Hot Water

Hot Springs NP in Hot Springs, Arkansas was delightful. A great retreat in the 2nd smallest national park (The Gateway Arch is now the smallest) to help us end our trip and definitely a unique experience to have a bath attendant lead you through the bathing process in a bathhouse that has been in operation since 1912.

It took us a couple days to travel across Texas to get to Arkansas when we left Big Bend. We spent one evening in Eola (near San Angelo) at a very filthy brewery that was part of Harvest Hosts run by one guy. It was an old converted schoolhouse and the owner was very difficult to understand with his thick drawl mixed with drunkenness. He invited us to sit out back under the shade tree but we politely declined. We were a little uncomfortable to spend the night as he had no other customers but we thankfully survived and left as soon as possible the next morning.

On our way up to spend the night in Sanger, Texas (north of Dallas) with my husband’s cousin and lovely family, we stopped in Dallas briefly for lunch and a tour of The 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. It did a good job outlining JFKs presidency and assassination and it was a little eerie to peer out the same window where Mr. Oswald supposedly perched to shoot the former president.

Also eerie to take Elm Street past “The Grassy Knoll” and under the bridge where the president was zoomed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. I was surprised how small everything was. It’s still not clear to me who shot him. Maybe the picture below can clue us in?

The time with family was great and refreshing and wonderful and Rocky found some new friends.

Onward to Hot Springs. We found our last RV park that we plan to utilize this trip just off the highway close to downtown and it was decent. We quickly set up and then my husband had me dress up a bit so we could take an Uber downtown to a fancy restaurant called the Vault. They had excellent steak and cocktails and the menus even lit up! It was newly opened this year and used to be an old bank.

We then took a stroll downtown on Bathhouse Row where all the cool old buildings lined the street that originally offered baths and medical treatments for various maladies using the hot springs that supplied the water. 2 buildings are still in operation as a bath house/spa and the rest have been converted into the visitor center, cultural center, gift shop, brewery, and hotel. One still stands that is unoccupied and hopeful to be leased. Really neat to see the old architecture and be amazed at the kind of money that was around in the area in the 1920s.

We spied a horse-drawn carriage and thought that would be a fun way to see the city at night since they lit up the Main Street so well so we found a driver outside the Arlington Hotel to take us down Whittington Avenue.

We strolled back down their main street called Central Street and enjoyed the various sculptures, murals and lights. They had a lot of cute shops that were closed for the night.

The following day we slept in and made our way back into town on the scooters (one of our last rides…*sniff*) to check out the visitor center. As we dismounted our scooters we saw a ranger giving a talk on the lawn outside the spot of the old Arlington Hotel. We sat down by the fountain to listen and his talk proved interesting, providing some history on the park and area.

It looked like it was going to rain but it turned out to be a gorgeous day with temps in the low 80s. After the talk we grabbed some coffee at the Hale Bathhouse (now turned into a restaurant/hotel).

We sipped our coffee on the porch on rocking chairs outside the beautifully restored Fordyce Bathhouse that now serves as the Visitor Center. We were waiting for the 11 am tour of the bathhouse to start.

Our ranger that led the tour was super informative and interesting. She was from the area and explained all the devices, the bath process, and history throughly. The Fordyce Bathhouse offered all the same amenities as the others on Bathhouse Row but was labeled for the more wealthy and so was twice as expensive as the other bathhouses. The tile work throughout the building was incredibly amazing and we were told it would take $10 million in today’s dollars to replace/replicate it.

We started the tour in reverse order of the bathing process on the ladies side in the room where they wrapped hot towels around you concentrating on the areas that were sore. The stained glass was also pretty beautiful.

Then we entered the room with the bath tubs each with a private door enclosing them. There was an active spring in the basement with temps in the 140s which was then stored in containers to cool a bit before piping it up to the baths.

Next was the room with the torture-chamber looking devices including the needles showers, steam chambers and sitz baths. There was a ring of stain in the sitz baths which helped explain why the bathhouses became less and less popular. It was from mercury which was mined from the area and used for various remedies. It was eventually discovered how toxic mercury was and with the advent of antibiotics, hospitals became more popular treatment areas as opposed to bathhouses.

The device below was pretty interesting. As someone showered, a physician would aim the hoses at the patient in the shower and work on various muscles with hydrotherapy. They also had a bathtub that would provide hydroelectric therapy which would be used by and work for a time for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. They even had a table where you could get a colonic cleanse – all going on at the same time.

We then walked to the men’s bathing area and it was twice as big and the tile work and stained glass was much more grand. The guy who designed it was a dude obviously but I thought it kind of ironic that women tend to use these kinds of spa services more frequently now than men. No wonder why he never made a profit from his business, having to pull money out of his own pocket to pay his employees.

An antique Hoyer Lift:

After the fascinating tour, we went up to the second and third floors to see the music room, special treatment rooms for those with polio and the like, and a neat old gym. The tile and stained glass was still on point. I took some pictures for reference if we ever decide to build our own home.

We had a 1:30 pm appointment at the Quapaw Bathhouse for a couples “Mudslide package” but we were hungry so we decided to eat at Arkansas’ oldest bar, the Ohio Club, where the famous crime boss, Al Capone, was said to have dined. We sat at the huge antique bar with fantastic carvings and had some delicious burgers.

We took the Grand Promenade behind Bathhouse Row back toward the Quapaw and signed in. After donning huge comfy robes, we were led to our own private jacuzzi for 2 that was filled with hot springs water and given spring water to sip while we soaked. We were then brought to the massage room where we had our bodies lathered with clay mud, wrapped and then were given facials. After showering off and eating some snacks we then had a massage to finish the treatment. It was heavenly after months of hiking and sleeping on a hard RV mattress.

We “Quaffed the Elixer” and it felt good! We loved checking out the Lamar Bathhouse afterwards which was the book store and gift shop and bought a couple goodies including a souvenir glass jug which we used to take some of the water home with us. There are several jug-filling stations throughout the park where folks lined up to take the natural resource for free (the only national park that lets you do this).

After a little bit of side-walk shopping (never hurt anyone), we scootered back down to the RV park to pick up Rocky and take him out for dinner.

My husband found another yummy place that was dog-friendly called the Steinhaus Keller with delicious German goodness. We sat out on the patio and our waiter brought us a little water dish for Rocky. We had some good Spaetzel and Schnitzel.

One more evening stroll before retiring for the night. We stopped briefly in the huge Arlington Hotel to admire the architecture.

It was a full but relaxing day and I was definitely surprised about how much fun I had in this town.

The following morning we decided to check out the Buckstaff Baths to get the full bathhouse experience. Oh my goodness, I’m so happy we took the tour at the Fordyce Bathhouse the previous day or I probably would have been a little freaked out since they don’t really explain the process to you. I love me a hot bath though so I knew I was at least in for that. My husband and I had to separate as I went up the elevator to the 2nd floor and he stayed on the first floor since there are no coed baths.

I obviously don’t have many pics except for the scale in the bathroom since no phones are allowed in the bathing suits – most people are in the nude. Since I heard from the park ranger tour guide that the bath attendant scrubs you down in the tub so you don’t pass out when you stand up, I decided to keep my swimsuit on. I didn’t end up getting a scrubbing but I’m glad I kept in on for a little extra barrier – not sure how well they cleaned this place.

You can imagine the pictures above from the Fordyce while I describe the process. As in the tour, I was given a private locker and an attendant then wrapped a sheet around me and led me to my private bath which was in an old clean-looking claw-foot tub with a motor inserted at the foot of the tub to create the jets. The thermometer read 104 degrees so the water was nice and toasty. My attendant gave me hot spring water to sip on.

I soaked for about 20 minutes then was led to a room full of metal gurneys where 3 other women were wrapped in towels like mummies. I was then wrapped in hot towels with a cool towel wrapped around my face as I lay back on the gurney. I was given some ice to chew on to keep cool. It was very relaxing and I almost fell asleep.

Then came the steam chamber where I was isolated while I sat in a metal box with my head poking through and a sheet around my neck so the steam didn’t escape. I’m glad she didn’t close the door to lock my head in as well as that would have been a little claustrophobia-inducing.

The sitz bath was interesting. Now I don’t have hemorrhoids but it felt excellent on my lower back and hips while I got a good stretch. I also got to rinse off in a needle shower and it made me want to get a shower like that as it’s very thorough at rinsing you.

My attendant was very diligent to give me small Dixie cups of ice water throughout the process to keep me hydrated. I also thought it was because she was a little worried about me since my face was so red – I always get a tomato colored face when I’m hot and I barely sweat.

It actually was a great experience and I felt very relaxed and refreshed as we left. My husband’s experience was similar but he would have been happy just to sit in the tub for the entire time.

After our attended bath, we went up the loop road up Hot Springs Mountain and stopped at the overlooks. I would have liked to walk more on the trails as the temperature was beautiful and the fall colors were upon us but there was no time and we had to get on our way. There also is a tower up there that you can go up for a fee to get 360 degree views of the city.

After dropping off Grandma’s postcard at the post office, we scootered back to the RV park to pack up.

We’re now headed for Springfield, Missouri to spend the evening with some of my husband’s cousins and then we make our way to our last national park, Gateway Arch in St. Louis! Can you believe we have only one more park in the Lower 48 to visit? I certainly can’t. What a trip!