Birthdays are a big deal for me. I like to go on an adventure and do something I don't normally do. Usually, every year D plans something spectacular for my birthday and I plan something spectacular for his. Our birthday celebrations have taken us everywhere.
Last year, we went to Leadville, CO's Pioneer Day Parade.
We stayed in a yurt.
We bathed in healing waters.
Climbed up mountains of sand.
Visited a ghost town.
This year, we did a joint celebration weekend. We just got back. What a wonderful time!
We decided to go to Glenwood Springs. I had always wanted to visit their
Fairy Cave.
One of the first families to settle in the area happened upon these large caverns. When they brought lanterns down to take a look, one of the little girls saw the light reflecting off the millions of water droplets covering the cave formations and remarked that it looked as if fairies lived there. The name stuck. The family started conducting tours of the caves and this grew into what is now a large ordeal with rides, pizza, and an olde timey photo booth.
I wanted to go to a cave. We hadn't toured a cave since we got engaged in one two years ago. I love caves, especially wet ones with formations that are still growing so I was pretty excited to get to Glenwood.
To get to the caves, you buy a lift ticket and sit in a big tilt-a-whirl type sphere that is suspended on a thick wire that pulls you up to the top of a mountain, much like a ski lift. This was the view from our sphere.
The cave itself was pretty good. Most of it was dry, which can be expected after 100 years of picnicing families.
After we left the tour, it started to rain. The whole day had been warm and sunny up to then. Now it was rainy and cold. We had inteded to go the Glenwood Springs
pool after the cave, but the rain and the crowds were a bit much. I then remembered that a nursing student at work told me there were vapor caves I should look into. I googled them when I got home that day and it appeared to be under some hair salon. Not very impressed, I cut and pasted the info into an email to D and forgot about it.
We decided to drive by and take a peak, for curiousity's sake. We even went in to inquire about prices. It was then I got an idea of how truly cool these caves were.
There is a salon and spa on the top level with Aveda products and everything is modernly furnished with pleasing music being piped in and large, glass water coolers brimming with ice and lemon slices. There is a main room called "The solarium" with a fountain and tropical plants where you can lie about and relax.
There is nothing modern about the caves themselves. They have been treasured for their medicinal vapors for thousands of years. You can read about them
here.
You descend a long, narrow staircase and a gust of humidity immediately hits you, leaving droplets of moisture all over your body. Inside, the cave has been carved out like catacombs. There are several small rooms linked together by a long, meandering hallway. Each room has a moat-like gutter carved around it where hot water flows from the rocks. There's a faucet with cool well water that one can fill a basin with to take into his/her little hiding spot. The benches are made of worn, smooth stones.
You can spend all day going from the caves to the solarium for a mere $12.00. Cave visits are also included in any spa service and I GOT A SPA SERVICE!!!
You see, they had reasonably priced body wraps. I always, always wanted to be given a mud bath and it looked like a good opportunity. Though D had no interest in joining me, he told me to go and have fun. I was SOOO happy. It was like crossing something off the bucket list, you know?
Anyhow, this is how it works. You're escorted into a tiny room and told to strip to nada. They give you small towels to put over your private areas and you lie atop a mountain of blankets and a plastic sheet. A warm mixture of clay and herbs is painted on you and they you're wrapped up like a burrito with a warm neck wrap added for extra comfort. They turn off the lights, close the door and leave you in this cocoon-like state for about 40 minutes, give or take. Then you're escourted to a shower to rinse off, you put on a cotton robe and walk away feeling high as a kite. It was worth every penny. I can't wait to get another one.
After the cave, it was off to the bed and breakfast we booked. We tossed our stuff in our room and went for a stroll outside. I was still feeling super from my mud wrap and very affectionate.
I love this guy. And I love my shawl. And I love this guy in my shawl.
We woke up early for what we hoped was to be a long day of hiking. Well, D woke early. And then woke me early.
We stopped at
Four Mile Creek, a bed and breakfast that D wanted to stay at, but they didn't have any good rooms left. I still wanted to poke around it because I heard they had a little merchantile set up with folk art and crafts.
As soon as we turned in, I screamed "STOP THE CAR!! I gotta get out!" D obliged.
Kitties. Everywhere. The owner came up and explained that their barn cat had a litter a few months ago. Most of them were cute orange stripeys. He said we could have one. He even offered to give us a carrier. D said no. I wanted to take home at least one, but was contented with a bar of sweet smelling herbal soap from the merchantile. We got along great with the owner, a retired Denver fire fighter with a love for antiques. He had restored the barn himself and made it into a beautiful guest house. There were log cabins, too. The main house had a cozy common area filled with collections of buttons, toys, books, bullets- you name it! His wife was clearing away the breakfast dishes and was really nice, too. We told them we would stay there as soon as we could get away next!
Then it was off to hiking. We didn't get to do the hike we wanted because the weather had turned dark. We were able to get in a good hike and admire the Aspen changing colors.
Driving home was awful. There was road construction, traffic, pouring rain....and then it started to SNOW! Wowee! After a few hours of this, we decided to stop at
Beau Joe's for our favorite Colorado pizza. We earned it!
