We will occasionally post write-ups from trips which we made prior to the initiation of this blog about a week ago.
This Hot Springs post is about a short 4-day, 3-night trip which we made at the end of April of this year. We had noticed that the weather forecast predicted a nice multi-day window of clear, dry weather for the south-central US after a strong front had passed through. Since we had been wanting to see more of Arkansas, we decided to hop into the truck and make the relatively short 5-6 hour drive. We had never been to Hot Springs previously, so we decided not to camp, but rather stay in a motel close to the National Park. It's nice that mid-week motel rates are commonly lower than that on weekends.
A secondary reason for the trip was cycling related. We needed get in some serious hill climbs to test out the gearing choice on our tandem prior to trips to the Colorado Rockies, with its 5 to 10 mile long 6% grades, later this summer. The relatively nearby Talimena Scenic drive provided that opportunity. More on this part of the trip in a future post.
The first afternoon after we arrived, we visited Hot Springs National Park, located on the north edge of the city of Hot Springs. That part of the Park closest to the city is comprised of the east and west ridges of Hot Springs Mtn. They are bisected by state route 7. Roads up and around both ridges are very scenic and entrance is free. At the top of the east ridge there is an observation tower that provides a great view of the city and surrounding countryside. It costs a few bucks to go to the top of the tower (no stairs, elevator only), but the view is well worth it.
Hot Springs Mountain Tower on the "east ridge" from the west ridge road; and Tracy.
View looking west at the "west ridge" from the top of the observation tower. Below are businesses, including bathhouses, along route 7, which bisects the park.
Tracy on the observation deck at the top of the tower.
The actual hot springs baths themselves are located in privately owned bath houses along Bathhouse Row, which is a National Historic Landmark District. We did not enter any of the bathhouses on this trip. However, some of the hot springs can be seen coming out of the ground in adjacent parkland immediately uphill from the baths.
There are numerous hot spring "vents" located along the slope in the distance (covered by the foliage). It's a nice walk along the main bathhouse row and park which parallels it.
Geology warning! The photo above shows exposed Paleozoic sedimentary rocks behind a parking lot on the west side of state route 7. The outcrop had previously been covered with concrete that is now spalling off. The exposed rock here dips at about 45deg to the north. Hot Springs NP is located at the southern edge of the Ouachita Mtns, which were formed in the late Paleozoic, some 300 million years ago. They consist primarily of intensely folded sandstones, shales, novaculites and cherts. http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/hosp/
The Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa has a long standing Friday evening seafood buffet which was recommended to us by a friend. We were hungry and the food was good.
