Nevada is my favorite state for hot springs. Iowa may have more springs, but Nevada has more desert, and the combination of desert vistas and soaking is simply sublime.

Here are a few shots from the Bog Hot Spring, way up north, near Denio. The massive flow of water coming through the piping has gathered from a long series of sources that flow into a manmade channel, eventually emptying through the tube into a large pool where, if it were up to me, I would linger for weeks and weeks. Usually, though, I simply pass through on my way to someplace else. Again, why am I living east of the Rockies?

Not far from Bog, at least, as the crow flies, lies Soldiers Meadow hot spring, in one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful parts of the lower 48 states. It's an incredible soak a long way from anywhere, although there's a ranch B&B just a mile or so away. The hot pond has a squishy bottom which bubbles up with even hotter water when you walk on it. Also in the area are lots of great, small hot pools.

And just another fifty miles away, as the crow flies, and a few bone-pounding hours, lies Trego Hot Ditch, on the edge of the mighty Black Rock Desert. Trego is right next to a freight line, as well, and you might see some strange things both in and out of the hot water here.

Back in central Nevada are many fascinating hot springs. One well-known one, deservedly, is Spencer's Hot Spring, just five miles from Highway 50 and about 25 miles from Potts Ranch hot spring, in the Monitor Valley. Spencer's is another place where you could while away the time for weeks. It has many fans.