Hot Springs, AR to Branson, MO

Saturday – Mar 11  Up at dawn in Hot Springs National Park. We had our breakfast at McDonalds!  We drove up the Hot Springs Mountain Tower Road to the observatory.  We arrived at 8:20 am and it didn’t open until 9 am. 

But the view was spectacular anyway.  Because the trees don’t yet have their spring leaves, we could see everything anyway.   Lots of oaks and pines. So we headed back down the mountain. 

Near the Fordyce Visitor Center is the formal entrance to the “Federal Reserve”. The walk way is marked by two columns with two eagles. 

We walked through the gateway and up the steps to a brick promenade that follows up and behind the eight bathhouses. This was created so the tourists could walk between the bathhouses and the Arlington Hotel. So we walked the promenade and walked through the lobby of the hotel.

We walked through the Fordyce Bathhouse. This building has been preserved to reflect the popularity of the healing bath waters.  People came from about the 1880’s through the 1950’s to seek cures of all their ailments. These were modeled after the bathhouses of Europe.  It’s now popular again, with bath’s, steam cabinets, hot and cold packs, whirlpools and massages.  Lots of other spa options available in town too.  The Fordyce Bathhouse was divided into the men's areas and the women's areas.  There were private stalls with tubs. This shows the stout faucet to bring in the water.

We didn’t soak, but I got a bottle of the healing water at one of the public water stations. (Tested and approved by the park service).

Drove back to the Hot Springs KOA and loaded up.

We left Hot Springs and drove to Little Rock where we crossed the Arkansas River.

We drove north and stopped at Buffalo River National River.  This river was declared the first protected river in the USA in 1972.  Since it was a rainy spring day, no one was out floating the river. But vendors had hundreds of canoes ready for rent in the nearby towns.

We reached Harrison, AR and the snow came down. 

We drove the last 30 miles to Branson, MO and parked at the KOA for the night.