There are
lots of different layers of time at Harbin Hot Springs if you
know where to look.
Put your hand
into the water coming out of the pipe in the Hot Pool. A portion
of this water has not been to the surface of the earth since humans
first walked this planet. For over one hundred million years,
it has been trapped miles below in layers of rock. It is in this
water that dinosaurs once swam.
Up in the
hills, if you look very carefully, you may find pieces of obsidian
from arrows made by Lake Miwok artisans hundreds of years ago
when this sacred land was known as 'eetawyomi -- "the hot
place."
Behind the
Hot Pool, next to the cold plunge, is a wall that was built just
after the Civil War. Put your hands on the stones and look around
you. Imagine the labor of building a resort by excavating the
steep hillsides with picks and shovels.
In the 1880s,
invalids traveled to the Harbin Hot Springs Health and Pleasure
Resort by stagecoach. They came to "take the waters"
for their dyspepsia, rheumatism or gout. You can lie on the lawn
in front of Manzanita, where the more robust guests once played
croquet on a summer afternoon.
Walk through the marketplace stalls across from the Gazebo. This area was the main floor of two different magnificent
hotels. Guests once sat in the shade of wide porches, drinking
iced tea served by the uniformed dining room staff.
There are
many other Harbins lying just beyond the veil of the present.
If you'd like to travel back in time, the words, maps and photographs
in Harbin Hot Springs: Healing Waters, Sacred
Land by Ellen Klages will help guide you on your journey.
For an irreverent look at Harbin's more recent history, check
out The Big Bang and the Harbin Experience
by Sajjad Wyne. Or look at Harbin through the eyes of its current
founder, Ishvara, in his insightful The
Oneness in Living. Pick up copies at the reception office
bookstore during your visit, or visit our Local
Authors page for information on these and other books written
by friends of Harbin.
Also, be sure to view our gallery of Harbin historic postcards, many from the collection of resident Peter Braun.
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