Healing Waters

This was a unique Christmas. For the first time since I've lived in Idaho, we didn't have a white Christmas! In fact, I think it's snowed once this year so far. Although I miss the beautiful white stuff, driving has been so much easier without it.

After a quiet Christmas at home, the fam decided to visit the Northwest's best-kept-secret: Soap Lake. Every time we visit my doctor in Seattle, the hilarious Dr. Jelstrup, he raves about this little spot on the map called Soap Lake. It's half way between Seattle and Spokane and in the middle of nowhere. According to Dr. Jelstrup, this world-renowned lake possesses unique healing powers. So we drove the 2 1/2 hours to Soap Lake to see for ourselves.

The town itself is pretty depressing. It looks desolate with its one grocery store and pizza shop. We stayed at The Inn at Soap Lake, a quaint little hotel just off the lake. Each room in the inn has water piped in from the lake so guests can enjoy the miraculous water in the comfort of their own room. Upon arrival we picked up some reading materials on the history and attributes of Soap Lake. We discovered that the lake truly is world-renowned for its water and mud.

Apparently the lake possesses a high sulfur and mineral content that is highly alkaline. There are countless stories about how Soap Lake's mud and water have helped heal wounds and diseases; dating back to the Indians who discovered the lake. Nasa is even conducting all sorts of experiments and research on the various properties of the lake. Soap Lake was quite a destination in the early 1900s but tourism dropped off and the town basically died. However, there are plans to revitalize the area with a new spa and hotel. Dr. Jelstrup told us that you'll find more Europeans there than Americans because Europeans are more interested in hot springs and natural medicine than Americans. The only other tourists we saw (and it is the off-season) were some Japanese and Russian families.

After spending the night at The Inn, we walked down the street for a day at one of the local "spas". I place "spas" in quotations because it was hardly what anyone would imagine as a spa. The Healing Waters Spa opened up about one year ago and is run by a lovely couple from Seattle. They're not exactly experienced massage therapists so it made the experience interesting. :-) The mud treatment was the most unique treatment I've ever received at a spa. The therapists take mud from the lake and spread it all over your body then allow it to dry before wiping it off. Then, after a salt scrub, you soak in the mineral water before the aroma therapy massage. Your skin feels so soft after the treatment! The one downside of the mud treatment is that it doesn't smell very pleasant due to the sulfur. However, the benefits outweigh the odor. :-)

All four of us had a wonderful time in the healing waters of Soap Lake and hope that we can head back soon for some more therapy.