little keyo

our grand christmas road trip to bishop was squashed by blizzards and snow across the west coast. who knows if we actually would have made the 16+ hour drive with a 4 month old, but we were willing to give it a shot. one of the big draws to the beautiful little hamlet of bishop is the keough (sounds like keyo) hot spring resort located 10 miles south of town. i would guess it's like stepping into a bathing house from the late 70's early 80's, because i am fairly certain they haven't put any money into the place since then. there is a hot pool that is 100+ degrees and a separate larger pool that must be in the high 90's or so which we would have loved to drag sonora around in. after a long, cold, sunny day on the rocks, this place is hard to beat. there's even a hot dog stand! here's a shot:


This photo of Keough's Hot Springs is courtesy of TripAdvisor

discouraged that we were confined to the gray, rainy commonplace of home, we planned daily adventures to get us through it. for me, having the time off to see a smiley baby each day was plenty rewarding in itself. these added adventures gave 'all' of us a little extra something to look forward to. at the end of the day though, we still were not going to any hot spring resorts....

ever since i was a teenager i have wanted a hot tub. for the last five years during the gray winter months i usually murmur and grumble about getting a hot tub once or twice a week. finally, seeing this as an opportunity, we went ahead and started shopping. turns out there is a plethora of used hot tubs for sale in the seattle area. we narrowed our search to a 3 person tub that in theory will be more economical to own and will satisfy our needs 99% of the time. when it's time to host a party, it will be a little different.

this morning i built the pad framed by pressure treated 4x4s containing 1/2 a cubic yard of 5/8 minus gravel. it went remarkably well. the tub showed up this afternoon and is currently heating up. some additional electrical work may need to be done to create a dedicated circuit but otherwise things are heating up and hopefully we will have our first splash tomorrow.

i have dubbed the tub 'little keyo' (actual photos of the tub coming soon), and hope that it serves us well in the dreary winter(s) ahead. some pros about having little keyo in the yard to keep in mind while seeing the increase in our energy bill:

-less grass to mow
-new inspiration about refinishing and shaping the deck
-easier to get house, bird or dog sitters
-open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year... except when it is broken. (the bishop keough is closed every tuesday for cleaning)
-massaging jets may actually work

maybe it's just the beginning of a series of irrational purchases which i can attribute to a mid-life crisis, but we can't wait for the temp to hit 104 degrees.