About an hour from Santa Fe, on a former Tewa Pueblo known as P'osi, more than 100,000 gallons of mineral water rise to Earth's surface each day from a subterranean volcanic aquifer.

Known today as Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, this 1,100-acre getaway is a monument to tranquility and a testament to the enduring beauty of Northern New Mexico's land and sky. Celebrating 143 years as an operational health spa, the Ojo Caliente resort not only suggests serenity, it embodies it.

Generally, I take a week away from Fork duty in September to re-sharpen the tines and recharge the batteries, but even on vacation, I'm wound tighter than a $2 watch. If left to my own devices, I'll make every dinner reservation and plane change a deadline that, if missed, will surely mean the end of life on this planet as we know it. So to prep for my extended vacation and to hopefully relearn the true meaning of relaxation, the better half and I took an unusual Friday off in July and headed to Ojo Caliente for an overnight stay. Call it a dry run, or in this case, a magnificently drenched one.

A recent sustainable renovation reveals stunning landscapes and architectural improvements that seamlessly blend ancient aesthetic traditions with more modern Northern New Mexico accents. The funky, multicolored, peeling patina of the property from years past has been replaced with something that much better defines the area's distinctive culture and history.

Besides lodging possibilities at the site's historic 1916 hotel, there are well-furnished homes, cottages and an array of suites to choose from if you wish to linger for more than an afternoon. Our pueblo suite included two beds; a kiva fireplace; a kitchenette with a coffee maker, microwave, sink and small refrigerator; satellite television; bathroom with shower and tub; and a furnished patio overlooking the soon-to-be-completed kiva pool, which will be accessible only to suite guests.

After a 3 p.m. check-in with the friendly staff at the front desk it was time to hit the public mineral springs. Ojo Caliente's sulphur-free spring offerings are unlike those you will find anywhere else on the globe, boasting four different types — arsenic, soda, iron and lithia — that flow in a range of temperatures from 80 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Throughout the public springs, a "whisper zone" and no-cellphone clause are both in effect. There is little if any chance that the loud and digitally enhanced matters of a stranger will be visited upon your peaceful stay here. If it should happen, however, the resort staff is well equipped to nip it in the bud with aplomb.

In the resort's mud-pool area, I rubbed a warm slurry of mud all over my body and sat in the sun until my skin resembled the surface of a just-baked mocha cheesecake. After a short stint under the warm spring water flowing from the adjacent showers and another dip in the ferrous pool next to it, I succumbed to total relaxation. And the day was just getting started.

Ojo Caliente offers a number of overnight and extended-day packages that include a 50-minute soak in a private tub. I highly recommend it. Well-kept private tubs that draw from the springs overlook a sandy cliff with a bit of brilliant blue sky often peeking out above it. A mere hedge of indigenous vegetation separates you and nature while three high walls ensure privacy. I was so relaxed at one point, I was startled out of the water when a small rock tumbled down the cliff.

If staying overnight, you could, of course, retreat to your room and heat up a cardboard-flavored feast in the microwave for dinner. But why in the world would you do that when, just a short walk away, Ojo Caliente's Artesian Restaurant beckons?

A delightful collision of classic New Mexican and subdued cosmopolitan design finds patrons stepping across creaky wooden floors before entering a wine bar/dining room section that oozes warmth and approachable sophistication.

Captaining that deliciousness is chef Neil Stuart, an affable gent who earned his wings at the Culinary Institute of America before cutting his teeth on the San Diego dining circuit. Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, Stuart offers something for every palate.

An appetizer of green chile "fries" — deep-fried, potato-crusted poblano-chile strips with a sweet-chile sauce — are surprisingly light and crispy. A grilled artichoke starter with roasted garlic-lemon aioli finds many well-suited grape-centric companions on Artesia's carefully considered wine list, which hews to California but also includes selections from Spain, Oregon, New Mexico, Germany, France and Argentina.

Glistening, spoon-tender pork osso buco is served with soft, grilled polenta and a unique multi-textured sauce made from red chile and posole. Red-chile-seared scallops with corn cream and a roasted-corn tamale suggest an ode to New Mexico's distant past as an underwater territory in a tropical sea while still acknowledging the human footprint of indigenous agriculture that eventually followed.

A "cigar" of chocolate ganache wrapped in phyllo dough and served in a pristine, sanitized ash receptacle with powdered chocolate and whipped cream serving as the "ashes" is a fun, texturally playful end to a memorable meal.

Lunch and breakfast are also available at the Artesian Restaurant, and because of my own time constraints, I was only able to enjoy dinner and breakfast. The latter promises everything from fruit smoothies to huevos rancheros. French toast with lemon butter, maple syrup and house-made crunchy granola had my sweet tooth all a-twitter (the kind in the heart, not the digital ether), but I couldn't stop staring at my partner's chile relleño.

My companion chose a roasted poblano chile sandwiched between fluffy scrambled eggs with Asadero cheese and a mild, slightly sweet, earthy red-chile sauce. Some griddled soft polenta sat at the ready for sopping up the sauce, and although my hungry breakfast partner passed on the included buffalo sausage, it was still an incredibly hearty breakfast.

From the moment we checked out of Ojo Caliente to the moment we reached our front door in Glorieta, the in-car conversation consisted mostly of sighs, not of frustration or regret but of satisfaction. Besides a couple of great meals and the unusual circumstance of me suspending all worries and fears for a day, my fondest memory of this overnight excursion is of chef Stuart gripping my hand, looking into my eyes and saying, "You should come out here more often. You need to." After a day and a night there, I'm inclined to agree.

Ojo Caliente also offers face and body therapies in its spa as well as yoga classes and access to hiking and mountain-biking trails.

Through August, the resort is promoting a number of special overnight summer packages that range from the "Summer Suite" escape to the "Couple's Romance Retreat." But don't think of Ojo Caliente as an exclusive hideaway reserved for the rich and famous.

Day rates and sunset rates (after 6 p.m.) make a memorable trip to the resort accessible to anyone with transportation and a desire to reacquaint themselves with the concept of tranquility. Once you decide how you want to spend your time and money there, the only thing left to do is enjoy yourself and, for propriety's sake, perhaps remember how to whisper.

Contact Rob DeWalt at taste@sfnewmexican.com. or on twitter at twitter.com/sfnmTASTE.