Weekend trip to the hot springs

On Friday we decided we needed to get out of town for the weekend. Carl wanted to find a place with hot springs so we could take Carson swimming. I found a place outside of Buena Vista called Mt. Princeton and it turned out awesome! Most places with hot springs don't let children in, but this place was super family-friendly. The hotel where the springs were was really reasonablely priced so we took off Saturday morning to stay the night. Plus, we figured most people would be out shopping so it would be quiet.

We were so pumped to go and relax. Then, about 15 minutes before we got there, Carl got pulled over and got a speeding ticket. It sucked so bad. Apparently he got clocked at 70 by a cop driving the opposite direction and he said we had just passed where it had gone from 65 to 55 mph. He wasn't rude or anything, but he flat out wasn't budging on the ticket. So, $170 later........ It sure took the wind out of our sails for a little while, but as soon as we got up into the pools we were good again.

The resort is built right along a river that is ice cold and fast-moving, then there is a large section of natural hot springs that sit right along side the river. They have built up a bunch of pools with rocks so you are right there in the natural elements. The water was as clear as you could ever imagine and it was the absolute perfect temperature. We were all in heaven. Carson loved it so much too. He was so funny because he hates to have his hands and feet dirty. He refused to step down in the sand so he sat on our laps the entire time with his feet up. The weather was perfect - under 30 degrees the entire time, but totally clear skies. 

You had to climb down rocks to get in the water so I didn't dare bring the camera down. I just shot a couple quick ones the first afternoon when the boys were down there:

This is looking down the river and all the big rocks on the right are the hot spring pools.  There were a lot more than it looks like here. The steam everywhere really set the mood. I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of it though. :(

They also have a few actual man-made pools up on the top section that are fed from the natural springs. The main pool is about 100 degrees. It was like swimming in a huge bathtub since there weren't any chemicals or anything!

We got pizza at a new brewery there for dinner and then stopped for small town ice cream. 

The coolest part was seeing all the deer up there. They were seriously EVERYWHERE. Right along main street, in people's front yards, everywhere. We saw coyote, foxes and there were critter tracks in the snow everywhere you looked.
This guy was sleeping under a tree right in front of a house:

We watched this herd for awhile right up by the resort before they took off out in front of our car. Carson thought they were so cool!

Carson was kind of a brat the entire trip though. He wouldn't nap on Saturday, he refused to sleep in the Pack N Play (the hotel had them which was great!) and then was up from 1:45-4:45am in bed with us. We were so tired on Sunday morning. 

We went swimming again at 9am even though it seemed way too cold. Everything was covered in frost so I was scared it would be miserable. Somehow the water warms you up enough and there is enough steam that the cold air feels great. 

Anyways, to all our Colorado pals, you should really go check this place out if you want a close trip. It was so worth it and this is the perfect time of year. Apparently in the spring the runoff makes the water too cold in the spring and summer so the temperatures are ideal right now. And she told us they are hurting for business so they are offering some good deals too! The room was really nice and they had great service.

 www.mtprinceton.com