Soaking it up at Colorado's Pagosa Springs

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — Remember a couple of months ago when the temperatures hovered near 100 every day and you ran around with your cheeks flushed and your pores open to the world? Well, summer may be over but here's one way to recapture the feeling: Go to Pagosa Springs, Colo., and sit in the Lobster Pool.

Springs Resort has 15 mineral pools, each offering a different temperature and a different view of the San Juan River and the historic buildings on the far bank. The water comes out of the ground at 150 degrees. The resort owners add various amounts of cold water, leaving the Lobster Pool at around 112 degrees. Fortunately the Lobster Pool is also close to the river — where you can submerge your bright red limbs.

These mineral springs are what the town was named after. But they are only a part of the draw.

Pagosa Springs is nestled next to the San Juan National Forest, which adjoins Colorado's largest wilderness area, the Weminuche. The Continental Divide snakes along the top of the peaks. And the San Juan River starts here. (It ends, of course, in Lake Powell.)

In the mountains around Pagosa Springs are endless miles of scenic drives and hikes and horseback or mountain bike rides. There are rivers to float and trout streams to fish. Most years, Wolf Creek ski area gets more snow (about 465 inches) than any other resort in Colorado.

It's a day's drive from Salt Lake City to Pagosa Springs. If you enjoy deluxe rooms and meals and tourist shopping, you might want to spend a night en route in Durango. Mesa Verde isn't much out of your way, nor is the fascinating Chimney Rock Archaeological Area.

On the other hand, if you decide to drive straight through, your drive will be pleasant. The countryside gets even prettier as you approach Pagosa Springs, as cedar mesas give way to spiky peaks and pine trees and aspen.

Of course you are hardly the first to discover the charms of Pagosa Springs. If you talk to a few of the locals, you'll find a lot of transplants here. (The county's population doubled during the 1990s, to 10,000 people.)

Pam and Gary Hopkins are outdoor-loving examples of the trend. They were born in California and worked there and raised their children there, but they spent their vacations traveling the United States and thinking about where they'd like to retire. They chose Pagosa Springs — and it wasn't long before their daughter and her husband and several of their California friends bought property in Pagosa as well.

The Hopkinses have explored surrounding mountains on foot, bike and cross-country skis. They say the area is rich in wildlife — deer, elk, bobcat and bear. They are willing to share some of their favorite spots with first-time visitors.