March 28, 2007
We got wind of a couple of hot springs that were in the area, near Holtsville, just east of El Centro, CA.
We saw a few curious things on the way to the springs. We had noticed some strange palm trees that turned out to be decorated antenna for cell and other radio transmission.
This valley is all desert, but they grow a tremendous amount of vegetables here thanks to the massive irrigation projects. This is an irrigation canal that supplies massive amounts of water to the area fields.
Here are our migrant workers picking crops. By the way, they arrived in really nice cars.
The two hot springs that we visited were quite different. One of them was within about 50 yards of Interstate 8. The temperature was between 105 and 110 degrees. You can spot these locations because they appear to be your typical oasis in the desert.
The other pool was farther out in the desert on some bureau of land management property. The temperature of the pool was probably in the mid 90’s. On the way we saw several RVer’s that were camping in the desert, and had been for the entire winter, with no facilities, but it’s free.
There were several people at both springs. At this one, some even brought chairs and put them inside the palm tree oasis enclosure.
There was a slight chilly breeze in the air, so it was a little cool when you got out of the water. There was a pipe in the middle of the pond that spewed a 2-inch column of water about a foot in the air. The water probably replaced itself several times a day and ran out one end to a little creek.
We didn’t want to bore anyone with the few missing days in this blog. We did some swimming and a little reading.
That looks like so much fun. You seem to be having a very relaxing time.
BTW BC is quite famous for hot springs, although as you might guess, it is a might chilly when you get out–sometimes even freezing. You should try it.
thanks for the blog and the pictures.
Sister
We have been to the latter hotsprings many times over the years..we have found the people that attend very friendly and have not had any problems with anyone..As with all hotsprings, teenagers like to visit at night and sometimes leave quite a mess. There are people that stay the winter around there dry camping are are always helpful and friendly. We have made some good friends there.
Thanks for the comment. There were several RV’s staying near the springs when we visited. Unfortunately, we haven’t been near any hot springs lately. We understand that there are some springs in Texas. Perhaps we can try one of them.