When I was a kid there were two hot springs pools within a few miles of town. We also occasionally visited other hot springs pools in the area. One of our favorites was Chico which is in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, Montana. It has an old hotel with a restaurant. It was a special treat for us to visit Chico and sometimes we got to stay in the hotel and swim a couple of days in a row. Several of the hot springs had hot pools that were just for soaking. Those didn’t interest me much. I wanted to swim and I thought that the really hot tubs were just too hot. Our father, however, who had sustained a back injury during his military service, really loved to soak in the hot tubs.

We also knew of lots of different places in the mountains, some very close to the roads, where hot springs were located near rivers. In those places you could find just the temperature you wanted by moving closer or farther away from the river.

I was an adult before I realized that we lived in a unique piece of geography, being just north of Yellowstone National Park. Not every place in the world has hot springs nearby. I don’t remember any hot springs near Chicago when we lived there and it was in Chicago that I met classmates who had never gone dipping in a hot springs. I thought it a bit strange as this was so common in my home space.

When we moved to North Dakota, it was a bit farther to a hot springs, but I had known about Evans Plunge in Hot Springs, South Dakota from my childhood and knew it was a fun place to take children. When we interviewed in Rapid City for our positions at the church we took our children to Hot Springs to swim in Evans Plunge, and we made trips down there from time to time. We also knew of hot springs in Idaho during our time there.

However, now we live in a place where there aren’t hot springs nearby. I have read of some hot springs in British Columbia, but we haven’t visited any of them yet.

Hot springs seem to be among the places in Montana that have changed in the decades since I was growing up here. We camped at Fairmont Hot Springs, not far from Anaconda last night. It is really developed and now calls itself a resort. There is a large, modern hotel complex and the pool itself has a huge, multi-story water slide. There is a golf course, mini-golf and more. We didn’t go into the resort as they have a day use fee and the weekend rate is higher than the weekday rate. We decided that we didn’t need to go to the pool. We definitely would have, however, had we had grandchildren with us. I’m pretty sure the fact that I didn’t rush to get in the pool is a sign that I’m older than once was the case.

As a couple of elders, we did enjoy a pleasant walk through the countryside. The area is full of beautiful mountains and there are lots of roads that give access to the national forest. On another visit, we might skip the campground next to the resort and head up into the mountains for one of the Forest Service campgrounds. I’m pretty sure it would be less crowded and a bit quieter. On the other hand, the campground where we stayed is full of children who are excited about the pool, waterslides, and other attractions. Having lots of excited children for neighbors is a good thing that puts a smile on my face.

Last evening I watched as a large gang of children and adults headed for the pool. They were walking, carrying towels and other supplies. The children were running ahead and the adults were calling out to them, asking them to wait. The children were trying to be patient, but how can you be patient when you can see a huge tower with a waterslide coming out of the top, making three spirals before emptying into the pool? The energy and enthusiasm of the children put a smile on my face and brought memories to my mind. I couldn’t help but think how much fun it would be to return here with some of our grandchildren. They would succeed in getting me into the pool. Who knows? They might even get me to try the waterslide. I’ve been down a few in my day.

It is being fun having a leisurely pace to this trip. We planned it so that we only have a half day’s drive between the places where we are stopping for the night. Even though we are already in Western Montana-west of the Continental Divide-we plan to stop two more times before we get back home. There are some advantages to being retired.

Heading home, however, has got me to thinking about all of the projects and things I want to do when we return. I’ve got a long list of things that will need my attention. We have a short trip planned next week - one where the computers won’t be going with us. And there are lots of things that need to be set in place before we leave for a few weeks to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson in South Carolina. The time will pass quickly and I have plenty of things that I want to get done.

But today is not a day for busy. It is a day for an easy drive over a couple more mountain passes into North Idaho and a pause by Lake Coeur d’Alene, not far from where our Conference has one of its church camps. We will probably stop in for a visit. There is a canoe there in need of a bit of repair and I want to take some measurements to make some parts for it.

One more project. I’m retired now. I’ve got time for projects. And just in case I get bored, there are two chairs in need of re-caning in our pickup that I have brought from Susan’s sister’s home to repair. Retirement isn’t going to be boring even if we don’t pay to go into the hot springs.