Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls there has not been a lot going on in the world so the blog-o-sphere has been pretty quiet. That changed the first weekend in February when Kari had a little excursion to Arizona from 2/4-2/8 a long weekend getaway to celebrate Kari’s birthday which was on 2/6. We decide to try a resort outside of Phoenix with our friends, John and Cara. A relaxing and sleepy flight from MSP to PHX was a perfect start. Once in Phoenix we caught a car ride with a little bubbly to our resort, Castle Hot Springs.
Castle Hot Springs is a resort just outside of Phoenix. It is very much an oasis in the desert. The last 7 miles of the ride were down a bumpy dusty road. While the road to get there was a little rough, the resort was smooth. Castle Hot Springs is a wellness resort in the Sonoran Desert adjacent to the Bradshaw Mountains. The resort was initially established in 1896. Early travelers to the resort had to take a stagecoach. As time went by the train and a bus would also provide access to the resort. I have no complaints about our Navigator ride now. Everyone coming to Castle Hot Springs has been enticed by the healing properties of these natural hot springs. The water comes out of the ground at 115 degrees Fahrenheit and cascades down in to three pools cooling as it goes. We joined a long list of celebrities that have visited these springs. The Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the Astors and President Teddy Roosevelt all stayed here. JFK come to recover from his PT boat injuries. Fires eventually destroyed several of the buildings. Castle Hot Springs was reborn in 2014 when a Phoenix entrepreneur and his wife purchased the resort and redeveloped the property.
Once on the property we were warmly greeted and our bags were delivered to our bungalow. No TV in the rooms and the WiFi password asked us if we really wanted to log on. The resort was designed to help its guest unplug and unwind.
Welcome to Castle Hot Springs Birthday girl!!
John, Cara, Kari and I had time for a late lunch. From the first bite m, the food was amazing. All the vegetables, fruit and herbs are grown local on the resort by farmers.
Obviously you get thirsty in the desert. It is important to hydrate
This was my Ahi Tuna and Kale salad. It was beautiful and delicious.
We took a farm tour in the afternoon. It was fascinating to see how they used the greenhouse to grow the tomato’s and the care taken in growing the herbs. We discussed the challenges of growing vegetables and fruit in the desert. The best part was we had snacks at the end.
Here is a delicious radish right from the garden. The fire pit in the background could be used to prepare s’mores. I had plans on enjoying s’mores every night on this vacation.
Well that all changed and we returned to enjoy our 5 course dinner. Castle Hot Springs was reported to have excellent food and those reports were 100 percent true
Butternut Squash bisque
Sake!!!
Filet with potato’s and ginger root.
Chocolate dessert
After dinner it was really time for bed. The travel and food left us feeling very satisfied with our choice. After getting ready for bed I decide the sky was too clear to just go to bed so I went out and tried a little astrophotography. You can be the judge of my success or failure.
Can you identify the constellation in the middle of this photo?
How about this constellation, do you recognize it?
Finally it was bedtime. I wondered what adventures the next day would hold.
We were all up early for yoga and meditation. Our instructor was fascinating as he discussed his time in the Far East and his path to Castle Hot Springs. After yoga and meditation it was time for breakfast. I was waiting for a little let down in the quality of food or service but there wasn’t any. Breakfast was just as amazing as dinner.
Morning at Castle Hot Springs
The stagecoach the brought the first batch of wellness seekers
Rosemary Waffles with and Orange purée mousse. This is officially amazing.
After breakfast, we enjoyed one of the many hikes you go follow right out of the resort
Art house views from the hike
Looking back at our oasis in the desert
Saguaro cactus through the rock
Cara and Kari are all smiles after the hike.
Heading back to the resort.
After yoga, meditation and a hike it was clearly time to hit the hot springs. The pools were beautiful. The top pool ran around 106 degree Fahrenheit. The middle pool ran around 99 degree Fahrenheit and the bottom pool was a chilly 80 degrees.
A few words of advise on the way to the hot spring.
The healing waters of Castle Hot Spring. This is the upper pool, you had to be committed to spend a lot of time in here
Purifying myself in the healing waters.
After the hot springs we all relaxed around the resort chatting with the staff and the few guest that were present. In the afternoon we had a mixology lesson from Castle Hot Springs Mixology master Russell.
Our lesson plan.
Remember the Daisy chain:
2 parts hard liquor
1 part acid
1 part sweet
This is the base foundation to mixology
The birthday girl and I
Kari working on her short game on the pitching green
Looking up the resort at our cabin
I also came to Castle Hot Springs looking for a cure to Americanitis
Dinner was amazing again. The Minnesotans decide to sit way outside by the bar fire pit and were not disappointed by the view, the temperature or the space.
I will only drop one food pic from Friday
Rack of Lamb
Lemon tart dessert. I lied the food is too beautiful and too good not to share.
The 6th was Kari’s actual birthday and started again with a hike, yoga, meditation and another hike. It was a beautiful morning in the desert.
Morning views of the 🌵
So quiet out here in the morning.
Wild donkeys on my hike
The view at the top of my hike
Looking down at Castle Hot Springs
After I made it back down is was more hot springs time.
After the bath house it was our wine tasting seminar with Sarah and it was incredibly fun. She discussed the process of becoming a level 2 Sommelier. We talked about Napa Valley and The French Laundry and why she was at Castle Hot Springs now. We also drama some great wine.
Dinner was amazing again
Birthday Cake for the Birthday girl.
On Sunday 2/7, Cara, Kari and I tied the resort’s climbing course, Via Ferratta. We climb while we are hooked to some cables anchored to the rock. It was super fun and just a little bit scary. Our guide, Ryan was awesome. He made it fun and safe for all. I think the pictures do most of the work on this one.
Climbing the wall with Kari and Cara
The birthday girl is all smiles on this part of the climb
Making the move up the wall
Crossing the suspension bridge
Hanging out above the canyon floor
Look mom no hands!!! 😲
We finished with a short hike back to Castle Hot Springs.
The rest of the day was filled with healing hot springs , mixology and another delicious meal. I was time for us to all go back to the frozen tundra of Minnesota and the work ahead.
