taking back Sunday

For 2009 we are on the early worship schedule, all done with church by noon. We decided to celebrate with an adventure of epic proportions. The whole family piled in the car and made the 1 1/2 hour drive down the I-15 to Meadow Utah- home of our favorite hot springs. The hot springs sit in the middle of a farmer's field about 5 miles (super rough guess) out of town. The owner's are kind enough to allow anyone to use the springs as long as they abide by a few simple rules like: no nudity, no dogs, clean up after yourselves etc. From where you can park your car the walk to the closest spring is about 100 yards on this little pathway. There are about 4 different springs, of various temperatures. Steve O and the kids have explored all of them and agree that the one closest to the parking area is the best- about 100 degrees, roughly the size of a backyard pool, and apparently about 40 feet deep.
The water is crystal clear and doesn't have any weird odor. It is literally- the perfect 'hot pot'.
The kids had to get out every now and again to make a few snowballs, then dive, flip or cannonball back into the water.

Taking pictures from underwater was the most fun. We all had goggles and scuba masks- the only reason to surface was for a bit of air whenever you absolutely had too. Here is C (4 yrs. old) jumping in off the rocks, the picture is taken from a few feet below the surface.

The deepest part is supposedly 37 feet deep. That fact from a local, but for awhile we were under the impression it was bottomless. Steve O likes to dive deep, and do a little exploring.
Locals practice their scuba diving skills here, wouldn't it be fun to tell everyone that you learned to scuba dive in a hole in the middle of a cow field in Central Utah?

Picture taken from way down deep, looking up at the surface. Someone had strung a rope a few feet underwater over the deepest part of the springs. Perfect for chillaxing.

Here is C spending as much time underwater as possible. The Olympus SW790 was taking the most fabulously clear underwater pictures.

This is kind of a dumb picture (aesthetically) but shows the shallower sections of the pool. The rocks underwater are a bit mossy and slick, but like I said before, the water is crystal clear- no bugs, no critters swimming around.


This picture was taken after the sun had gone down, as we were thinking about getting ready to go. Leaving was painful... literally. We jumped out, changed into dry clothes and ran to the car with lightning speed. Any uncovered skin burned with the cold, hair froze instantly. We didn't know just how cold it was until we got into the car and the outdoor temperature registered -12 degrees. Yikes!
I know, the thought crossed my mind too, "What kind of mother am I bringing smallish children out here??"
Thankfully, the car started up just fine and we headed out, feeling (ever so slightly) that we had perhaps just cheated death. The fun way out-ranked the frighteningly cold aspects, I'd do it again tomorrow, or maybe when it warms up just a bit.
To see more pictures of Meadow, Utah hot springs look here.