An urban national park?
Sounds interesting!
Let's check it out!
So we learned that Hot Springs the city
was built around Hot Springs the National Park--
literally right on top of it.
So there are all sorts of places
where you can stop and drink the water,
fill up a bottle,
and dip your hands.
It was REALLY hot!
They even have a breakdown of the minerals
you are taking in.
Along those same lines,
the main street is known as Bathhouse Row
and there are literally 9 bath houses lined up,
tapping into the hot springs.
People believe they have healing and restorative powers
so it was a big deal to come to Arkansas and have a soak.
There are only 2 functioning houses now...
both with strange rules due to COVID,
but we made due.
Look who we ran into!
The Heinzs were visiting too!
There was, of course,
a Junior Ranger badge on the line
so we made the tour
with all the stops
finished our booklets
and took our oath.
\
Out of all the parks we've been to,
this one definitely had the best oath.
It sounded like a Dr. Seuss book!
We stopped at a few more springs
and oogled at the way
they had routed them throughout the city
and then set off on our first real hike of the day,
up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower
It was a pretty good view!
We had to take turns going up
since we had Ranger with us
but the 4 of us each ran up all those stairs twice
to do it with both Mom and Dad
Can you see us in the shadows?
We had our picnic lunch
and then set out on the Hot Springs Mountain Trail,
traversing 3 or 4 other trails,
making a huge loops on the east side of the park.
We got a picture of Mom's favorite trees
and a few other interesting features along the way
Doesn't it look like they're kissing?
Obviously it's an urban park,
but we were a bit confused when our hike
ended on the 7th floor of the Arlington Hotel--
right on their pool deck!
If we hadn't had Ranger with us,
we may have just walk right though.
But we thought people might frown on a dog
walking through a hotel,
so we found another trail
and finally made our way down the mountain.
Here's a picture looking back
at where the mountain met the hotel pool:
Good thing we kept refilling all our drink packs!
We wandered down the Grand Promonade
and finally made it to the Hot Water Cascade
Everyone soaked their hands!
Feel the power of the water!
With all this experiencing the water today,
there was only one thing left to do--
experience the only brewery in a National Park
AND the only one that uses Hot Springs for their water!
Beers and root beers for everyone!
We had some pretzels,
enjoyed our drinks,
and played a few lively games of Uno
while soaking up the fun of the park.
COVID-safe of course--
check out Tuck's mask!
After all that hiking,
we were really excited to float in the KOA pool for a bit
Speaking of the KOA,
we had a blast there!
We were all crammed into a tiny cabin
made for 5 people (but we made it work!)
with a little kitchen and bathroom.
Mom and Dad had planned out our meals.
We spent most of our time outside
playing games
like glow-in-the-dark catch
and our new fave Trekking
but having air conditioning was
a welcome treat at night!
We're going to have to check out a few more KOAs!
A silver lining of COVID...
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