Truth or Consequences

Later Saturday, after the Gila Cliff Dwellings, we hiked out to a natural hot springs. It's a fairly short walk across flat ground, but there are a couple of creek crossings. One, you just get wet, the other you can cross on slick logs and big rocks. I was sure John was going to drop himself in, but he got grinning when he was safely on the rocks. Check out the ice on the logs - slick and an idea of how cold the water was:


John Crosses the Creek 

We did a little wading, but what you end up with is January cold mud between your toes, near frozen water around your ankles, a band of scorching hot water about four inches deep about mid-calf, and a bit of scummy algae lapping at your knees. Interesting, but not what you'd call appetizing. If you look closely at this picture where the hot water comes out, you can see the steam:


Gila Hot Springs 

Since we didn't really get the hot springs opportunity in the wild, we instead went to a nearby town called Truth or Consequences.


Truth or Consequences 

Originally called Hot Springs, this town was just one of many with that name. The city has a description of the name change, based on an expressed wish of Ralph Edwards of the radio show of the same name. There's probably a dozen or more hot springs setups in "T or C" (as the locals call it.) I didn't take any pictures of the one we visited except for the display out front, as it was too dark for good pictures.


Old West Display 

They had a series of pools with temperatures from 101 to 107. We spent a couple of hours there and got pretty relaxed. Not too relaxed to drive, though, as we rolled down to El Paso that night so we could catch Sunday morning flights from there.

It was so great to spend a couple of packed days with John, a friend I've had since college eighteen years ago. The years between have seen too few get-togethers as he's become a surgeon and I've pursued small business. Those things sure keep you busy, but we've resolved not to let years go by before we get together again.