Hot Springs National Park on Heather's Birthday

 The best birthday present was that our oldest son Joshua, who we had just seen two days earlier for our anniversary dinner, surprised us by driving all the way to Hot Springs, Arkansas to be with us on my birthday. And it was a lovely day. We spent two nights at Lake Catherine State Park about 20 minutes out of Hot Springs so we'd have a full day to explore the National Park and City. Josh joined us for breakfast at our trailer (after he'd spent the remainder of the night before in his Tessla plugged in next to us!). Then we hiked a 2-mile trail to a waterfall and back before heading into Hot Springs. 

Josh and Heather on the trail at Lake Catherine State Park, outside of Hot Springs

The National Park is right in the city and around it. This was by some standards the First National Park - it was declared a National Recreation Site by Congress in 1832, and it was the first time land had been set aside for recreational use. It received its National Park status in 1921. The town became a famous "spa" but also the home of Major League Baseball Spring Training, illegal gambling, speakeasies, and gangsters such as Al Capone.

This was the original entrance to the series of trails and road up the mountain behind Bathhouse Row,. The springs were originally open and people sat in the pools, but after concerns over sanitation (and probable interest in charging money for their use), they were mostly covered and the water brought down into the bathhouses. 

Bathhouse Row is a National Historic Landmark District. Only two of the bathhouses still operate as Spas, the rest are hotels, restaurants, and the Visitor's Center. The Springs flow down from the mountain that looms over the town. A series of trails wind around the mountain and up to the top, where there is an Observation Tower 65.8 meters tall, and an elevator brings you to the top two floors where there is a museum and an open deck. After a scrumptious brunch at Hotel Hale, which is in one of the historic bathhouses, we climbed to the top. Great views!

The Fordyce Bathhouse, built in 1910 now serves as the Park's Visitor Center, but like all the others in the National Parks system, it is closed for COVID.

During the day I enjoyed birthday greetings from family and friends. We had originally planned to eat out for dinner but rather exhausted by two hikes and even more walking, we were happy to relax at our campsite for the evening. We hated to say goodbye to Josh but were so happy he could make it. The next day we headed east again to Memphis. More on my next post.

The Power Plant across the lake is actually beautiful at night. This is a close-up. It appears in the below photo on the left, just behind a tree.

Sunrise at Lake Catherine State Park

Lake Catherine had many trails to chose from but we were glad we decided to see the waterfall.

West Mountain starts right behind the main street
on the opposite side from the Bathhouses and is
part of the park with more trails and campgrounds

There are a few open hot springs
now for visitors to see. The water
is really hot - 143 degrees F

My brunch meal at the Hale Hotel, formerly one
of the historic bathhouses - Eggs Sardou.

The view from the top of the tower. One thing we were very impressed by was the amount of information on the influence and prevalence of African Americans in this area. From almost the beginning of hot springs use here there were bathhouses run by and exclusively used by black Americans. We are always interested to see that both the history of African Americans and Native Americans is being brought out at National and State Parks and museums. 

This is the view into the old section of the Hot Springs Developed area. A lot of what you see here is Park land.