Hot Springs

On my recent trip to Arkansas, I stopped in Hot Springs on my way home. I've been wanting to go there for several years and it was only about an hour out of the way.

I am fascinated by all natural springs, that just bubble up out of the ground. The fact that pure water just comes up out of the ground in random places is pretty amazing. We've often wished we had a spring on our property, and better yet a natural hot spring. There is a spring not too far from us and you can read my old post here.

Entering Hot Springs, I noticed a sign telling me it was the childhood home of Bill Clinton, but I decided to not to hold that against them.

In addition to being a quaint town, Hot Springs also incorporates the edge of a National Park. In fact, some of the older parts of town are actually in the park. For hundreds of years the area had been known for the medicinal effect of the hot mineral water. In 1832 it was established as a federal reserve and then in 1921 became the 18th National Park. It was very popular with vacationers and health remedy seekers, until the mid-20th century when water therapy was replaced with drug therapy. Large elaborate bathhouses were built along a street referred to as Bathhouse Row and catered to the health seekers.

My first stop was the Visitor's Center where I was given a nice map and good advice about how to spend my time. There were several public fountains and faucets and I stopped a few times to chat with the locals filling up their bottles. Some said it was the only water they ever drank.

Just outside the Visitor's Center were bronze plaques honoring famous people from Arkansas. I recognized these: James Dobson, Twila Paris, Johnny Cash, Mike Huckabee, Sam Walton and General Douglas MacArthur. 

It was a nice walk along the magnolia tree lined sidewalk of Central Avenue, with the old bathhouses on one side. At the far end of the street was a hot waterfall bubbling out of the mountain side that collected in a little pool where you could dip your hand in the water. I had imagined sitting on the edge of the pool and soaking my feet for awhile. But the water was too hot - 143 degrees hot. I could barely dip my hand in the water without feeling burned. 

This is an excerpt from the National Park leaflet about the hot springs.

Outcroppings of Bigfork Chert and Arkansas Novaculite absorb rainfall in an arc from the northeast around to the east. Pores and fractures in the rock conduct the water deep into the Earth. As the water percolates downward, increasingly warmer rock heats it at a rate of about 4º every 300 feet. This is the average geothermal gradient worldwide, caused by gravitational compression and by the breakdown of naturally occurring radioactive elements. In the process the water dissolves minerals out of the rock. Eventually the water meets faults and joints leading up to the lower west slope of Hot Springs Mountain, where it surfaces...Besides determining the chemical compositon and origins of the waters, scientists have determined that the waters emerging from these hot springs are over 4,000 years old. The park collects 700,000 gallons a day for use in the public drinking fountains and bathhouses.

I walked along Bathhouse Row and toured the Museum. But I'll save that for another post because it was so interesting and I took too many photos to include here.

Before I left I filled up the only water bottle I happened to have with me. I didn't come prepared like the locals did.