This video is more of a slid show then a video but at that time I was just shooting stills. Spencer Hot Springs is in Smoky Valley on BLM land 8 miles South of Highway 50 in Nevada. There are three places to soak in the hot water. One is in the ground and has a small deck and the other two are large tanks. The entire area is C. O. and the rangers that patrol it never bother anyone for being naked. For years we would stay there for a week and enjoy the company of some friends. Till the price of gas went up making it too expensive for us to use the motor home. Now we have been only using the van to make the trips from Arizona to Idaho. We just drive straight down. When I retired in 2000 it cost us $300 in gas to make the trip in the motor home but when it jumped up to $1,500 we had to cut back on what and how we did things. Now even using the van, it still has climbed up to $800 for the trip. At the rate everything is climbing in price we will not be making these trips much longer. Spencer Hot Springs is an interesting area. There was a big mining operation there but after it went bust the Government took the land back. The hot water comes from old water well pipes that the mining company once drilled and used. The water comes out at 380 F If you empty the tubs to scrub them clean and refill them, it takes a day for the water to cool enough so you can enjoy a naked soak. Then you just let a little water trickle in to keep it fresh and hot. Many times we have watched the sun set while in those tubs and I enjoyed having my coffee soaking in the hot water watching the sun come over the mountains in the morning. You can see what is left of the old mining area in some of these pictures. and if you look behind me you can see the snow on top of the mountain range. I have always liked finding places off the roads that everyone else bypasses as they use the high speed highways. Many of the hot springs in Nevada have gone dry because they started drilling for the geothermal spots to install electric hot water generators.making the smaller one used by people disappear for good. Just 20 years ago there were over 400 usable hot springs in Nevada now there is maybe 50 left. I should know. we would spend our time looking for them and if they were still in good shape, we would have a nice soak as a reword.
Cast:Milan Lexa