Hot Springs, Arkansas




walkway to the 7th floor of the Arlington Hotel

 

   Whenever possible, Paul and I have decided we love to adhere to the 2-2-2 rule.  That is, travel no more than 200 miles a day, finish driving by 2 pm, and stay 2 nights.  Once we left Memphis, it was a little over 200 miles to get to Hot Springs, and we got there early enough in the day so that we could do some exploring.  We checked out the National Park Visitors Center which is in a restored bath house and is a museum of sorts, giving people an idea of how the bath houses operated back in the early 1900s.



Yesterday was one of those absolutely perfect days.  The weather was perfect- about 65 degrees and sunny and everything went just how we wanted it to go.  We started off by hiking about 6 miles or so in Hot Springs National Park.  Basically we walked through the woods, over the hill and into the town.  This trail actually ends at the 7th floor of a hotel! The hotel is built into the hillside and at the7th story, there is a walkway.  That's also where the pool and hot tub are. If we had only known, we'd have brought suits. 



      We ate lunch in town (another strange thing to do on a hike) before trekking the 3 miles back over the hill.  Once there, we got the truck and drove it back to the Arlington Hotel.  By this time it was 4 pm and at 4:30 there was going to be Christmas caroling in the hotel lobby.  The lobby is huge and set up with small bar tables, so Paul and I ordered Margaritas and waited for the music.  The hotel really does it up nice, providing free refreshments- coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, etc.  The music was great- they handed out song sheets so everyone could sing along.

      After the music died down we headed outside.  The hotel is right in the middle of the town, where all the shops are and it was "Gallery Walk" night, which means all the stores stayed open later.  We strolled around the town, wandering in and out of stores, and also got to see the town Christmas lights light up.  We never did eat dinner that night.

So, Hot Springs is, of course, known for its hot springs.  They were used years ago therapeutically, mostly before the modern  medicines and antibiotics we have now.  The water, when it comes up to the surface from deep in the earth, is about 140 degrees and about 4000 years old.  Its full of minerals that are supposed to be good for you.  Obviously the water has to be cooled down to a usable temperature, but its illegal to cool it with non-hot springs water.  Many of the springs have been capped to protect them, and the government controls the water, supplying the bath houses and anyone else who wants to drink the water.  The bath houses are all in a row on the same street. Beautiful old buildings. There are also several dispensing fountains throughout the town, and everyone is free to fill up whatever containers they bring. 

      Our venture into a Bath House took place this afternoon, after going for a long walk in  a local state park.  We chose to keep it simple and just utilize the main "hot tub" rooms at one of the bath houses.  They have 4 huge hot tubs, all set to different temperatures and you can move from tub to tub as much as you want.  That really is the simple route.  The bath houses mostly cater to people who want private massages, tub soaks  and whatever, but I wasn't really interested in going that route.

The weather here has spoiled us and caused us to change our plans for our next destination.  Well, actually, the weather forecast for Oklahoma City did that.  The temperatures there will be in the 20s at night, with possible snow on Tuesday, so we are bypassing OK and heading for the Dallas area instead.