The second stop of our trip was to Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
We drove over the Mississippi River as we left Memphis, which was truly something to see. We made a quick stop at the Arkansas welcome center for a photo op, and then headed out into the vast, flat nothing of Western Arkansas.
We stopped for lunch at Nick’s Bar-B-Q & Catfish in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. Everything we had was delicious, it’s worth a stop if you find yourself in the area.
We arrived early in the afternoon at the KOA campsite we were staying at and set up shop. After hooking up the RV and setting up our gear we hit the pool and explored the campground for an hour or so before watching a movie and heading to bed. The next morning Cory and Collin tracked down a geo cache in the park (their first!).
The next day we took the KOA shuttle to the actual National Park for a day of sight seeing. The park is a little weird since it has a city in the middle of it, and we weren’t really sure what to expect, but it ended up having some interesting bits. We toured a historic bath house which used to run off the hot springs the city/park are named after and went to see one of the hot springs that runs into a pool where you can feel the water. We learned the water is not heated by volcanic activity, but rather just by flowing so deep into the earth the rocks are naturally hot and then is forced out of fissures in the surrounding mountains.. The water in the pool was too hot to keep your hand submerged in, apparently it comes out of the ground at over 140 degrees. We took a duck boat tour of the city and near by lake, but it was kind of a bust.
Collin and Cara both got their Junior Ranger badges which was a lot of fun for the kids. They each filled out a work book and then had to repeat a short pledge saying they would protect the park and our natural resources.
Hot Springs National Park was definitely not the traditional state/national park, but it was a fun day nonetheless.
Lucas Family Blog 