I have been wanting to go for ages now, and finally made it on Sunday. I’m talking about Indian Springs in Calistoga… This charming spa/resort has been around for decades, and what I love the most is that you actually feel like you’ve stepped back in time the minute you drive up.

Their signature mineral pool is the core of Indian Springs. Built in 1917, it’s 102 degrees in the winter and 92 in the summer and fed by natural geysers on the property so the water is mineral rich. But there’s more to do than just soaking up the mineral water in the pool (although I could have stayed there all day). Try their mud baths, which use volcanic ash from their property (spewed from nearby Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Konocti years ago). Or get a relaxing massage or facial. Stay overnight (or two) and play tennis in the morning, and some shuffleboard at dusk. In an ideal world, I would spend weeks up here each summer. It’s that good.