Yampah Springs

Yeah, so this isn't the best picture! But for a special treat, instead of getting the kids ready for bed we dressed them in swim suits and took them to the hot springs for a swim after dark for our last night in Colorado...

There were signs all around the pool, "Deck may be icy," and it was around 29 degrees out!

The mist was rolling off the water in huge billows. It was eerie and totally fun. The kids had a blast! It was kind of creepy to wade out into the pool with the fog, suddenly you'd see a shadowy head only a few feet away.

Elie's comment, "It's smells like eggies... why?" Bryce had fun explaining the content of the hot springs... I think most of it went over her head.
It was really warm and cozy. The large pool got up to 93 degrees, while the smaller "therapy pool" averaged 104. We did dip in that one a bit - it was very nice! The kids liked it better too after a while, though they only splashed on the steps with occasional shoulder dips... just to warm up.

The Yampah spring was named by the Native Americans, meaning big medicine. It has a daily flow of 3,500,000 gallons of water, and is 122 degrees at the source. They still bottle it and serve it to drink! (yuck, personally) It's the largest hot springs in the US and is one of the hottest in the world.

Supposedly it's been known to cure some ailments and relieve others. Doc Holiday (I guess there's a real person by this name - I had no idea who this was until Bryce explained) came here to relieve tuberculosis, and during WW II doctors used it to heal and treat emotionally and physically disabled sailors and marines.

While I'm not sure it cured us of anything, it sure was fun to swim after dark in a misty hot "eggie" smelling pool!