Over the holidays I spent quite a bit of time in Nevada and the surrounding National Parks area. During this time, I spent a bunch of days and nights camping on the edge of the Colorado River.
I was drawn to this body of water…
I think my curiosity started when I first saw the Hoover Dam and could see the levels in the water that had dropped in Lake Mead over the years… It is said that “As demands for Colorado River water continue to rise, the level of human development and control of the river continues to generate controversy.” …This is because the demand continues to increase each year but the snowpack year after year continues to be low.
I learned that it is the largest reservoir in the continental United States. I also learned that the Colorado River is a source of water for over 40 million people and the watershed encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. {Its huge…and cold!}
I know its cold because I jumped off a 20-foot rock into the river after I hiked out to a remote hot spring called the “Arizona Hot Springs”
It was AMAZING!
I hiked about 3 miles before we arrived at 3 hot spring pools that all varied in temperature… the closer the pool was to the source, the hotter the water was.
Here is a photo of the Arizona Hot Springs!
I highly recommend a hike & a visit to this place if you’re ever in the area! {and make sure you jump in the Colorado River too!}