The last thing a scorching hot day needs is a trip to Hot Springs, but that's what we did today! Ahead of arriving in the heart of the town of Hot Springs, we saw a dazzling number of old school signs for petrol (or gasoline, as it's known here!) and roadside characters. We of course had to do a u-turn to check them out; it seems that it was simply an auto repair shop that collected these classic roadside attractions. Very fun!
Boiling in Hot Springs
We drove right past the main street in Hot Springs, because there weren't many places to park, and it was jam packed! For a moment we wondered if we'd have to skip it entirely, but the town looked very quaint and fascinating, and fortunately we were able to find a spot just on the outskirts of the main street, and walk back about 20 minutes. It was one of those days though where just standing outside and breathing would make you sweat profusely!
The town is, as you could guess from the name, known for naturally heated springs, many of them in Hot Springs National Park to the north. On the main street, there's "Bathhouse Row", which has 8 bathhouses from the 19th and 20th centuries.
We first checked out the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center And Museum, which is free admission. The building was originally constructed as the grandest and most expensive spa of its era, opening in 1915. The spa closed in 1962 and now visitors can see how it looked in its heyday, when it was frequented by guests for therapeutic bathing. It was believed that the waters could cure diseases, including rheumatism and kindred diseases, lung diseases, inflammatory diseases and other ailments. While both men and women had fancy looking amenities for the time, the men had the bigger and better spa area--there was a massive room that had a fancy fountain and sculpture in the center!
The main street isn't that long, and it has other bathhouses along the strip, including the charming Quapaw Baths and Spa, which closed in 1984, but reopened as a family-oriented modern spa with historical touches. There are also some boutique stores, lovely murals and fountains that are free for people to fill up with drinking water that the Hot Springs are known for.
Unique Beers to Drink!
While we didn't get any spa treatments, a highlight for us was visiting the Superior Bathhouse Brewery, which is the world’s only beer brewed with thermal spring water, and the only brewery located in a national park! We sat outside with Sheila, and ordered a couple of beers, including a pickle flavored one for Lisette. What was also fantastic about this brewery is that there was the option to order a beer in a 3-ounce (88 milliliters) glass, perfect for Lisette who wanted to try one of these unique brews, but cannot finish a regular-sized beer. These same glasses are used to order a flight of beers (four tasters of your choice), or even a "beer bath" (tasters of all 18 beers on tap)! We're not sure if we recognized the thermal spring water, but especially on such a hot day, the beers were delicious and refreshing!
Little Rock, Arkansas
We sweated our way back to the RV, and drove northwards to Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. Since we are fans of quirky roadside attractions, our obvious first stop was the Roller Skating Banana Statue (what can we say--it was a-peeling! Of course we had to let this joke 'slip' in. Hahaha).
After an accidental stop at the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas (whoops--Lisette meant the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, a highly rated museum that features exhibits on African American entrepreneurs and innovators, fraternal organizations and racial integration, which we unfortunately had to miss due to time), we got back on track and headed towards the Arkansas River for several attractions.
We didn't know much about Little Rock prior to visiting, although we did know that former US president Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas and lived in Little Rock, where he was the state's attorney general and governor ahead of leading the country. Today, the airport is called the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, and there's the William J. Clinton Library & Museum, which naturally sits on President Clinton Avenue.
The Actual Little Rock
By the river, we saw the "Little Rock," the namesake of the city, so-called because it was the first rock seen on French explorer Bernard de la Harpe's 1722 expedition. It's right by the base of the river near the bridge. Along this area, there are also interesting outdoor exhibits about the city's history, including the Native American people who lived here, and the various spellings of Arkansas over the last 350+ years (from Akansea, Acansa, Arkensaw and many others)!
Along the lovely riverfront, not far from the Little Rock monument is the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden, with dozens of fascinating sculptures, ranging from abstract to more realistic artworks. It was a peaceful area when we wandered around, and of course if it weren't for the heat, it would have been nice to bask here with a book or picnic, and just chill out.
Adopting Singing Fish
Not far from the riverfront, on President Clinton Avenue, is the Flying Fish restaurant, a Cajun restaurant that serves dishes including hot catfish sandwiches, fried oyster po'boy sandwiches, Langostino lobster rolls, and a wide array of other meals. The restaurant is in other cities, and there are plenty of other Cajun restaurants in Little Rock, but what makes this one unique is that its walls are decorated with hundreds of Big Mouth Billy Bass, a plastic plaque with a rubber largemouth bass that wiggles its tail, turns its head, and sings. These novelty animatronic singing fish were popular in the early 2000s, and they're on the walls for people to marvel at and enjoy while they eat (the batteries are removed, so none of the fish can sing that are on the walls)!
The Old Mill
Our last stop in Arkansas was the Old Mill, a historic re-creation of an 1880’s water-powered grist mill, which was also in the opening scenes of the classic movie, "Gone With The Wind." The mill is open from 8am until 30 minutes after sunset. We didn't know what to expect beforehand, so were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful park that the Old Mill is in, and the beautiful walk towards it, including an intricate wooden bridge, lovely sculptures, and a pretty fountain. It's very peaceful, and besides the people who were there basking in the park, there were quite a few Muscovy ducks with their distinctive red faces waddling around.
A Long, Long Drive to Tennessee
There weren't many RV parks in the vicinity, and we opted to drive over 2 hours, crossing the border into Tennessee, where we arrived in the evening at Graceland RV Park & Campground in Memphis, Tennessee. Yep, we'd be visiting Elvis' home tomorrow! We checked in after hours and as we were getting ready to have a swim at the pool right next door to where we'd parked, a man walked up to us, asking if we knew the folks who were parked next to us. It turned out that they'd booked the spot next to us and had also arrived late. The man in the spot grumpily came out, unplugged everything from his massive RV (the other folks had a much smaller camper), leaving us to wonder where he was supposed to be staying? There was security that took down names at the gate before letting us in, but it was odd that he had just decided to park in someone else's spot. Ah, the odd experiences of RV parks!
The pool was cool and we were the only ones who were there well after sunset, and it was lovely to have a refreshing dip before turning in for the night.
Route Map
