We’re in Hot Water and a Texas Sized Rant!

We just added Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The donut hole is shrinking!

When we did our year on the road our goal was to hit as many national parks as possible. We did fairly well, but ended up with a big donut hole in the middle of the US that we missed. We’re still trying to fill in the map. From Paris, TX we drove through Oklahoma into Arkansas bringing our tally to 37 states. I was surprised at how much this portion of Oklahoma and Arkansas reminded me of Pennsylvania where I grew up. Lots of green, deciduous forests, rounded hills, and one of the things I miss most from my childhood. Lightning bugs!

The primary reason we went to Arkansas was to add Hot Springs National Park to our list. It’s the 44^th park we’ve visited by RV and with 51 national parks in the continental US our mission success rate is 86%. Yes, we have maps and spreadsheets. Surprised? 😊 

This map is in the RV. Red pins are done, white pins still to do!
Wonderful memories and inspiration for future trips.

We had five nights scheduled for Stephens Park near Mountain Pine, AR starting Wednesday, 4/17. Our RV Garmin couldn’t find it and Google maps was trying to send us down some seriously sketchy roads. But we managed to muddle our way there and stay on roads that at least had a center stripe. Lol. Stephens Park is a tiny (only 9 sites) Corps of Engineers campground at the base of the Blakely Mountain Dam on the Ouachita River. It’s another great Arkansas campground! Our large, level spot was along a tiny creek, just ankle deep on Riley but he loved it. The river was a short walk away with a small pebble beach. All the sites had full hookups and were only $30 a night (and half that for us old folks with the Senior NP pass).

Sunset on the Ouachita River.

The warm humid temps caused mist to form on the cold water.

Blakely Mountain Dam sat just above the campgound.

This beauty was attracted to my floral tablecloth. He didn't leave happy. Lol. 

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect since Hot Springs National Park is within the city limits and was the smallest national park until Missouri’s Gateway Arch was designated a national park in 2018. But it is totally worth a visit with some really interesting and fun things to see and do! There’s a observation tower, a fascinating museum, lots of steaming fountains, watering stations dispensing hot spring water, some trails, and the Grand Promenade for strolling.

Hot Springs National Park is well worth a visit. 

Steaming fountains!

The Grande Promenade.

We headed into Hot Springs to check out the park on Thursday, 4/18. The area was part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. When Dunbar and Hunter surveyed the new territory in 1804, they found several crude huts near a steaming spring in the Ouachita Mountains. Their guides explained that people came to the area to soak in the waters to recover their health. As word of the springs spread, Congress declared a four-square-mile reservation in 1832 to protect the water for public use. When the National Park Service was established in 1916 it assumed responsibility for the springs. 

Natural hot springs still flow in the park. 
They produce about 650,000 gallons of hot water a day. 

The jewel of the park is Bathhouse Row featuring eight opulent bathhouses along Central Avenue. Early bathhouses were crude wooden structures that were often unsanitary and fire prone. As people and money flowed into the area the government mandated the bathhouses be rebuilt with stone or masonry. At the height of its popularity in 1947, over a million people came to bathe in the healing waters. Many injured civil war veterans and people with chronic illnesses came hoping for a cure. Interest began to wane as medical advances were made and today only two of the bathhouses are still in operation.

Map of Bathhouse Row.

Bathhouse Row.

Buckstaff is one of the still functioning bathhouses.

Each bathhouse has a unique architectural style.

Love the ornate details on Fordyce Bathhouse.

The visitor’s center, located in the Fordyce bathhouse, was also a historical museum giving visitors a glimpse of the park in its heyday. In addition to the soaking tubs and pools there were hydrotherapy and massage rooms, beauty salons, music rooms, a fitness center and much more.

The Fordyce is now the park's visitor center and a museum.

One of the private baths.

A Cooling Room.

Needle Hydrotherapy shower.

The men's changing area had an ornate fountain and stained glass ceiling.

The music room.

The ladies changing room wasn't as fancy.

Beauty Parlor.

Beautiful stained glass windows.

Many early visitors were focused on the promoted healing properties of the waters. There was even a special pool for lowering non-ambulatory patients into the waters.  In 1874 electrohydric baths were the rage, “The current set up between the body of the invalid and the hot water of the bath must awaken new energies and arouse vitalities”. Some of those early medical treatments are downright scary! While others were ahead of their time. Dr. Gustav Zander recognized the value of exercise to facilitate healing and designed therapeutic machines in the 1850’s using weights and levers to vary resistance. If you’ve ever had physical therapy, a lot of Dr. Zander’s machines will look surprisingly familiar. Lol.

The Hubbard Tub was designed to lower non-ambulatory patients
 into the waters where a therapist would work with them. 

They lost me at "electric baths". Lol.

Same goes for Electromassage. Nope.

Dr. Gustav Zander was ahead of his time.

The gym where many famous baseball players trained
after soaking to "boil out the impurities" in their systems.

Today some of the bathhouses have been closed or repurposed. The Superior Bathhouse is now a brewery, the only one in a national park! You know we didn’t miss that! They had a truly excellent peach sour which called for repeat visits and they were also dog friendly.

Superior Bathhouse Brewery.

Superior Bathhouse Brewdogs!

In fact, both Hot Springs National Park and the city were very dog friendly. Dogs are welcomed on all the trails, the lovely Promenade, and at the outdoor springs. Only the buildings are off limits. We came back into town with the pups and completed the required activities so that Riley, Raney, and Ruby all earned their B.A.R.K. Ranger certificates! When I told Rian we’d spent the afternoon getting the dogs their B.A.R.K. Ranger tabs, I could almost hear the eyeroll when she replied, “Empty nesters.” Lol. True that.

Riley, Raney and Ruby and now official B.A.R.K. Rangers!

 Hot Springs was very dog friendly. 

We visited the Hot Springs Mountain Tower – a glass elevator takes you up 216 feet to an observation platform. There is also an area detailing some interesting history of the city and park. At one time Hot Springs was frequented by gangsters and illegal gambling was rife. It was called, “the loose buckle of the bible belt” and boasted 10 major and many smaller casinos - none of them legal. 

 

The observation tower and views from the top.

Another draw for Hot Springs – Mamoos ParadICE Cream. OMG. Bob claims this may be the best ice cream he’s ever eaten, and I know it goes in my top three. If you know how much we like to seek out homemade gourmet ice cream, then you know what a high honor that is. And yes, we made multiple visits and yes, we took some home too. If you make it to Hot Springs, do not miss a visit to Mamoo’s! Heck, it may be worth going just for the ice cream.

Mamoo's makes truly excellent ice cream!

Truth in advertising. Lol. 

Sometimes being in hot water can be a good thing. And on Saturday, 4/20, we got our chance. The spa services and private baths were all booked (plan ahead if you are interested in those), so we queued up for the public bathing pools at Quapaw Bathhouse. They offer a series of pools filled with the hot springs mineral water maintained at different temperatures ranging from 95° to 104°. We had a delightful time “taking the waters”.

We enjoyed a long, hot soak at the Quapaw Bathhouse.

In addition to our trips into Hot Springs, Rog did a mountain bike ride on a nearby trail system and we got the kayaks out onto the river. We also found a huge park where the kids could get some off leash play.

Rog enjoyed the mountain bike trails,
but was a little concerned by the vulture welcoming committee. Lol.

Kayaking on the Ouachita River.

We found a park with a big open field for the kids to run.

After the play session, Riley refused to get out of the car. Pouty boy. Lol.

We pulled out on Monday, 4/22, with plans to stay overnight at the Hopkins County Rest Area near Cumby, TX. And here is my cautionary tale and a huge rant for the most expensive place we've ever stayed in our RV.  We arrived around 5:00pm and the truck side spaces were all taken. We pulled in along the outer perimeter. It looked like the area was designed for overflow and wasn’t striped or clearly marked as a no parking area. We were actually kind of happy, because it was way better than being sandwiched between two noisy semi’s, although we did have them parked in front and behind us. We passed an uneventful night, at least until the morning when we walked out and found we’d both been ticketed by Officer Garret from the nearby town of Cumby.

The very busy Hopkins County Rest Stop or more accurately, the City of Cumby's cash cow. 

We've parked along the perimeter at many rest stops without a problem.

Since the area where we parked was not clearly marked, we were trying to figure out if there was a way to challenge it. Then Rog went online and found out that this particular rest stop was notorious for bullshit parking tickets. There were tons of horror stories on Reddit that exactly mirrored our scenario. Apparently, the town of Cumby (population 777) annexed the area outside the town limits so they would have jurisdiction at both the east and westbound rest stops. They are using them as a big fat cash cow. One poster said he came out in the morning and counted 20 vehicles with tickets. Another poster said he tried to contest the ticket and scheduled a court appearance. The judge told him he was parked illegally and was wasting the court’s time and doubled his fine. And speaking of the fine…$200 for a parking ticket!! It is a completely unethical abuse of authority aimed at revenue enhancement. We were ticketed at 8:55pm, I was awake and sitting three feet from the door, but the officer made absolutely no attempt to contact us, he just stealth ticketed us. We were in no way impeding traffic or a safety hazard – this was all about the $$.

Obviously the truckers thought perimeter parking was fine too.

To further complicate matters the fine amount was not listed on the ticket. You are directed to call the municipal court. I tried multiple times and got no answer. I left a message and got no return call. I finally went online and after several attempts managed to find a dollar amount. They don’t make it easy, but what they will do is double the fine if it’s not paid on time! Seems a little suspect to me. Don’t tell you how much you owe, don’t answer the phone, and then make you pay extra if you're late. Oh, and the info with the citation says no personal checks accepted and paying with a credit card costs you an extra $10. Grrrrrrrrr. So, if you are on I30 in Texas and decide to stop at the Hopkins County Rest Stop – watch your ass!

To end on a more positive note, here's Raney sporting her shades. Lol.