We left Albuquerque a little after 6am, and drove 529 miles to El Reno, OK. This was our longest day of driving on the entire trip, but it was straight east on I-40, so it wasn’t too difficult. The next morning we headed for Arkansas to see the Hot Springs National Park and the capital, Little Rock. However, we got off I-40 shortly after driving into Arkansas, so it wasn’t as easy to make time and we stopped about 30 miles short of Hot Springs at a free campground built by the CCC in the 1930s in the Ouachita National Forest. The campground is named Crystal Campground because the area around it is known for crystals, and people visit the campground to dig for them. We didn’t do that, but we talked to some people who were staying there and digging, and they said you could put a shovel in the ground pretty much anywhere and you would find crystals. The campground is set on the banks of a pretty little creek, so the setting is very pastoral, although two of the campsites were inhabited by loud mouthed rednecks who seemed to feel that whatever they were blabbing about was so interesting that the entire campground had to hear it. We were kind of glad it rained that night so they went in their tents, and we went in the camper and shut the windows and listened to the rain on the roof.
The next morning we took the short drive into Hot Springs. The Hot Springs National Park is in the city of Hot Springs, and the park is basically the hot springs spas historic area. It’s very interesting to see and feel the hot springs where the water comes out of the ground, but the park is about the history of the mansion-like spas and all the famous people attracted to them over the years. When we drove into Hot Springs, we were a little afraid that this was going to be a drive-by visit because the city was so busy on a Saturday morning, but we followed traffic until we came to the beginning of the scenic loop road and decided to follow that. The road winds around the hill behind the spas, and comes out at a tower built on top of the hill, which, lucky for us, had a parking lot big enough to accommodate our camper. We parked and took the elevator to the top of the tower to see the surrounding landscape, and then used that parking lot as a base to walk around the park where we could see the hot springs, and along the street where the spa buildings still stand, although they have mostly been repurposed as offices, visitors’ centers, and a brewery which uses the spring water to make its beer. We hadn’t really known what to expect of this park, so we spent most of our time there trying to figure out its major themes which, as I said above, are mostly about the history of the area. We passed on a $470 couples hot spring spa treatment in one of the two remaining spas, and contented ourselves with sticking our hands in the hot springs and watching the steaming water.
We left Hot Springs and took about an hour to get to Little Rock. On a Saturday evening, we were able to park in an open visitor parking space right in front of the capitol, The capitol is impressive but relatively plain, but we were quite happy to see that it was being used as a pre-prom photo shoot site for a local school’s senior prom. The girls were gorgeous in their gowns, the boys were adorable in their tuxes, and it was fun to walk among so many happy people. We did a quick loop around the building and got back in the truck to continue our trek east into Tennessee after a night in a Walmart parking lot right off of I-40. We could have done without the traffic noise, but I have to admit that it might have been better than the loud mouths of the previous night at the Crystal Campground.
