If the road into Taos was the straightest road of all time, the road out of Taos was the curviest. Back and forth, back and forth we wove down the highway back toward Santa Fe. We ended up right in our old neighborhood before heading up the into the hills behind it to Ten Thousand Waves Japanese spa and lodge. We were fully prepared for maximum relaxation ahead of several weeks in the trailer.
Ten Thousand Waves is tucked away in the high desert mountains just above Santa Fe. Most of the rooms are their own structures that dot the hill up toward the spa and the restaurant. We parked our trailer in the over-fill lot but still had some trouble navigating the rather narrow road up to check-in. Once we had located our room it was time to schlep our bags up the hill. The altitude was once again very apparent and Mom and Dad felt like a bunch of low landers with all our huffing and puffing. Luckily we didn't have much to carry. After settling in we headed up the hill for dinner.
The restaurant on site is Izanami. They serve a variety of traditional Japanese dishes, although many have modern twists or southwest influences. Mom got her fill of sashimi (at least for the evening), and we tried short ribs, onigiri, rice bowls, and lots of other things. Most of the plates are small so we got to try lots. We also had an excellent beer from Japan made with bonito (fish) flakes, and a sake that was recommended by our server. Everything was delicious.
Post dinner Mom went to check out the Grand Bath, which is the spa's largest soaking tub. After 30 minutes or so she came back to the room and Dad went for a soak. The bath is open to the sky and the combination of nighttime stars and extra hot water made the experience sublime.
In the morning we did a quick breakfast and then headed to our first of two private tub bookings. The tubs that we saw consisted of patio fenced in patio like areas complete with a private bathroom, sauna, soaking tub, and cold plunge. We too advantage of all of it, although only Dad used the cold tub. The lodge provides Japanese robes, sandals, and jackets. They even had a Remy sized robe.
Post soak we drove up the road to take in a short hike. The trail followed a small creek and we took a leisurely pace. Remy led the way and made up information about a series of fictional train engines, including their construction, respective jobs, and things like top speed and efficiency. He talked about it for over and hour. For a while M and Dad had lost the thread, but he kept going until well after we returned home. Dad had a massage booked when we returned so he attended to that while Remy napped. But first they had to practice karate for a bit.
For dinner we were back at the restaurant for more gorging on raw fish and Japanese beer. It was again a pleasureable experience.
Thursday was a bit of a flip flop, with Mom having a massage in the morning and the family attending another private soak in the afternoon. Our second soaking tub had a simulated stream/waterfall combo. Remy and Dad used this for racing all of the plastic to-go containers that we had been saving to utilize as bath toys. The bowl was far and away the fastest.
The restaurant was closed for Thanksgiving so we grilled steaks and roasted potatoes in our room. After dinner we played a family game of charades. It was Remy's first time playing the real thing and he took an immediate shine to it. He liked the "walk the dog" clue so much that he performed it several times. Mom and Dad got it right each time. Dad was particularly upset that no one guessed his banana split or his mountain biking clues. Maybe he needs some more charades practice.
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