Sunday Evening Post by Walker Young

 HOT WATER & HOT CHILE

We always look forward to arriving in New Mexico because we love Green Chile. It is a hot soupy substance made mostly of green chiles and pork. They make it here like nowhere else in the world. In fact, I don't think they make it anywhere else in the world.  It is one of those regionally specific dishes you are so happy to stumble upon. Fortunately for us, the famous Hatch Green Chile was in season. These are very hot chiles grown in an area of New Mexico called the Hatch Valley. They are only available fresh for a few weeks in August. They are hot and tasty. When in the southwest our meals are dominated by green chile.

  

We order it by the bowl with fresh tortillas, bathe our eggs in it, and drench our burritos with this special green sauce. It chelates our blood, heats our mouth, and fills our belly. This week we ate green chile for every meal. It was all good but one place sticks out to me. It is a little restaurant called the Horsemans Haven located in Santa Fe, NM. Their green chile was incredibly flavorful and their chile #2 was some of the hottest I have ever put in my mouth.  It was so hot I had to lay down after one spoonful. It literally put me out of commission. Whenever I return to New Mexico, southern Colorado my mouth will water for the delicious local treat green chile.

What I did not know at the beginning of the week was that I would go to three different hot springs. After our show in Santa Fe our good friend Nick Myestrom hosted us at his sister Jen's spa called Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs.

Ojo Caliente is a natural spring in the middle of the desert about an hour outside Santa Fe. There are seven different springs with their own pools, a mud bathing area, and a spa facility. It is a very nice facility, resort like, with adobe architecture, historic hotel, and a fantastic restaurant. For only 18$ during the week and 32$ on the weekend you can get access to these seven pools for the day. The hottest is 104* and you will leave happy and rejuvenated.

Two nights later we stayed in the town of Glenwood. I rose early on Friday morning to bathe in the worlds largest hot spring called Glenwood Springs. There are two massive pools here. The Therapy pool is 104* while the larger pool is 90*. It was 17.50$ to get a day pass. The water was almost salty like and is heated by an underground volcano. Once again I left happy and rejuvenated.

Last night was our latest hot spring find and it was possibly the best. It is in a town  called Saratoga Springs in Wyoming. South of I-80 20 miles. This facility is open 24 hours and is free to the public. By far the hottest spring we bathed in the temps were higher than 104*. We arrived around 9:30 at night an there was a rotating group of about 15 folks at the pool.

We soaked for about an hour. It was the perfect road trip activity and left us with renewed vigor and peace. It was exactly what we needed to break up an eight hour drive. Now we are looking for where our next hot mineral spring is located. Slowly we are becoming knowledgeable balneologists.

bal·ne·ol·o·gy (b l n - l -j ). n. The science of baths or bathing, especially the study of the therapeutic use ...

We have left the southwest heading across Utah. But the rejuvenating waters and chiles of New Mexico and Colorado keep us in good spirits ready for our next show in Salt Lake City.