Travelers find a warm welcome and hot showers

[Sept-Oct 2019 Travelogue]

Leaving Craters of the Moon we head generally south and west towards Bruneau, Idaho with the intention of eventually finding our way south to warm sunshine.  We drive the length of the gulch created by the Bruneau River stopping to peer over the edge.

Bruneau Plateau

We consider camping here on the edge, but the lure of hot springs a mere 60 miles down the road keeps us going.






The road across the plateau is smooth dirt and the sky provides changing views of cloudiness.

Both the map and a Hot Springs website provide motivation to keep going.  We turn west to head down the gulch to the springs.

The small town is very quiet.  We drive on through looking for directions to the hot springs. The main road takes us away from town and begins a turn back up the other side of the gulch.

We discover a lovely campground here.

Campground Road

Wait - what about the hot springs?
We turn around and head back to a smallish road that appears to go towards the river.
And there is a human.  One human.  She says that the hot springs tub is just refilling now, but if we want to return in the morning, it should be ready.

Alas, in the morning there is no one around.  We test the water and find it still filling the swimming pool-sized hot tub with water much too hot to touch.

Our view leaving Hot Springs - Brrrr

And so we drive south.  Nevada we have misunderstood you. You are not border-to-Sierras flat desert.


We climb the western side of the gulch into the mountains on a narrow dirt road.


The sign warns us of a steep climb.  The angle on the sign makes it look treacherous but we guess correctly that the sign is a borrowed rotated steep downhill warning.

And it is more beautiful than scary.  It is curvaceous and single lane, but beauty is the prize that makes extreme alertness worthwhile.



At the top of the climb we come into the inviting town of Jarbridge, Nevada


The telephone photo caption is linked to a YouTube video of a drive through Jarbridge when it must be summertime.

Phone outside Jarbridge campground

The clean, hot showers in the bar at the Outdoor Inn more than make up for missing the soak in the hot spring.


The road out of Jarbridge heading south continues to deliver gorgeous views.

Stalled cow

Coming down out of the mountains, we run into traffic again.