The next stop on our little adventure across Rt. 40 was the Little Rock, Arkansas area and Hot Springs National Park. When I looked at campground availability a few weeks ago, everything seemed pretty open, so I didn't make any reservations (knowing we might be stuck in Nashville a little longer like we were). Well, when we tried to make reservations a few days before arriving, everything was booked. Nothing in Little Rock (a campground I called actually laughed at me), nothing in Hot Springs, and nothing in between. I eventually found a state park about a half hour south of Hot Springs, and grabbed it without really doing any research- any state park would be better than boondocking in a Walmart parking lot. When we arrived, we were so pleasantly surprised! We had a huge, lakefront spot with full hookups and great cell signal.
On Saturday morning, we headed to Hot Springs National Park. The park is very unique in that the park is basically a little town. In the 1800's, a row of Victorian buildings were put up to serve as bath houses using the Hot Springs. Walking down the main road was like stepping back in time, and there were lots of signs with photographs of the 1800's and early 1900's in Hot Springs. There was a brick promenade behind the bath houses, with places where you could put your hands in the flowing springs. The water was a steamy 143 degrees. It felt nice to touch, but you couldn't put your hands in very long without getting scalded.
We took the peak trail to the top of the mountain where the Hot Springs originate. It started as a nice leisurely stroll on a paved walkway, but ended as a steep, rocky climb that showed how out of shape we all are. There were nice views from the top, and we took a few minutes to stop for a snack and let the kids complete their Junior Ranger booklet. When we got back down to the bottom, the kids turned in their Junior Ranger booklets and got their badges.
When we returned to our campground that afternoon, we relaxed by the lake for the rest of the day. Kids did some fishing and then put on bathing suits and splashed around a bit. We made dinner over the campfire and then popped some popcorn in our skillet over the fire.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty of Arkansas. If we weren't on such a time crunch, I would have loved to stay a few more days. But we have to keep moving, so Oklahoma City, here we come!
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