We had another really pretty sunrise this morning, not that I ever want to be awake early enough to see them!
This morning I drove 50 miles to Saratoga to visit the Hobo Hot Springs! There are two cement ponds with sand & slimy rock bottoms. One is the regular hot pool @ 106º and the other is the “Not-So-Hot” pool @ 100 º. Then there’s part of the regular pool that’s rocked off and it’s the “Lobster Pot” pool at a scalding 119º! I just use the regular pool. There are also hot pools in the Platte River, a few yards away but someone said the rocks there are really slippery.
Their changing rooms are kind of awful for anyone who’s modest, and I am the MOST modest person ever! They have hot showers but they’re just on the wall in the changing room, they don’t even have enclosures. The toilets don’t have doors either. After I soaked for about 30 minutes I was ready to go and there was a woman in the changing room with a 3 year old boy so I didn’t even change out of my swimsuit. I’d hate for the poor kid to be traumatized for life at the sight of my decrepit old body! Nobody needs THAT burned into their retinas. So I just left and put a towel down on the car seat, and drove about 5 miles to a river access area that has a vault toilet, and I changed in there.Feels so good to be clean….I came out of there all pink like a big fat newborn baby! I think it’s been about 8 months since I had a real shower.
The pools are open 24/7/365, and they’re free! The backstory is that the indians thought the hot springs could cure anything, but when so many died in the smallpox epidemic, they decided they’d lost their power and they gave the pools to the white men, with the caveat that they always be available to whoever wanted to use them. And so they are! I think that may be the ONLY promise the white men kept!
On the way home I stopped at the IGA market in Saratoga, that has the best meat! They have Prime beef, and their pork chops are the best I’ve ever eaten. And not expensive…I bought 2 pork chops, 4 pieces of cube steak, a pound of their store-made breakfast sausage, and several plums and my total was only $11. I would have loved one of their Prime T-bone steaks but they were $8+.
I also stopped at the ranger station and they told me I could stay here in the forest indefinitely, as long as I keep moving at least 3 miles away every 16 days! So maybe I’ll stay awhile longer. I have until Thursday to decide whether to stay here or head back to Leadville, CO.
Tomorrow I go back to Laramie to get two new tires installed. (I had to order them; nobody in town had my size last week!)
Here’s my campsite. This was taken about halfway to the road. I have a nice little row of young pines to screen the camper from the road.
Here are a few Amazon links for you to use. If you access Amazon from one of these links, you can then use their Search bar to find what you really want. Thank you!!!
3M Extreme Sealing Tape 1.5″ x 5′
The Beatles 1962-1966 (The Red Album) MP3
Little Bitty Living 
14 replies on “Clean!”
Saw a t-shirt once that said, “If God had meant for us to see the sunrise He would have made it later in the day”!
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Audrey….I agree wholeheartedly!
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Beautiful site! Years back I flew out of town for a wedding and I had to share a room with one of the other bridesmaids. Well, she said to me, “don’t worry about being modest, I’ve seen it all!”, and I said, “you haven’t seen this and I’ll keep it that way!”
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Good response, Renee! LOL!
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Soaking in a natural hot spring is on my bucket list. One day…….
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I’m headed to Colorado then Medicine Bow from Phoenix in a few days & didn’t know about the hot springs. What a great idea and it’s on my list! I’ve been reading your posts for some time and you continue to inspire me. I’ve spent the last year restoring a Chalet Alpine (like an Aliner) and am finally ready to go. I’ve learned a lot from your experiences and am so grateful that you share. Just a few days ago I had my heart in my throat at the thought of little Roxie running down the road during a storm! Perhaps our paths will cross out there somewhere. My rig looks like yours but a bit bigger. My SUV is larger and the Chalet is a bit longer and higher off the ground. Wave and honk….I sure don’t see or hear as well as I used to!! Remember, it’s people like you that inspire people like me to move out their comfort zone and try something new. Count me both entertained and grateful.
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That’s awesome, Kerry! I’ll be here for a couple more weeks so maybe we will meet up! There are plenty of free campsites here, and it’s just beautiful.
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I really love hot springs, but they’re usually too expensive for my budget.
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You and Pantless would make a good pair. She wouldn’t take a shower over at Hunting Island before the new baths were built. I remember being on the AT once and was stopped by two old ladies (my age now) hurrying out of the bathroom and telling me, “There’s a naked lady in there!” Well I had to go. The gal had been hiking the trail and used the sinks to wash herself and I guess change clothes. She was very pleasant, didn’t mind her nakedness as we talked, and neither did I. I’m not as confident as she was, but if I had been hiking for a week I don’t think I would care, even with this old decrepit body–I’d just want to get clean. No one stares.
Idaho has hot springs galore! Glad you were able to take a shower. Eight months??? You may do this, but here’s what I did when I went west. On the nights/mornings I was unable to take a shower, I used a sits bath on the toilet (get my lady parts completely clean). You might be able to put it on top of your porta potty. The rest can wait a couple of days.
Your campsite is BEAUTIFUL!!
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Oh I wouldn’t shower at Hunting Island either!!! Years ago I did, and a teenage girl whipped the curtain aside and ran out laughing. Never again have I showered without a REAL lockable door!
My portable toilet is a “dry” toilet…I would not put a bunch of water in it! I just use a washcloth and take sponge baths.
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No, no, no, Janis. This is what I mean by a sitz bath. At least you can get your “lady parts” sitting in water in the privacy of your camper. I used to sit it on top of my thetford portapotty.
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Sorry, I should have said there are all kinds, but just wanted to give you an idea.
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Oh good lord, where on earth would I store something like that?!! I’m already packed to the gills!
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Well, make it dual purpose. It could be a sun hat when not used in the other end. I’d make room somewhere!! LOL
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