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EXPLORING HOT SPRINGS, AR

THURSDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #60

I love it when a plan works out! We are arriving here at Gulpha Gorge Campground in the Hot Springs National Park without reservations. This is one of the few National Park campgrounds that do not accept reservations, all 44 sites are First-Come-First-Serve. Knowing that, here is how we planned to use that information in our favor.

Check out and check in time are both noon! 18 of the 44 sites here back up to a babbling brook. Only 11 of those are without vegetation or trees blocking your view and access. So in order to increase our chances of scoring one of the eleven prime spots we planned our arrival for 11:00AM.

Most campers tend to vacate their campsite between 8-11AM. We had to leave our previous campsite a little earlier than normal, but we managed to pull into the new campground at 11:15AM. We were pleased to find we had our choice of two of the eleven prime sites. We got backed into our site and at exactly noon we were at the Automated Ranger Check-In Kiosk with our credit card and secured our site for the next four days.

Like I said, I love it when a plan works out!

Our prime view out our rear window

After securing our site we immediately struck out to explore the area. There are two scenic mountain view drives in Hot Springs, one on each side of Bathhouse Row. At the top of the first drive is the 216 foot tall Hot Springs Mountain Tower. For just $5 (with the lifetime senior pass) an elevator will take you to the top deck where you can see all of Hot Springs, AR.

The campground is located just to the left of the highway

Bathhouse Row located between the two mountains

Heavily forested area north of the tower

A view of the tower from the second scenic drive

SUNDAY - Well it's our last day here in Hot Springs and so far we have walked and driven around to see the hot springs and surrounding area. We even filled up two one gallon jugs to later taste the mineral water that is dispensed free at several roadside fountains around town. But a visit to Hot Springs National Park wouldn't be complete if you didn't actually experience a mineral bath in one of the bathhouses.

So last night we called to scheduled a 20-minute private mineral bath for two, followed by a 20-minute steam cave experience to finish off our visit here. We were a little disappointed that our mineral bath was in a modern day whirlpool tub instead of one of the old cast iron tubs we saw in the museum. The steam cave felt authentic enough with the 143 degree water flowing out of the side of a rock wall in a tiny room just big enough to hold 3 couples.

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK

The Fordyce Bathhouse and Museum also houses the Hot Springs National Park's Visitor Center
Throughout you'll fine intricate moziac tile work
A 1920s era bath tub
A 1920s shower surround
A sitzbath and steam chamber were popular in the 1920s
Inside of the mens shower room
The stained glass ceiling in the mens shower room
Next door to the museum is the Quapaw Baths and Spa
This is where we had our mineral bath and steam cave experience
The Grand Promenade located behind the bathhouse buildings
A hot spring bubbling out of the rocks along the walkway
A glimpse of some wildlife we saw along the walkway

So ends our visit to Hot Springs National Park
It's definitely not your ordinary National Park experience.


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VISITING PETIT JEAN STATE PARK

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #59

Today's travel day was very close to our target of towing THE POD around 100 miles at a time. 100 miles is usually enough to get a change in scenery and a chance for a new adventure.

A bend in the Arkansas River

This area of Arkansas is relatively flat with several tall plateaus visible in the distance. The last ten miles of today's trip we saw a rather predominant plateau on the horizon. Turns out that was exactly where we were headed, Petit Jean State Park.

Before we hit the road we purchased a National Geographic book which lists the four or five state parks in each state. It is what we use to decide which state parks to visit. The book's recommendations aren't based on the parks campground, actually some don't offer camping at all, but more on the overall appeal of the park.

In Arkansas, Petit Jean is one of those recommended parks. The campground is large with several waterfront sites located on Lake Bailey. There are hiking/biking trails, a lodge with a decent restaurant, a scenic drive and many panoramic valley views from several overlooks due to it's location on top of a tall plateau.

In the springtime there is the stunning Cedar Falls, but as you'll see in our slideshow, it's not so stunning during the fall season.

TUESDAY - We are only visiting for three nights here so today is our day to get out and explore! We visited several overlooks and hiked to a couple of shallow caves. We ate lunch in the lodge's restaurant and traveled along the short one-way scenic drive inside of the park.


Another thing I did today was to locate a geocache. Imagine my surprise when I found out there was one hidden just 400 feet from where I was sitting in THE POD. With just a little bit of extra searching I was able to locate it about 40 feet from where the coordinates had me looking.

PETIT JEAN STATE PARK

The burned out 1940s YMCA camp on the Eaternmost Point of the state park.
The panoramic view from Stout's Point
The Arkansas River flows south and east to the Missisasippi River
One of the many U.S. Army Corp of Engineers dams along the Arkansas River
The westerly view from the CCC overlook along the scenic drive
The view from end of the Cedar Falls Overlook trail.
Can't see the falls? See the wet spot on the right?
How about a little closer look!
Even closer still.
Here is what the stunning Cedar Falls looks like in mid-October
But you would miss the Fall Colors if you visited in the spring.
Bear Cave at the base of a huge rock formation.
These are known as Turtle Rocks because they resemble turtle shells.
Approaching the Rock House Cave.
Outside the Rock House Cave looking in.
Inside the Rock House Cave looking out.


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ENTERING THE SOUTHWEST U.S.

THURSDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #58

"The Natural State"
is our 26th visited state

If you've been following along with our travels you'll have probably noticed that since the beginning of October we've been heading in a southerly direction. That will continue to be the case until the middle of next month. Generally all of our annual routes will head north in the spring and summer before turning around and heading south in the fall and winter. This of course is to avoid being caught in the temperature extremes of being too hot or too cold.

If you check out our STATS page you'll see that in our first 18 months on the road we've only had 12 nights below freezing and 61 days with 90 degree plus temperatures. So far this strategy seems to be working in our favor. Afterall, our home has wheels, so why not use them to our advantage.

FRIDAY - Blanchard Springs Caverns is 38 miles from our campsite, but it's the whole reason we stopped in this area. We made a reservation for the 12:30PM tour and arrived early to check out the recreation area that surrounds the cave. This is the only cave tour in the country that is led by a U.S. Forest Service Ranger. There are other caves located inside of National Forests, but the tours are led by a concessionaire who can employ just about anyone.

Having a knowledgeable person leading your cave tour really impacts what you take away from the experience. Blanchard Springs Caverns is listed as one of the Top Ten show caves in the U.S. and it did not disappoint us. The tour begins with a 200 foot decent in an elevator. When the doors open you are in a short hallway that leads around the corner to the first of three cave rooms you'll visit.

Keep in mind that most caves we have visited so far have bragged about how THEIR BIG ROOM is 300 feet long and 100 feet wide. Blanchard Springs Caverns first room is 1500 feet long, 300 feet wide and 100 feet tall. Not only that it is filled with formations of all kinds and sizes. We were led to a set of bleachers where we sat and listened to the ranger speak about the discovery and history of the cave system.

The second room was only slightly smaller but just as beautiful as the first. The walkway is fairly level throughout the entire Dripstone Trail Tour and best of all is the pricing. Only $12 for adults and $6 for persons with a Lifetime Senior Pass like I have. Most privately owned cave tours we've taken have been between $20 and $30 with no discounts for seniors.

I'll post our pictures here in a slideshow but they in no way do the cave justice. You'll have to visit it for yourself. Tricia and I both agree this tour is in our Top Three caves tour so far.

If you ever visit Arkansas and are even remotely are interested in caves, this is a MUST DO activity. There is even a decent Forest Service campground on site (no utilities) for $10 a night.

BLANCHARD SPRINGS CAVERNS

Our first look at Blanchard Springs Caverns in the massive Room #1
A manmade passage for easier access to Room #2.
A look at the ceiling of Room #3
Tens of thousands of soda straw formations
Amazing! Just amazing!

OZARK NATIONAL FOREST

Blanchard Springs Recreation Area is located inside the Ozark National Forest.
Here are a few photos we took of the surrounding area.

A shallow cave just outside of the campground.

All the water running through the cavern exits here through Blanchard Spring.

Mirror Lake is a fisherman's destination for trout.

SATURDAY - This weekend we are camping on the Buffalo National River in the Buffalo Point Campground. Since this is a National Park Service campground we used my Lifetime Senior Pass to get a 50% discount, making it a very affordable $15 per night and that includes water and electric service.

With the river's water level being fairly low right now there weren't a lot of people floating the river and most of the nearby outfitters were already closed for the season. It was still a very pleasant and quiet place to stay.

A wide bend in the river known as Buffalo Point

Our campsite is just behind the trees on the right.

We struck up a conversation with our neighbors in the campground, Mike and his family of six, who were kind enough to share some insights as to what we might find at our next campground destination. Mike also made some recommendations for the next time we pass though the area. They are from Arkansas and have camped in many of the nearby parks with their large bunkhouse trailer. We shared our experiences of living full-time on the road for the last 18 months and we both had a few tips and tricks to share. It's not always just the campground that makes for a pleasant visit, most of the time it's the people we meet.


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OUR LAST STOP IN MISSOURI

WEDNESDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #57

Today was a longer than average travel day for us so we decided to do something we rarely do. While towing THE POD through Missouri today we stopped and did a little sightseeing. I checked out the Google satellite view of the parking lot surrounding Fantastic Caverns. They have a separate parking area just for school buses, tour buses and RVs, plenty of room for us to maneuver in and out of.

I guess I should have called first, because when we arrived that parking lot was closed off for renovations they were in the middle of trying to complete. We squeezed our way into the standard parking lot and got turned around into the direction we would need to exit the lot after the tour, that turned out to be a very smart move.

The cave tour at Fantastic Caverns is different than any other tour we have done so far. There were no stairs to climb, no ramps to negotiate and no walking what so ever. The entire tour is enjoyed while riding in a trailer that was being pulled by a Jeep. There were a few spots where we had to duck below rocks overhanging the roadway but other than that just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The cave itself was merely average compared to the formations we have seen elsewhere, but the ride made visiting very enjoyable.

You can just make out the front of our Jeep at the bottom of this photo

Wide open views all around

One of the larger flowstone formations

Getting back on the road we drove until reaching our new campsite.

Our view for the next eight days at an unbelievable bargain of just $10.50 per night.

SATURDAY - We were going to wait until next week to do our next cave tour, but today we just felt the need to get out and do something. Our visit to the Talking Rocks Cavern did not disappoint us!

As we have mentioned before no two caves are alike. This cave tour was only a 1/3 mile walk, but it was almost all straight down, then across the bottom of the cave, before starting back towards the surface. It's what's known as a vertical cave. There were many sections where you walked just inches from the formations all along the walls and at one point the path took us right through a large flowstone. We emerged behind the formation and exited through another very slim opening back into the cave.

We would easily place this tour in our personal Top Ten list
of the 20+ plus cave tours we have explored so far.

TALKING ROCKS CAVERN

Looking down into the cave from above.
This formation in the center is called Cave Bacon
A cloe up look at the same formation
The tour takes you right through a large formation
A look up before we pass through the formation
The group before us exiting the cave above us
The path has several places where you have to squeeze through formations
My turn to squeeze through
More cave bacon
So much bacon
The formation in the background is a 65 foot tall column
The entire formation we walked through and then behind earlier
A final shot of cave bacon


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