Pagosa Springs Colorado
Hot
Spring Lingo
The Great Pagosa Hot Spring – The term used by the
first whites who, at the time, thought the spring to be the largest
and hottest on earth.
Pagosah – original spelling when white men wrote down the
name the Indians used for the spring.
To “bathe” – to be in spring water, not necessarily
with soap and the intent to clean oneself. Also called: “taking
the waters”, and “taking a dip”.
To “soak” – to bathe for a longer time.
To “plunge” – generally to bathe, but also
to sink quickly into very hot spring water. Quickly heating and
cooling the body is thought to have a therapeutic effect.
“Hippie Dip” – term applied by locals to the
now-closed spring hole in the field south of the main vent, which
was free and open to the public until a murder took place there.
“Pagosa Delight” - used by professional tree-planters
who soaked their aching backs in the Hippie Dip. Could easily
be used to describe a soak by anybody, anytime.
Navapachute – original name for the facility where the
Spa Motel is now located.
“To take in the vapors” or “to steam”
– To sit in the steam room at The Spa and “wrap,”
to lay or sit wrapped in a sheet or blanket in the steam room.
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