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| Remains of an old hotel, Dripping Springs, NM. |
A sometimes-dirt road and a short hike on a windy day led me to 6000 feet above sea level at Dripping Springs Nature Area. There, you can see the ruins of an old hotel, Van Patten Mountain Camp and, a bit further up the hill, Dr. Boyd's tuberculosis sanatorium.
The spring does still drip when there has been a bit of rain.
Mountains jut up in almost every direction as the area is a volcanic cauldron.
I saw almost no one on the trail. Rumors hold that ghosts haunt the area -- easy to imagine. The ranger mentioned that some pumas may be living in a cave up that way. I ran into neither.
