Chapter 7, Hot Springs Arkansas and National Park

We arrived Friday, April 18th and spent the weekend in Hot Springs AK, at J & J RV Park & Storage. The park was small but well-kept and the owner, JJ, was very friendly and talkative, almost to the point of irritation because the dogs and I were waiting in the hot truck for what seemed like forever for Dave to check in. JJ was kind enough to guide Dave into one of the “best” spots in the park.

Creek behind our trailer (note large tree by edge of creek)

It was very pretty with a little creek right behind our campsite. It was such a scenic spot, in fact, we broke out the grill for the first time this trip and Dave cooked us some juicy steaks. We had a pleasant evening sitting out by the little creek sipping wine as dusk fell over the area, listening to the cicadas sing.

This was the strangest National Park we’ve been to. You don’t need a park pass here and the downtown area goes right through the middle of the national park, which I wasn’t expecting. Now, if we’d done proper research in advance we would have known that factoid, but as it worked out we were taken quite by surprise. The next surprise was that most of the hot springs were not in their natural state. Let me elaborate.

 There are a series of historic ‘bathhouses’ (dating back to the early 1800s) lined up in a row in the middle of downtown. They pipe the spring water into these houses to use in a large pool as well as many individual ‘baths’. There are only two working bathhouses left in the park, Buckstaff and Quapaw. The others have been turned into the visitor center for the national park, a restaurant, and a brewery (Superior Bath House Brewery). In the visitor’s center you can take a free tour through their museum and see how the bathhouses operated in the early 19th century. We did the tour which took about 15 minutes, and we found it to be quite interesting.

One of the few "natural springs" in the park

The fun fact about the brewery is that they use the spring water to brew their beer. Dave and I had lunch there and we each got a different beer flight (four each) so we could sample each other’s and get to taste more of their selection. They offered 18 different brews from stouts to ale’s and IPAs. The beer wasn’t bad, but we didn’t think they were on par with Oregon’s craft beer scene. Maybe we’re just spoiled!

Dave and I made an appointment on Saturday for a private couple’s soak at Quapaw for the following afternoon. Originally, we thought we’d go in the large public pool, but it was on a first come first serve basis, and it was a very busy weekend at the park (Easter). We didn’t want to show up and find that the pool was full (it was already full when we went in to inquire about it on Saturday), so the private soak seemed our best bet. It cost us $50 for a 20-minute couples soak, and it would have been $25 each to use the large pool anyway. Your park pass doesn’t get you into the bathhouses either! There are a variety of different spa packages available for purchase, starting at $50 and going as high as $650!

Quapaw bathhouse where we had our soak

On Sunday morning we took the dogs and went on a hike through a series of connecting trails through the wilder parts of the park that totaled 5.8 miles. It was beautiful and rugged (the trails aren’t paved here except for the Grand Promenade, a half mile path located behind bathhouse row). The landscape was lush and green with a variety of different types of rocks along the way (sandstone, shale, chert and novaculite). The shale and novaculite was especially interesting and beautiful, and the most expansive rock type throughout the area where we hiked.

Hiking at Hot Springs NP

We also had quite a bit of elevation gain as we climbed to the top of a small mountain with spectacular views of the valley below. After getting all sweaty on our hike it was great to have a relaxing soak at the bathhouse. The one downside was the jets in our tub didn’t seem very powerful. We did really enjoy it though—I almost fell asleep! After the soak we were guided to the ‘cooling’ room where we were given ice cold towels that smelled of mint, and cucumber flavored cold spring water. Lovely!

Things turned dark after returning to the trailer as storms started forming in the area. Next thing we knew large sirens started blaring and a message came over a large speaker that instructed us to take cover immediately due to a tornado that touched down 14 miles from us! Emergency alerts came on both of our phones as well. The local shelter was a half mile down the road, but they don’t allow dogs, so we opted to go to the brick building at the RV park that housed the bathrooms and laundry. We figured that was our best bet because I wouldn’t leave the dogs and Dave wouldn’t leave me.

We waited at the bathroom area until the danger passed (the tornado went a different direction) then returned to the RV. About 20 minutes passed when it all started again! We were confused at first because the reports said the tornado was no longer headed at us, so Dave looked it up and found out a new tornado was heading our way, this time only 9 miles from us!  I was struggling to keep from freaking out by this time, trying to stay calm for the dogs who were visibly stressed by it all. As we huddled once again in the breezeway of the little brick building that was to be our only protection against the impending tornado, the thunder boomed all around, the rain was coming down in torrents, and lightning flashed jagged across the sky. Once again I felt the strong pull of home and safety. Thankfully, this tornado also missed us.

Tree fell into the creek behind our RV

Safe to return to the trailer once again, and really hoping it was the last trip to the bathroom for the evening, we settled down to have some dinner. I was sitting at the dining table eating and talking with Dave, looking out the window at the pretty little creek that flowed behind the trailer, when all of a sudden I heard a loud cracking sound, and watched as the large tree that stood on the bank overlooking the water crashed down across the creek with a thud. “Oh my God!” I exclaimed loudly. “The tree just went down!” Both Dave and I ran outside to get a closer look. I was startled when I saw it go, but thankful that it fell away from us. Yet another disaster narrowly escaped! The next day we were back on the road again, heading to our next location and whatever adventures awaited us. As nice as this area was, I was more than happy to say goodbye!