Week 9 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

After surviving Bonnaroo, we knew we would need some down time and Hot Springs Arkansas "Spa City" is the place to be.  On our trip here, we did spend an afternoon at the casinos in Tunica, Mississippi, which were flooded when we stayed in Memphis, but now re-opened.  They are all small, and not glitzy like Las Vegas.  Unfortunately neither of us won anything.
Great shaded campground in Hot Springs, which is a good thing because the temperature was 100 for our first 3 days.  Our air conditioner is not getting a break.  We took a Ducky Tour, which turned out not to be much of a tour, and visited the American Gangster Museum, again, not much of a tour and then went on a tour of one of the bathhouses, which is what the area is all about.  It was a great tour and made us want to spend time at one of the bathhouses and indulge in the spa services.  This City was booming back in the late 1800's and early 1900's due to legalized gambling and the healing waters of the hot springs.  Many movie stars and gangsters lived here.  Currently gambling is illegal, so it is now a destination for the so-called healing waters.

We went to a magic show one night, in a very small theatre.  The magician was great and managed to pick us out of the audience to help with a magic trick.  When asked if I was Greg's wife, sister or girlfriend, he said "all of the above".    Got quite the laugh.
 

Bathhouse Row - 7 or 8 houses

We did a couples afternoon at a bathhouse, where we got to soak in a tub and then had a massage, a chocolate foot rub and a facial.   It was fabulous and I didn't want to leave.  It was Greg's first facial and he liked it too.  The water comes out of the ground at 143 degrees and they have to cool it down to 100 for bathing.   We spent another afternoon just in the baths, where there were 3 different pools, all of different temperatures.

There are spigots all over town where people come and fill water bottles to take home.

Needle shower while on the tour

There are 2 state parks nearby so we were able to do some hiking.  Really pretty lakes and lots of trees.  The one park recently had over 2,000 trees go down from a tornado, which closed a number of the hiking trails.

We spent a day in Little Rock, which was an hour away.  Visited the Big Dam Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge built over a lock and dam.  Nice long walk and then a park at the end.  We also visited the Clinton Library, which wasn't high on our list, but turned out to be a great visit.  Architecturally, the building wasn't anything to get excited about, but the history inside was interesting and we really enjoyed it.  We also visited a great little area with open air markets and lots of great restaurants.  We had lunch at a place that served several hundred types of beer.  Once you drink over 200 different kinds, you get a plate with your name on it hung on the wall.   Drat - we don't have time to do that on this trip!

Replica of Clinton's Cabinet Room

Time Line in Library

Arkansas people are not nearly as friendly as everyone else we have encountered thus far.  In fact, this is the most unfriendly campground we've ever encountered, but it is mostly inhabited by Texans.  We're here for a few more days to attend a festival and then off to Oklahoma City.