Lava Hot Springs

A Little R&R in Idaho

The Colledge family has long been frequenting Lava Hot Springs (Grandma M's home town) and Preston and I decided it was time to introduce Tessa and Luke to a family past time. We had never been in the winter, as most of our trips consisted of camping, tubing the river, and spending a full day at the spring-fed pool with the three tiered diving board, but decided that the hot springs would probably be best enjoyed when the outside temperature dipped below freezing. After the three hour drive we arrived at our historic Riverside Inn, which Tanner claims is haunted, and hurried and changed to be able to relax in the springs before it closed at 11. We only had to walk 1/2 a block and knew we had arrived by the fact that the entire area was blanketed in steam. Preston, bless his heart, forgot to put his suitcase in the car and resigned (much to his disgust) to rent a swimsuit, which is pictured. I got a good laugh at that. At the rental counter he asked for a "hefty gentleman's suit please". We changed in the locker rooms and then ran, it was bitingly cold, to the springs. At first they were so hot we were only able to put our feet in and that was enough. Slowly we became more accustomed to the temperature and slowly immersed ourselves in the hot springs. It was soooooo nice! They are large pools with a soft rock bottom. You can walk around, sit on the sides, or go explore other pools. There are four different pools. The main pool's temperature is usually around 106 degrees and the other large pool is around 112 degrees. The two small pools are cooler than the larger ones. The pools are all heated by a natural spring from an ancient volcano. There are no chemicals in the water, it is all natural and full of healthy minerals. Back in the day the springs were believed to be a fountain of youth. We absolutely loved it! So relaxing! After we got done soaking we were really hot and relaxed and hungry. In the small town there was not really anywhere to eat so late, except for the blue moon bar, so we went to the Flying J for dinner. The next morning we ate breakfast in our cute hotel and then went and sat in the springs for a few more hours before leaving. In the morning it was so nice. It had snowed all night and everything was covered with thick snow. It was still snowing as we sat in the springs. It was a perfect moment. We all came home relaxed and ready to face another week. I highly recommend visiting Lava Hot Springs if you are looking for a quick winter get-away that is very relaxing and relatively inexpensive.

Wrapping it up...

The day before Christmas Eve the Colledge family tradition is to go to the family cabin. This is the first year we have actually spent the Eve of Eve at the cabin. Usually we have to rent a cabin 3 1/2 miles below to stay the night. The boys worked hard this summer and we were able to sleep and cook there. We had to snowmobile in with all of our gear and food. It was quite the adventure! Besides the pipes being frozen and Luke and I sleeping in the basement (which was below freezing) it was a huge success! That morning Luke and I decided to snowshoe down to our car, about a 3 1/2 mile distance, it was a gorgeous day with blue skies and a warm sun. We enjoyed it immensely. That evening we had the Colledge family devotional complete with the traditional reading of Luke and acting it out. Sasha and Red's family were lucky enough to play Mary and Joseph this year and Lily insisted that Luke be a shepherd. My Mom... she is so funny, she has a tradition that she sews something for everyone in the family that they can use Christmas Eve night. In the past she has made blankets, pillows, slippers, and this year we all got sweats and matching t-shirts. It all fit perfect! She works so hard on her projects! Later we went to the Cook's for reading of Luke and then Luke and John did back-flips for entertainment. That night Luke and I got home and decided that instead of setting our alarm to wake up to be at the Cook's for waffles and ice cream in the morning, we would rather sleep-in and open gifts that night. For a good three weeks I toiled and labored over a quilt I made Luke that honors the University of Utah and he got the surround sound system that he wanted. Luke totally surprised me and gave me a date with him at the Gateway complete with gift cards to all of my favorite stores and a gift card to the Happy Sumo, which I love. The best part is that this package came with the promise of no complaining from him! What more could a girl want? That night the Cook's have the tradition of going to a movie so we all went and saw I Am Legend. It was pretty good, but way too intense for me. A few days later we saw Juno. I loved it. I highly recommend it. On New Year's Eve we played games with Jamie and the gang and then welcomed in the year with Amy Jo and Aislinn. At midnight Aislinn cranked up the tunes with the "Happy New Year" song as we watched fireworks coming from Provo Town Center, her place had a great view! Then Amy Jo coached us on completing the 2008 picture. She knows all sorts of fancy things to do with digital photography. Amy is pure genius. 2007 was terrific and I'm sure 2008 has many more fantastic things in store!