Ladynomad on the Road to Nowhere: Hot Springs, MT, and Kalispell

I was headed back to Kalispell for repair work on my RV. On my way I decided to check out the town of Hot Springs, MT. A soak in some mineral springs sounded really good.

There are 3 hot springs and mineral bath establishments in the area, but this was the one located in town. I stopped by and found for only $7 I could soak all day long and even stay and listen to live music in the evening if I wanted.

Long before the white man commercialized this area, the native indians had been soaking in the healing waters for years. In 1855 this area was set aside as a government reserve. In 1910 it was opened for homesteading and this area then became the townsite of Hot Springs, which sits alongside Warm Springs Creek. In 1929 Fred Symes bought this land and built this mission style hotel, catering to visitors who came for the curative mineral waters. In the 1950s hot springs and their popularity started to decline and by 1990 the town population, which was once 5,000, was down to 400. The Symes Hotel is now under new ownership and is partnered with the Hot Springs Artist Society.

There are private tubs and steam rooms for additional dollars located inside the hotel, but the main pools are outside. The largest is kept at 98 degrees. There are two smaller pools, one is kept at 104, and the other at 109. I spent several hours enjoying the curative mineral waters of Symes Hot Springs.

This little white church grabbed my attention because of the sign.

I guess the town isn't big enough for both a Lutheran Church and a Presbyterian Church.

I've been in Kalispell for two weeks and have taken only 2 pictures, wild turkeys in the local city park. I've been getting repairs on my RV, a new heater core, which should stop my radiator from leaking, and a new a/c compressor for my dash air. (Now that summer is almost over, I get my a/c fixed) Both required the ordering of parts, and one part took over a week to arrive. But Loren's Auto and RV Repair was great, fixing me up next to their repair shop and even plugging me into electricity. On the days I had to be out of the RV while they were working on it, Fancy and I took off for some exploring.

I also had a chance to return to Dr. Popp, the chiropractor I had seen when I was here last month. Between going to Dr. Popp, attending his stretch classes, and dropping in to the Kalispell Yoga with Jane Adams, going to the Picnic in the Park on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday noon, I have been pretty busy.

After the repairs were completed I moved over to the Kalispell Elk Lodge. They have a full athletic facility with pool, hot tub, exercise room and even 3 racquetball courts. They have great biking and hiking trails around the area, so I have taken advantage with Fancy and I checking out most of them.

Returning my RV to Loren's last Friday for some routine maintenance (not repairs), they did find another problem. So, I guess I'll be here a few more days until they can do some final work on my RV. But that's ok. I like Kalispell and it allowed me to go to the farmers market one more time.

I also had the opportunity to drive down to Poulson and visit another RV friend, Pam Conover. She took me out to see Kerr Dam at the south end of Flathead Lake before heading into Poulson for lunch.

When I leave here I plan on heading towards Jackson, WY, and catching up with the WINs. At least that's the plan, but as all of us RVers say, "Our plans are in jello".