the new house and let her dogs out.  Then, I went to the barn to load the buggy for the morning horse feeding.  I then went back to the house and found that Erin was up and on her way to feed the boss's dogs and to check on her cats.  I went back out to do the horses, a little earlier than my usual 7am time slot, only to find half of them still on the ground sleeping and yawning non-stop.  Til we got all of that done and our own animals situated, we finally hit the road by 7:30 to drive the 30 minutes to the hot springs.  Upon getting there, we saw Erin's friends, Anna & Eva, a mother and daughter relocated to Las Vegas from Idaho via Truth or Consequences.  We walked down and got into a long, rectangular tub with them and talked while we soaked for a half-hour or more.  Then, we slowly started migrating to one of the hotter tubs, where I was introduced to two of Erin's other friends, Andi & Eme.  There were three different pools in this cluster and we were also introduced to some of the locals who are always there and volunteer to help keep the pools clean.  After an hour, Erin and I migrated up to the middle section of pools, two side by side ones known as the Toaster, where we dipped our toes in to check the temperature while saying hi to another local couple.  We then made our way to the furthest upstream pools, the Lobster Pots, and hung out there for another hour, getting to know some more locals that keep the pools clean.  We also met a great character from Anton Chico, John Henry, and found out that he bought a farm there 50 years ago to start a hippie commune, but it sounds like no one else ever showed up to join him!  We talked with him for some time and I think he was just tickled pink that some fairly-new people to the area knew right where his farm was once he described it to us...hard not to love it here!

So, now I have a slightly extended batch of pictures for everyone today, all taken by Erin on one of her mid-week, early morning solo forays that she did when she found the place completely deserted.  I did the piece of artwork to lead off the series, riffing off of one of her shots.  Then, shots 1-4 are of the middle set of pools, the Toaster, right below where she parked on this particular morning.  Next, turning around, you can see the singed hillside from the massive wildfire that we had last year...it nearly got Montezuma's Castle!  Then, the next three shots are of the lowest grouping of pools, by what is known as the Bathhouse, where we started our soak this morning.  Next, a lone pool that stands next to the Lobster Pots...apparently the coolest, with some of the locals telling us to stay out of it because it's not hot enough to kill bacteria.  Then, two shots of the Lobster Pots, with the Castle lurking in the corner of each of the shots.  Next, two shots of some of the tiles that are laid into the concrete next to the Lobster Pots.  Then, another angle of the same area.  Next, a closeup of one of the magnificent flowers that are blooming all around the pools...we've seen one like this in town on the patio of the Skillet!  And, finally, five more shots of the Lobster Pots and the simply magnificent view that is seen from them, up at 6500' above sea level in this quiet, little corner of Paradise where the mountains meet the plains.

See you soon.