At the end of a hard week, whenever we can swing it, my boyfriend and I drive 72 miles north on U.S. Highway 89 to visit the hot springs in the tiny ranching town of White Sulphur Springs, Mont. That might seem like a long haul for a hot bath (or "going for a soak," as Montanans say), but the water's naturally tranquilizing effects more than compensate for the time and effort. The springs, divided into three pools, sit in the central courtyard of an unassuming, low-slung motel and are surrounded by roof-high murals depicting Western art's usual subjects — Native Americans, bears, buffalo and elk — gathered at the water's edge.
With its high concentration of sulfur, magnesium and lithium, the water, which smells powerfully of rotten eggs, is said to chemically resemble the celebrated waters of Baden-Baden, the famous German spa town. Locals believe the water has all sorts of therapeutic properties. During many a visit, my boyfriend opens his mouth and gulps from the gushing spigot that fills the pools. To me, this seems wrong and potentially unhygienic, but he insists it purifies the digestive tract.
I'm especially fond of visiting on snowy winter nights. Under piercing white stars slung across a vast black sky, the elemental contrast of heat and cold feels almost prehistoric. The frosty air bites your exposed skin as your hair freezes in hard strings, and the heat from the water rises up to form a vaporous curtain, a shroud of fog. Each person, each couple kissing in the dark, is enveloped in a pillar of steam. This can encourage some less-than-family-friendly behavior, but somehow no one's ever watching.
After steeping for an hour, we're fully cooked. Noodle-limbed, we drive back home, our skin flushed pink, turned silky from the sulfur. Our minds are clear but ready for sleep. A soak is better than a Valium.
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