Hot and Cold

In my previous life, when I lived in Japan, I learned the art of bathing. Those who know me may question whether or not I learned anything at all because I'm not exactly the cleanest person around. Doubt me not, faithful reader, I tell no lie. While in Japan, I fully embraced the cultural ritual that is the taking of a bath.
It's hard to explain what this ritual entails to those who have not been to a Japanese bathhouse or hotspring but like any ritual it involves a series of almost esoteric actions and movements. I came to love bathing so much that I tried to visit a rustic, mountain onsen (hotspring) every weekend and was a regular at Tokyo's best neighborhood bathhouses and spas almost every night of the week.
The sure sign of a good bathhouse is that it has not one, but two, three or even more distinct pools. I have bathed in all kinds of pools, each rich with its own unique blend of minerals or scents. Green tea baths, electric baths, I've tried them all. Still, the two essential pools at any respectable bathhouse are the boiling hot pool and the icy cold pool. To go from one to the other is like no other experience. Freezing my body into stasis then reviving it in scalding waters was something I grew to love.
Over here at Grover Hotsprings, there is no cold pool. There's a swimming pool, but it's waters are warmed to a comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, those who seek the icy cold experience need not look any further than the hot pool's edge where, in the winter, the benches are covered in snow. Hot to cold, cold to hot. With temperatures under 10 degrees Fahrenheit, it was cold enough outside to freeze Mom's hair -- wow! With our visit today, we feel completely revitalized!