Day 228 – Arkansas (by Caitlin)
The Events of Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Today dawned freezing cold and clear. Daddy woke early to walk as always, although unquestionably not as far as he typically would. Rather than hiking five or so miles, he ambled the five or so yards to the front seat, where he worked on the computer until Mommy woke the rest of us up to change, put away beds, and get ready for the day. Breakfast was a celebration in itself, as we commenced two juices (Apple Cherry and Ruby Red Grapefruit), a treat we do not enjoy every day. Besides juice, we also had yogurt! And this was no ordinary yogurt, either. It was Yoplait Light and Fluffy Yogurt! When our special breakfast was over, we brushed our teeth, piled on our warm layers, packed our picnic lunch, and pulled out our hiking boots, which we had not used for quite a long time. Once fully prepared, we trekked through the campground, hopped across the creek on concrete slabs, and began our ascent of Hot Springs Mountain.
Having not hiked (wearing hiking boots) since Acadia National Park in Maine, when Mom sprained her ankle, we were a little short-winded, and very fatigued by the time we reached the other side of the mountain. Unreasonably hot in the brisk, cool mountain air, we descended many flights of stairs from the trailhead of Dead Chief Trail to our destination: Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Once on Bathhouse Row, we proceeded into the Fordyce Bathhouse, which also serves as the Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center and Museum, just in time for the 11:00 tour of the bathhouse, led by a female volunteer whose name we didn’t catch, because she did not drop it. An energetic woman, dressed in period clothing, probably in her seventies, extolling the magical waters of Hot Springs, told us, with a twinkle in her eye, that she actually was 150 years old.
Joining us on the tour were two elderly couples and eight or ten Amish people led by a non-Amish man wearing a t-shirt that read, “Buggy Lane Tours”, with a picture of an Amish buggy. Knowing what we learned in Shipshewana, Indiana and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we observed with surprise these Amish people taking pictures (though not of each other, and with a wind-up camera). It was different from we had seen in our previous encounters with the Amish. They did, however, skip the elevator for the stairs, when we went from the first floor to the third floor.
As for the tour itself, our tour guide dutifully and entertainingly informed us of all the different aspects of a visit to the Fordyce Bathhouse. First we saw the central men’s bath hall, which had many separate bathing stalls surrounding a central bronze statue, the focal point of the room, and an overhead skylight of stained glass, entitled “Neptune’s Daughter”. Next came the steam room, where our tour group cheerfully laughed at the strange metal cabinets that people used to sit in to be steamed and made to sweat. In the next room was hydrotherapy equipment. These people really got a cleansing, inside and out, with the “magical” water of Hot Springs. One drank the water, was steamed by the water, bathed in the water, showered in the water, was pounded by the water, and was even flushed with the water. One gentleman on our tour, noting a long, white glass table with a drainage hole in the middle, declared it an autopsy table, but our tour guide corrected him, informing us of the colonic flushing that took place on this table. Also in this room were an electric bath and a sitz bath, with remaining stains of mercury paste, thought to cure syphilis. Both of these treatments are considered potentially deadly today. However, luckily, no deaths were recorded on account of these remedies. Our tour guide next took us to the third floor of the bathhouse, where we saw the men’s lounge, the music room, the women’s lounge, the beauty parlor, the women’s massage rooms, the women’s state rooms, and the gymnasium.
Upon the conclusion of our informative, enlightening, and educational tour, we left the Fordyce Bathhouse to delightedly eat our delicious picnic lunch on three red benches by Display Springs. Once finished with lunch, we walked south on the red brick Grand Promenade to the Jug Fountain. There, we filled up two water bottles with the magical hot (143°) water, which comes directly from the Springs, and is not treated at all, because it is naturally pure. Next, we strolled down Bathhouse Row and matched names of bathhouses to pictures of their exterior decorations for our Junior Ranger programs. Upon completion of the matching activity, we crossed the street and perused a hat shop for Daddy’s sake, before crossing the street once again to explore more of the museum.
On the second floor, we explored first the chiropody room. The chiropodist was the foot specialist of the day, ready to treat corns, bunions, and ingrown toenails. The left window showed the room set up for a gentleman awaiting treatment, and the right window showed the ladies' side set up as if a lady is having her feet treated.Next came the women’s dressing room, followed by the electro-mechano room, a chamber of scientific wonders, exhibiting to the dazed novice every conceivable mechanical device and ingenious 'Zander-Gymnastic' equipment. The massage rooms and the exhibits in the former men’s dressing room were of unique interest, complete with a poorly acted, but still entertaining video about how one goes about bathing in Hot Springs today .
After visiting the theater and the gift shop, we explored even the basement of this extensive museum. Here, we found an exhibit about the behind-the-scenes part of the bathhouse, including the elaborate pipe and tank system, the historic elevator machinery and even the natural thermal Fordyce Spring, which supplies this bathhouse with its healing waters. Upon leaving the Fordyce Bathhouse, we headed back to the trek on the mountain. Tired, and yet strangely energetic, we climbed to the top of Hot Springs Mountain via Dead Chief Trail and then Shortcut Trail. At the end of Shortcut Trail, we walked along the road that is so crazily curvy that Harvey (our RV) is not allowed up it. Once we’d finally reached the top, we sauntered wearily into the observation tower gift shop, only to have our high hopes hurled against the hedge of hopelessness. I love descriptive alliteration! The prices were as follows: Adults (12 and over) $7.00, Seniors $5, Children (5 to 11) $4.00, Children (4 and under) free. While the rest of us were, I think, shocked beyond words, Mom announced, “That’s half of what we paid to get to the top of the Empire State Building!” And that was just for the indoor viewing area one story below the outdoor viewing area 216 feet above the ground, which was closed for the season. 216 feet. That’s a hundred feet shorter than the top of the Louisiana State Capitol, a view we enjoyed for free. Too tired to truly be disappointed, we left swiftly and continued our never-ending hike, this time, descending the back of the mountain towards our campground.
During this segment of the jaunt, Abby and Lindsey began an intense and ridiculous-looking shadow dance session. Abby led with some of the most outrageous dance moves I have seen, even in dance class, and Lindsey followed her lead, laughing loudly and fondly at her silly sister. Anyway, this portion of our hike took us along the Hot Springs Mountain Trail and descended the Gulpha Gorge Trail and back to the campground. With relief, we pulled our hiking boots off of our tired, sore feet, pulled in the slide outs, and pulled out of the campground on our way to the Little Rock KOA.
For the more recent portion of this trip, we’ve made a pattern of boondocking one night, and camping the next. Although we were at a campground, we did not have hookups or access to showers, so we felt that we were entitled to a second day of camping. Also, tomorrow’s forecast in the area of Little Rock, Arkansas is for snow, so we’d rather be snowed in at a KOA than stranded in a Walmart parking lot.
Upon arrival at the Little Rock North KOA, we hooked up the RV, set up the inside of our mobile home, practiced our math skills, fixed, ate and cleaned up dinner, and settled down to watch Anne of Green Gables. This is a set of three two-sided DVDs (of which we only brought the first two). Anne is a dramatic, outspoken person; she entertained all of us for the next hour or so in the most enjoyable fashion. At the end of the first side of the first DVD, I began to fake-sob dramatically at the not-so-tragic ending. Her spirit of drama has already begun to affect me. I like it, though. The world is much more fun to look at with a creative imagination. After final preparations for bed, we climbed into bed and dreamt dramatic dreams of snowy country sides.