Steamin' Dreams

Grey, dark days of February are bringing me down.

Woof!

So, DIL wrote about a trip she & the Commander made to a hot springs in the snow recently. Brought back fond memories. I love hot springs. Clear, bubbling, warm waters gushing out of nowhere in the middle of God's glorious earth. How cool is that??????

Anyway, long ago and far away friends Shari, Paula & I had occasion to be traveling over the Lolo Mountain pass. Saw a forest service sign that said Hot Springs.

???

We veered over to the side of the road, locked the pickup, loped across the river on a rickety wooden foot bridge and headed into the mountains.

Following a fast running stream we hiked about 2 miles in and came upon a beautiful mountain meadow, dotted with numerous, steaming, bathing holes.

And I swear, lots & lots of nekked people.

Where the heck they all came from I will never know.

We looked at each other and silently turned around the way we'd came.

On the trail back, the stream dropped away from the path and there, just at the bend we saw delicate tendrils of steam wafting thru the air...and NO people! We wasted no time tumbling down the little cow track that led to the water, ditching our clothes and settling into our secluded hot tub among the rocks, at the edge of the stream.

We soaked, talked and played but finally Paula decided she'd had enough, climbed out and started to dress.

Paula was just buttoning her shirt when an attractive young man appeared overhead on the trail. He, like us on our way up, would not have noticed the hot spring had Paula not been sitting out in the open. He waved and she called, "Hey, the water is great, come on down!!!!" Only then did he turn far enough to see Shari & I still in the pool.

The minute Paula had opened her mouth, Shari & I looked at each other in alarm.

This couldn't be good.

I don't believe I've ever seen a guy move faster in my life. He didn't wait for a second invitation and scrambled down the same slope we'd taken an hour before. His backpack, shoes & shirt were flying off as he came.

However, timing being everything, there wasn't much we could do except try to exit the pool as gracefully, and calmly as possible. We pulled on articles of clothing as quickly as his flew off.

Paula sat there relishing the scene.

I still remember the grin on his face and the obvious sincerity of his: "Oh, you don't have to leave just because I'm here!"

I also remember the tight little smiles on our faces as we said thru gritted teeth, "No, no, we were just leaving anyway."

It's hard to be "cool" when you're struggling to get a bra on over wet skin.

But it's not hard to be sincere when you quietly tell your miscreant friend she's gonna die...as soon as you catch her.

Paula got a good head start, bolting up the hill, into the sunlight of a late summer afternoon.

After we flew down the trail, tackled her and all collapsed in a breathless heap...we had to admit it was kinda funny.

Thirty years ago, when we were young...



Making memories to store up against grey, winter days.