The Verde Hot Springs
When you hear of hot springs, one expects to find hot water springing right from the ground into pools (at least that is what I remember from Lake Bogoria). Well the Verde Hot springs are not like that: they are built into the side of the giant hills of the Coconino National Forest at the site of the Verde Hotel ruins. The story of how the Verde hotel got burned down and the springs left to ruins is a rather inhumane one. Curt told of the story as if he was there when it happened. Apparently the hippies had taken over the hotel in the sixties and were consuming large amounts of 'drugs' so the state decided to burn down the hotel in order to get rid of the hippies. What is left are ruins and a small stone builind that houses the hot springs.
The people who were at the springs when we arrived stroke me as hippies too. The small building that houses the hot spring is built of large rock pieces on which people have painted all kinds of things from Ja slogans to Hari Kristna's photo and Jesus is alive . . . Lover's poetry, farewell to loved ones to quite simply nonsense. To access these natural hot springs, one must hike along and cross the Verde river and climb up the side of the mountain at almost a thousand feet looking below the Verde river racing through. There are two natural spring pools; one housed in the beautifully decorated stone building with the water temperature almost at 97 degrees, and the other pool is outside overlooking the river with temperatures about 88 degrees. It is officially summer in Arizona so the water temperature for the inside pool was a little over 100 degrees, many of the visitors had to dip in the Verde river, then get into the hot pool.
To be continued . . .
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