As we left Chickasaw State Park, we drove through the Chickasaw State Forest, through a canyon of tall trees.
We also crossed over the mighty Mississippi River at Memphis as we entered Arkansas. The bridge across the Mississippi is not as high or tall as bridges we have crossed in Jacksonville or even Toledo. But it was long…
The high gusting winds (23mph) presented a challenge while driving in Arkansas. The winds would cause the RV to want to go (not drift) right or left, requiring both hands on the steering wheel.
Our route into Hot Springs had another confusing moment w/ Google Maps. We are not happy with Google Maps. But we haven’t yet crashed.
We also saw an amusement park on the outskirts of Hot Springs. The campground is definitely into the wilderness and next to the Hot Springs Mountain. Generally peaceful except for the somewhat busy road next to it.
The campground at Hot Springs (Gulpha Gorge Campground) did not have an office for registration. But it was easy to find our campsite and set it up.
Steve took a short hike along the Gulpha Gorge Trail, which had a lot of change in vertical along with the horizontal travel. It was interesting to walk along the trees and the bits of mountain sticking up through the forest floor.
In the evening Steve, Vicki and Lexie walked along the Gulpha Creek at the edge of the campground.
Later in the morning we watched the funeral Mass for our friend, Dave Deschler. Streaming the Mass was not as good as being there. While we had made our peace with Dave’s passing the week before we left, we were still touched by the Mass. V: Dave was a good friend and we shared many adventures and golf games with him and his wife Pat, also a good friend. The outpouring of love and number of people attending the Mass touched our hearts and really touched Pat.
In the afternoon we (Vicki and Steve, Lexie got to stay in the RV) drove into the town of Hot Springs and learned more about the history of the town. The town has always used the hot springs as an attraction, changing the offerings of the bathhouses to match the expectations of the clientele. The current facades reflect the remodeling done in 1920. Since many visitors were there for a week of baths, there was plenty of spare time. Many recreational activities sprang up to entertain those visitors. And organized crime took the opportunity to provide some of those activities (e.g. gambling, bootleg whiskey). Currently there are only two active bathhouses and several have been re-purposed. (National Park store, National Park visitor center and a brewery that we know of.)
Some other sites we saw within the town were the Army/Navy hospital used to rehab members of the armed services, a statue called “The Visitor”, and the bandstand that faced into the downtown area.
After the history lesson, we went to Quapaw Bathhouse for a couples afternoon: soaking in a tub of spring water, foot and scalp massage, a shower, finishing with a 50 minute massage. This was a YOLO moment, and we enjoyed it for that.
Next we drove up to the top of Hot Springs Mountain, which overlooked the town (and our campsite, hidden in the trees).
Steve took the elevator up the observation tower to rise another 265 feet above the mountain top. The view was awesome (but he still couldn’t see our campsite.)
Vicki took some pictures near the top of the mountain (near the observation tower)
The map to the left shows Hot Springs Mountain with the campgrounds to the right, the bathhouses as brown rectangles on the left, and the observation tower in the middle.
The final stop of the day was at Superior Bathhouse Brewery. The beers were brewed from the local hot spring water. And the food was typical bar food (burgers, wings, salads.) Another YOLO experience. Glad we did it, don’t need to do it again.
On our final morning, Steve and Lexie took another walk along the Hot Springs Mountain (Sunset Trail). Steve thinks Lexie went so she could drink water from the Gulpha Creek.
V: This was a beautiful park and the woods were lovely. The first spot on this trip where ticks dropped on you from the trees. This happened to me three times and to Steven as well. You normally check shoes, socks, pants and legs but we were checking heads, shoulders, necks and arms. Lexie’s tick preventative worked great for her, thankfully. Downtown Hot Springs was charming and the baths were truly a pampering experience. Goes with the whole glamping our way across the USA journey.