On the way home from our quick turn-around trip to Soda Springs, LC and I stopped at a small community called Lava Hot Springs.
I had heard of the place, at some time in the past that I could not remember, and knew nothing at all about the place aside from the fact that I (thought) it was some kind of tourist destination.
As we pulled off the two lane highway I saw the empty water slides and outdoor pool and thought perhaps that I would take pictures of it on the way out of town.
When I saw the life sized statue of a bull I asked LC to let me out of the truck.
I would take pictures of this beautiful bronze beast while he found a place to park the truck.
As I climbed out of the truck I looked around me trying to quickly get a lay of the land, and instantly realized that it was very hot.
It felt like it was 10 degrees hotter in Lava Hot Springs than it was in Soda Springs which was only 30 minutes down the road.
Was that the case? Was it really hotter or did it only FEEL hotter?
53 year old women are not necessarily the best people to make those kinds of judgments.
Had the temperature jumped so much so quickly or was the name of the town indicative of the reason for the temperature jump?
I didn't know and in truth didn't really care.
LC and I were unexpectedly in the mountains and on the outskirts of what looked to be a lovely little town.
And it was a beautiful day to see a new place...............
A little Senior Citizens Center located across the street from the bull.............
I still cannot believe how little I know about this area, and how wrong my assumptions were about the region we were in on this day.
I had expected flat and farmland, and had delightfully found mountains and farm land.
And this tiny tourist town.
I stood for a moment in the middle of the road (which I have had an unfortunate tendency to do ever since I started blogging), watched LC park the truck in a spot on the opposite side of the bridge, and then looked around me, pleased that we had found this unexpected treasure..............
I miss water very much.
Waiting for my Mountain Boy to catch up with me, I stood on the bridge looking at this little stream..............
Smiling at each other.
Pleased to see each other.
Best friends....................
Lava Hot Springs is everything that I expected - a tiny tourist-driven town filled with cute little outdoor patios, yuppie little restaurants and coffee bistros, a couple of bars, a lot of flowers and graphic signs and color everywhere.
Late in the summer this town was already on the downswing for the year.
Summer was not over quite yet, and the town was valiantly trying to squeeze every last visitor dollar before the season was irrevocably done and the town could begin its hibernation.
There were a few visitors, but not many.
It was still hot. Still sunny. Still pretty. I was glad we had found this town when we did.............
A sign found on the wall right inside the doorway of a restaurant, where we ate burgers and drank cokes and people watched...................
The huge aquatic center (complete with indoor pool, outdoor pool, and water slides that spanned the highway) was closed when we first got into town, and I had planned on taking pictures before heading home.
By the time we had wandered, looked, taken pictures, eaten lunch and loaded back into the truck the parking lot of the pool was packed, traffic was backed up to the highway, and the pool and slides were a stream of hundreds and hundreds of screaming people.
No pictures taken on this day after all:
I was surprised to see two or three inner tube rental places in town, because the portion of the river I had seen when we first arrived in town was very low.
After getting home I did some research, found this video, and then did enough reading to learn that the water level is typically very low at this time of year, so tubing is low on the to-do list of most visitors.
The outside of the restaurant where we ate.
I really liked everything about this cute little town.....................
We only spent a couple of hours.
We saw much, but also missed much, and I would like to come back again.
I loved this little town.
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