Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs

One of the items on my travel wish-list is to travel to a spa destination for a weekend of relaxation. When I get this chance, the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs is where I will be. This resort is located about one hour north of Santa Fe and offers a gorgeous setting (it is nestled in the New Mexico hills), inspiring adobe architecture, rejuvenating yoga classes, calorie-burning hikes, relaxing spa treatments, and of course, hot-spring pools, which contain different types of mineral water--iron soda, lithia and arsenic. The pools were also considered sacred by the early Pueblo inhabitants of the plateau above the resort. This place sounds like bliss!

image/Sunset Magazine

New Mexico

Inspiring desert vistas. Delicious Southwestern cuisine. Spectacular Pueblo architecture. Fascinating history. Rich culture. There is much to love about this great state. I visited about a year and a half ago, and to this day, I often think about how blessed I felt while there. It was my first trip anywhere after recovering from an auto accident, so the dork in me feels quite sentimental about this special place.

Anyway, via one of my favorite blogs, I learned about this darling book, New Mexico: A Guide for the Eyes. In my opinion, it is not just a travel guide, but a coffee table book as well as it offers plenty of amazing photography. The author and photographer, Elisa Parhad, is a cultural anthropologist. So as you would expect, the book is quite informative and interesting. I enjoyed reading about a place I loved so much. I did not have this book during my first visit, but I am planning to go back as soon as possible. This book will surely make my second experience that much richer.

Some of my favorite photos I took from our visit: