Hot Bath in The Desert
It was the last day on the trip and we were all exhausted from the long days in the hot desert heat and miles upon miles hiked. Kyle mentioned going to a hot springs in Big Bend and to be honest, I wasn’t interested in soaking in hot desert water; but fun fact about the success of our 20+ year relationship, it’s not all about me, fortunately.
Kyle, Brent and I get up early, yet again, and head out to the far corner of Big Bend. We stayed in Terlingua, TX which created about an hour or so drive to get anywhere in Big Bend. I believe this was the longest drive in which made the idea even less appetizing.
We’re up and on the road. The sun is starting to crest the vast landscape and beautiful morning light hits our face. Windows down and the dry desert air blowing through the car. The sense of nothingness is always present in the desert. It’s beautiful. Little to no cell service, only 35mm film to capture memories by, and great friends.
Soaking in the the landscape halfway in a meditative state we approach the hot springs. We grab our bags and hike in about a quarter of a mile. It was as if we went back in time. There’s little to no structure to the bath but it was built up at one time, like in 1909 by J.O. Langford. It really was like the original infinity pool/hot tub combo. Right outside of the hot bath is the Rio Grande and Mexico. The Rio Grande was shallow enough were we could’ve just walked right over and Brent and I actually tried, until we realized our feet were already beat up from our Santa Elena Canyon hike so we turned around pretty quick to soak in the VERY relaxing hot spring.
After soaking for a while all my exhausted attitude drifted away. It was refreshing and the perfect end to the trip. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything and it made me think… what else am I missing by giving into bad attitude? Just a little question I asked myself. I don’t know the answer but I do know that there are a lot of things in life I can not control, but I can control who I am in mind, body, and spirit. I should hold onto that fact more.