Friday morning, after having visited the Special Shapes Mass Ascension at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Renée and I hopped in ye olde Toyota Camry for a trip to the unknown—at least for Ren. I knew exactly where we were going and planned a surprise trip for her. Well, admist all of the changing colors of the Aspen trees up in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, lies a little town called Pagosa Springs.

Pagosa Springs (often simply called Pagosa) is nestled away in southern Colorado in the Rocky Mountains, next to the San Juan river. They are popular for their access to skiing at Wolf Creek as well as awesome nature-related outdoor activities (mountain-biking, hiking, etc.). Maybe, however, what they are most famous for is the reason for their name: their hot springs.

Renée and I stayed at The Springs Resort Inn, which has 24/7 access to the springs. Ren and I, thus, got in our share of awesome relaxation by soothing our tired frames in the springs. They range from 97 (”The Burg”) to 113 (”The Lobster Pot”) degrees Fahrenheit and also are rich in “natural minerals”, which are said to provide healing to the body. That is part of the reason that the springs (and consequently, Pagosa) is so popular.

But they sure do smell like sulfur.

After spending a glorious weekend up in Colorado celebrating our first-year anniversary, we came back to Albuquerque to begin the next week of work, which is going very well. We are now no longer the typical newlyweds—we have at least one year under our belts, with many, many more to come. The adventure is just beginning.

And for anyone that missed the special first-year anniversary tribute, you can revisit it. Also, watch for pictures soon from the trip and from the Balloon Fiesta.