Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs: Spa experience in New Mexico
Offbeat New Mexico
What does a Native American Indian potter have to do with your spa experience? What’s the deal with that giant round adobe barn? What are those strange igloo shaped outdoor ovens? Is that a yurt on the other side of the mineral pools?
I could answer all those questions by just telling you to go to Northern New Mexico and find out for yourself. But, given the relative isolation of this popular but out-of-the-way spa, I suppose I should be a bit more helpful.
Ojo Caliente is one of the oldest health resorts in the country. Long before the Spaniards found the warm mineral springs in the 16th century, the Tewa people had already been enjoying the healing waters for hundreds of years. The Posi pueblo ruins are an easy hike in the highlands just above the springs and west of the Rio Ojo. The ground is littered with ancient pot shards and the remains of pueblo walls and kivas are easy to find once you have trained your eye to find them.
The yurt? It may be a bit larger than your every day yurt. Of course, I don’t see a yurt everyday, but this one is pretty big. With beautiful hardwood floors it serves as the Yoga Center. They also have Water Yoga. Those warm mineral waters help loosen up your muscles and add a bit to your flexibility.
As for the unusual looking igloo shaped outdoor ovens, hornos, they have more than one purpose. The pueblo people in the nearby villages use them for baking. Really good bread. And it has no preservatives. I’m going off on a little tangent right here, but I have to tell you this. If you like French toast you have to try making it with the Pueblo Indian bread. It has no preservatives so what you don’t eat right away will get a bit stale. But that’s good because when it gets a little stale it seems to love soaking up your favorite French toast mixture. My preference is beaten whole eggs, skim milk, vanilla and, occasionally some other favorite flavoring. Slice the bread about an inch and a half or two inches thick and soak in the mixture overnight - refrigerated, of course. When you get up in the morning turn on your oven to about 350 degrees or so, place the soaked Pueblo bread in a baking dish and pop in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Then top it with Maple syrup, Pineapple jam, Apple butter or whatever makes you happy and enjoy. If you want to fix it the regular way, slice the bread a little thinner, dip in the mix and throw it on the griddle. Either way - you win.
O.K. - the barn. The Historic Adobe Round Barn is the only round adobe barn in the country. One of New Mexico’s architectural treasures, it has two floors with almost 5,000 square feet of space. Built in 1924 and recently refurbished it is available for weddings, workshops, seminars, meetings or whatever you can think of. With a wood plank floor and an open-rafter ceiling upstairs and a kitchen downstairs it provides an excellent venue for a truly different event.
