A view of magical Dunton Hot Springs . You can see the San Juan mountains in the distance, behind the resort which is a restored mining village. The place looks like a dump on the outside, but it is all five star inside!
One of the guests staying here was a big hiker. He got up way early and hiked to the top of the mountain in the picture! Energetic guy. To hike up and back you need to get up way early. Try 3 am early. Not only is it far, but there are bad thunderstorms in the mountains in the afternoons. You don’t want to get caught in that!
Steve had an omelette for breakfast.
I had the mixed berry pancakes. Doesn’t everything look better with confectioners sugar on it?
After breakfast I strolled to the library, lit a fire and read for awhile. Steve went off fishing.
Lunch started with a plate of mixed greens.
This was followed by grilled corn and then beef and pork ribs.
That was some “good eating”!
Here is another view of the bar and where we would gather for cocktails before dinner.
So after lunch I went for another soak in the main hot spring building. Do you see the big gray box in the background by my toes? That is the cold soak tub. After you soaked in the hot springs you were supposed to go in the cold tub. I did it once and did not enjoy it. Steve thought it was quite invigorating. I am not an invigorating type of gal.
This is another picture of the main building. The red sofa in the background is where I was sitting in the prior picture. You can see the cold plunge pool on the right of the picture. This picture is from the Dunton web site.
After my soak I wandered around to take a few pictures. Our little cabin.
The view of the hills.
The stream right behind our cabin where Steve caught many fish.
Later in the afternoon I went to the open kitchen to see what the chef was up to. Looks like a soup in gourds.
Steve came back from another successful day fishing. Today he caught 32 fish!
Before dinner we cuddled up for a cozy picture. We showed all the honey-mooners you can still have fun after 37 years!
Dinner was in fact great soup in mini pumpkins.
Our entree was lamb.
Another delicious dessert.
After dinner we made s’mores by the bonfire.
Someone had a night sky app so we had fun identifying all the satellites and stars above.
Now I suppose it is a good time to talk about two interesting guests at Dunton. O and T. O had a name that you might think was a Sheik or a tent maker, but he was neither. (Think Oscar, as Steve doesn’t want me to say real names!) It was the girlfriend T’s birthday, not a number ending in a zero, just a regular birthday. Instead of going to the Bahamas with friends (they live in the Miami area), O decided to surprise his girlfriend with a trip here. I gave him major props to decide on this romantic trip. A trip to the Bahamas is so last year! You are making an effort when you bring your girlfriend to a romantic ghost town with 5 star accommodations! O liked to hit the night clubs in Miami. I found it fascinating hearing about getting car services to take you out at night and drive you around. I live a sheltered life!
O’s business was real estate investments. Now it is just investments. (Sounds like my friend from Dubai who said he was “a trader”!) O went to college and then got his MBA. He started working for a mortgage broker and started to buy real estate. At his peak he had 5000 units (condos, apartments, multi family housing). His worth, not his net worth (I didn’t ask how much he was leveraged was $750 Million. The market turned from its peak and he had some big losses, but still has money. How do you become a millionaire? You start with being a hundred millionaire.
I never did find out O’s last name. I really would have loved to have googled it. I did try to google O’s first name and Miami Beach real estate but didn’t find out who he really was.
What’s your idea of a romantic birthday celebration?
Do you love s’mores?
How do I get these people to tell me all their stories?
