Road trip across America… daily reflections by Ema and Elle.
By Ema ~ I awoke with a sense of not wanting to move. The cabin was a little more than I should be spending, but I felt with all my being the need to just take a day of restoration rather than trying to rush to do our laundry and get the van ready again. Elle and I went up to the office of Bozeman Hot Springs to see if it was a possibility to just stay another night. Thankfully there were other cabins open, and even though ours was reserved, they moved the other people’s reservation and allowed us to keep our little cabin. I sat on the porch swing writing my postcards, as at this point I had a stack and states worth to conquer with my pen.
Our new friend Weston arrived with red bell pepper hummus wraps from the local natural food store, the Bozeman Co-op and some cookies from their bakery. We got ready for the springs and walked over.
There are always so many interesting people to meet at the springs, both locals and travelers. I met an interesting man, but never caught his name who seemed familiar and i to him. The more we shared stories, it seems he travels the craft show circuit and does the Prescott Square events which I attend several years in Prescott, Arizona with my grandparents who were also a part of that scene. Maybe we had crossed paths before. He was an interesting man with a sort of ritual with the springs, moving between the hot and cold waters, breathing in incense from Indian and drinking gallons of fresh spring water. We moved to the to the outdoor pools where I was greeted by many children in my tail. One boy came up to me and told me I was not real. I asked him if he had ever heard of a sealky and was surprised when he did indeed know it was a seal that shed its skin to become a human. I explained I too was like this. I could be with my tail or shed it to have my legs. He pondered a brief moment and exclaimed, “You are a real mermaid!”. The littlest one in the spring, was about three years old and named Mona. She quickly claimed me as her own and had me go underwater while the kids counted and even took a little ride on my tail. Their were many sibling and they became our pod for the afternoon, pretending to be sharks and dolphins, and sometimes humans of course! Weston had to get his flight home that evening, so we returned to the cabin and made a fire to enjoy and make s’mores, minus the chocolate. Still need to get more of this. Once Elle had her fill she was off to explore the jungle gym obstacle course. Weston had parted for the airport so I settled in by the fire and continued on my postcards. Elle and I went for a last dip in the springs, as tomorrow we will be journeying onward. We stayed until the very last moment soaking in the bliss.
By Elle ~ Today we woke up and man did I sleep well yeeee haaaa! When we woke up at about nine we had to hurry because breakfast was till 9:30. We just went in our pjs. When there they had everything from bagels to cereal to whip cream, yum. I was waiting for pancakes, but soon decided on waffles rather than pancakes. At first I only put on strawberry’s and blueberries, but soon discovered there was whip cream yum, so I put some on my waffle. It was so good I ate it up. After breakfast we went to the office to see if we could keep the cabin for another day. They did some arranging and we paid for another night. We got ready and did some journaling and post cards while we waited for Weston to arrive once more. Then we got ready for the hot springs we met this big buff bald guy doing some healing with the springs. He was really cool. After some talking he told me not to run up to any animals at Yellowstone and for Ema not to get too close for photos. He worded it, “and you don’t get to close.” We gave him our cards and he left. Then I met a girl my age and her little sister Ramona was obsessed with Ema. It was like Ema belonged to her. It was cute. Mona said she was a dolphin. It was really sweet, but soon she had to leave and we were back on our own with Weston. We decided it was time to eat so we went back for food and came back and ate at the springs. Sissy and I also had hand squeezed orange juice. Then we swam for hours and went back for Weston, as he had to leave, so then we went back to the springs and swam till closing doing things like Saunas and hot tubs. We saw the pools empty and we slept after showers.
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