Hot Springs, AR

Saturday, January 30

Today was a rainy, cold day in Arkansas. Last night, we camped at Devil’s Den State Park, just south of Fayetteville, in the northwestern corner of the state. It’s a beautiful park and we would have liked to do some more exploring there, but the weather urged us otherwise. Andi and I figured we might as well drive while it rained, so we made the 3 1/2 hour-trek south to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The first half of the drive was boring interstate, but the second half weaved us along the Highway 7 South — also known as the Arkansas Scenic Byway — through rolling hills, small towns and countryside. It was a quiet, peaceful drive.

About 20 minutes from our destination in Hot Springs Village, Andi pulled into Clampit’s Country Kitchen on a whim saying he, “can’t pass by a meat store without stopping.” He returned to the RV 15 minutes later with two heaping clamshell to-go containers of pulled pork, brisket, roasted chicken, baked beans, potato salad and dessert. It all smelled delicious!

The beauty of driving your “home” is that you can have lunch whenever and wherever you want, so we pulled out the RV slide and ate our meal right there in the parking lot! Everyone got their BBQ the way they wanted — a pile of meat for Aden, a pulled pork sandwich for Tory and pulled pork/brisket salads for Andi and I. As if that weren’t enough, Andi and the kids shared two slices of cake (caramel pecan and dark chocolate with cherry red icing).

After lunch, Tory and Aden spent a few minutes FaceTime-ing with their cousins Lauren, Reese and Ben. We arrived at our destination in Hot Springs, AR around 2:00pm.

Hot Springs National Park is like no other national park we’ve visited because it is in the heart of a city! The hot springs, designated by Andrew Jackson as Hot Springs Reservation in 1834, were the first public lands protected by the federal government for public use. Some argue it is America’s first “national park” before national parks were even a thing. Later, Hot Springs Reservation was renamed to Hot Springs National Park in 1921. This year marks the 100th year of America’s spa.

Usually you can visit Hot Springs National Park and actually drink the water, but the thermal water jug fountains were temporarily turned off for inspection on the day we visited. Over 200 bathhouses have come and gone over the years along “bathhouse row.” Today, eight bathhouses remain and are still open for pubic tours. Buckstaff Bathhouse offers the only traditional thermal water bathhouse in Hot Springs National Park. Of course, this is currently closed due to COVID.

Visitors can pay for a more private indoor/outdoor spa experience at Quapaw Bathhouse or have beer at Superior Bathhouse — the only brewery inside a national park! Andi and I skipped out on those experiences since the kids were with us. Instead, we collected Junior Ranger packets at the Fordyce Bathhouse / national park visitor’s center and then made our way to Gulpha Gorge Campground a few minutes away from downtown.

The neighborhood around Hot Springs National Park was not very well kept. It’s very “urban” feeling. Buildings are very old and run-down, and there’s even an abandoned strip club across the road from the national park campground. It definitely feels like your’e in a city. However, Bathhouse Row was very well kept, as is Gulpha Gorge Campground. We easily found a spot to camp and settled in for the night. Our campsite backed up to Gulpha Gorge Creek and the babbling brook helped drown out the city noise nearby. The campground was actually very quiet and peaceful.

Sunday, January 31

The four of us slept soundly at Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs. Sunday morning, Tory and Aden worked to complete their Junior Ranger packets. It was a little difficult to answer all the questions since we weren’t able to tour inside the bathhouses themselves, but nothing a little googling couldn’t help us with. That’s a life skill, too, right? Learning how to be resourceful.

Around 10:00am, the four of us drove our RV back to Hot Springs National Park to collect the kids’ Hot Springs National Park Junior Ranger badges. I just love this program! It’s a fantastic way for the whole family to learn about the history and significance of a national treasure.

Next, we visited the Fordyce Bathhouse / Hot Springs National Park visitor’s center to turn in our packets and collect our badges. The park ranger I spoke to on Saturday said their daily operating hours were 9:00am - 5:00pm, but when we arrived the building was closed and completely dark inside. A sign said to ring the bell for service, but where was the doorbell? Tory, Aden and I searched all over before Tory finally discovered it on the sidewalk in a different spot than it had been placed the previous day. COVID keeping things interesting!

Regardless, Tory and Aden were sworn in as official Junior Rangers of Hot Springs National Park. We made our way back to the RV and left Hot Springs shortly thereafter.

Andi jokes that I’ll drive 200 miles out of the way to collect one of these badges. What can I say? I’m motivated by incentive!

Speaking of badges, I suggested we stop by the William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home later that afternoon as we passed by the national historical site in Hope, Arkansas. Might as well stop if we’re driving right by!

Former President Clinton was born and raised in Hope, AR. His childhood home is preserved there today in his honor. Unfortunately, the home is not open for tours due to COVID restrictions, but the visitor’s center next door is open to the public.

Inside the visitor’s center, we learned about President Clinton’s modest upbringing in Hope, AR. Tory and Aden weren’t sure who he was until I mentioned his wife — Ah! Now, Tory knew who he was. She remembered that Hilary Rodham Clinton ran for president in 2016.

The four of us worked together to complete the Junior Ranger booklet, chatted with a very friendly park ranger on staff, and then collected two William Jefferson Clinton National Historic Site badges. Ranger Ali was impressed by Aden’s vest displaying all the previous badges he’s collected.

I’m not sure Tory and Aden will remember much from these childhood visits to national parks and historic sites, but I hope they remember some bits of information and memories we’ve made along the way.

Afterward, we found a place to park in the town of Hope and made lunch in the RV. Leftover pulled pork, salad, raw veggies and fruit.

Then, we continued onward toward the Arkansas / Texas border. As we journeyed south, the sky and the landscape seemed to open up before us with bright sunshine and flat, open prairie. Just over the Texas state line, we stopped for the night at Caddo Lake State Park. Andi made us a last-minute reservation for a boat tour on Lake Caddo. The lake is the largest non-man made lake in Texas and home to the world’s largest bald cypress forest. We’d never seen anything like it! More to come on our adventure there …