We’re back on the road again after a longer-than-expected holiday hiatus. New Mexico is where I expected to be by now, but a kind gentleman at our first night’s stop in Arizona’s Coronado National Forest near Safford told me about this spot outside the same town. I figured I’d spend a night, but I’ve been here for two and expect to stay for at least another two nights.
This place looks like the dunes at Cape Cod (if you squint a little so you don’t see that at the top of the dunes are desert plants or that a gila monster is walking through them and if you don’t look at the mountain to the northwest). The wind and heat here also make me think of summer at the beach. The only thing missing is the ocean.
There is water, however. Two hot tubs filled with 106 degree water pumped through them by a solar-powered water pump. Because the water is constantly refreshed, there’s no need for added chlorine or other chemicals. An added benefit is the lithium contained in hot spring waters in this eastern part of Arizona and in western New Mexico.
A local gentleman who goes three times a week says the Lithium helps his depression. I got curious and did a little research. Yes indeed one can absorb lithium through the skin.* Maybe that’s why I feel so good, energized, and yet calm here. More likely it’s the fact that we’re back on the road again and back to the wonderful healthy lifestyle the Maevemobile allows me to live.
Since you read this far, I’ll confess. The Gila monster wasn’t actually IN the hot tub with me. It walked by a stone throw away. By the time I got out of the hot tub and back to the Maevemobile where the camera was there were only foot and tail prints left of him.*Metals and the Skin: Topical Effects and Systemic Absorption by Richard H. Guy, CRC Press, Apr 5, 1999
