Arkansas

Arkansas is a very diverse state.  We drove through Little Rock and found it to be a clean small city.  If I were going to live in a city, I might be interested in Little Rock. 

We drove further south to the town/National Park of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Much of the downtown consists of old bathhouses that are part of the National Park.  There is also a campground over a large hill from the town.  And, the town is quite proud of being Bill Clinton's boyhood home.   A large hot springs runs through the town, though now underground.  Several bath houses were built at the turn of the century.  One now houses the park visitor center and headquarters.  Two are leased privately and currently operate and at least two more stand empty. 

Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center

One of two operating houses.

The other operating bath house.

We did indulge ourselves with a long soak in the pools inside this bathhouse.  The inside is covered with ornate tiles.  You have to purchase little thin foam slippers to walk in the facilities.  There were four different pools with differing temperatures all with the mineral hot springs flowing through.  We stayed until we felt like rubber baby buggy bumpers!

One of several downtown turn of the century buildings.

Ceiling in bath part of visitor center.

Ceiling in the men's bathing area which is much more extravagant than the women's area.

This was a lounging area open to both genders.

This tub was used for special treatments such as the one listed in the sign below.



I am sure that a rub in mercury cured many a sick person!



People would soak in the mineral water in private tubs and then would be wrapped in warm sheets.

Outside of Hot Springs are several crystal mines.  One, for a fee, allows you to dig through the tailings from the mine.  We spent an afternoon playing in this dirt and found several pretty crystal pieces.  It was wonderful to have a legitimate reason to play in the dirt.

We left Hot Springs headed for Crater of Diamonds State park.  We entered our destination on the GPS and this is the route it took us.

Just a little fording.

And several miles of gravel roads.

Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only park in the United States where you can dig for diamonds and keep what ever you find.  I don't understand the geologic causes, but a crater/field several acres large has diamonds which at one time were mined commercially, and in the 1970s were opened to the public.  There are several diamonds found every month, and several thousand people digging.  We were hopeful at first, but we found nothing but dirt.  Again, it was a great excuse to play in the dirt!  Louie loved helping and not being told to stop digging.  A white dog digging in red dirt becomes a red dog!  And the campground was very nice. 

It is not possible to drive through southwestern Arkansas without being affected by the poverty.  The most common housing is old single wide trailers followed closely by run down shacks.  These conditions have taken a long time to achieve and are not just the result of the current economic problems.   We stopped in Texarcana which is partially in Arkansas and partially in Texas.  We spoke to three men on the street who were amazed we had driven from Washington.  They hadn't been farther than 200 miles away.  Life in the Arkansas hills seems to my eyes to be 100 years behind the times and very hard work.