A Day of Rest at Glenwood Springs
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When in Bahá'í history
Glenwood Springs (today: Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá left Denver on a train at nine in the morning of 26 September 1912. They traveled all day, and the speed and jolting motion of the train greatly tired Him, so His attendants begged Him to stop and rest, since California was such a great distance away. So when the train arrived in Glenwood Springs at two o'clock in the morning, the party disembarked and checked into the Hotel Colorado.
In the morning after tea, the Master left the hotel for a walk. Glenwood Springs was surrounded by high, forest-mantled mountains with wildflowers in abundance. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wandered through the parklike garden adjacent to the hotel until He reached the river where there were bathhouses and hot springs. The whole group went to the baths, which were in a special room in which hot water came from a natural cave. The water was very hot and most people could tolerate it only for 15 minutes or so.
Fujita recounted years later to Sylvia Ioas: “He got so tired. He says He want to go to bath. We had the hot spring there, yeah. And He went and all of us … Then He stay in the hot springs longer than anybody else. And when He come out, He call me, ‘Give Me massage.’ Relaxed. Slept hours!”
The Master said, “Today I am relieved of fatigue. We have been to many lovely places during this journey but because of our work we had no time to look at the scenery. We did not even think of a moment's rest. Today, however, we have had a little respite.”
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, pp. 206–207; Mahmúd’s Diary, 26–27 September 1912; Saichiro Fujita, interview by Sylvia Ioas (1975).
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: exhaustion).
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