Comfort Suites Hot Springs

... for public use. Over 850,000 gallons flow daily and the estimated water flow emitting into the creek was natural rainfall aout 4,000 years ago. All in all, these Hot Springs sound pretty relaxing. The bathhouses were ornately decorated with sea colored tiles and big porches. Southern stylee.

We camped out in Gulpha Gorge Campground in the Hot Springs National Park. Sumner cooked us up a tasty Christmas Tree, Flower, and twisty swirls pasta dinner with shrimp, onions, homegrown ...

Visiting hot springs might be one of Bek's favourite things to do in the whole world, so when a town is named Hot Springs, it sparks our interest. We did an overnighter and drove from Wichita, Kansas to Hot Springs, Arkansas (State # 22, slowly getting there).

Hot Springs is a town surrounded by state parks that is built around (you guessed it) Hot Springs. This area has 46 natural hot springs and a row of bath houses ...

... into the field I started to realize the field was much like clay, shoes were sticking as I walked and I mentally imagined my shoes were going to get pulled off my feet. They didn't but I could see it happening. We dug and checked out the sluice tables for about an hour. No diamonds were found, I had my rocks and minerals checked to find I had found Jasper, Calcite, and Quartz. I am now going to be looking things up to see mineral and stones found ...

... them spell it as Elvis had always wanted it spelled. Question 2- before the ticket sales started people were walking on the grounds of Graceland without tickets, and the answer reflects back to question 1 being that in order for them to get Elvis and his brother and parent moved to Graceland they had to get a section declared a cemetery, thus they have to allow visiting access to the cemetery for 1 hour each day free of charge, that is 7:30-8:30 am people can ...

... get in a hot bath. Andy loved it!!

Arkansas rocks--- crystal mines are scattered in the hills beckoning one to come and dig through their tailings for treasure. We decided ,due to the mostly nasty weather and not really being all that into getting muddy, to go to the store. A virtual field of crystals, glass and rocks - Interesting and fun. Rocks always have me thinking about my Aunt Mama Dot. She ...

... my parents didn't even know I was in Arkansas).

The plan went off without a hitch (except for going the wrong way on a bypass once), and my family was very surprised. Luke and Jenna ate dinner with us and then kept going on their way. We stayed at the lake house until Monday afternoon, swimming and watching movies and eating burgers, then I finally headed home.

... bottles of wine.. thank god! The dinner was delicious and their friends are hysterical. Last night we sat on the back porch talking and drinking more wine. By the time i realized, it was already near midnight.

Today, my mother, sister, and I walked around downtown and went to the bath houses.

This town is very cute but way too small town for us. Between the rednecks and nauseating winding roads, we're happy to be leaving for a city tomorrow.

Chicago here we come!

2009 04 10 Just N of Shreveport, LA there's a lake where instead of building the highway ˝ mi further south (on land) there's a 4-lane bridge across the 2mi wide lake. Amazing waste of $$$. Near Gilliam, LA there are hundreds of tiny pumpjacks with 10ft beams and 3ft horse heads. The whole thing probably doesn't weigh more than a ton. They look so cute that you feel like carting one off in a wheelbarrow and use it as a lawn ornament. Near Texarkana there was big Cowboy ...

... rarity in that they run E/W, they are rich in diamonds and have the only diamond mine in the world open to the public - sadly we didn't make it there. All over the gds there are huge chunks of the beautifully coloured local sandstone with quartzite veins, we were very impressed with the way it has been used and have very grand ideas about what we might do at ...

... day NHS hospital (only joking - but it has a 1950s feel). It was basically a place to come to relax - a mixture of consumption clinic and expensive country club. The place has a real old hospital feel coupled with London club - really worth a detour (we reckon they don't get many Europeans here based on the visitors book). We found an ok place for lunch in the Brick House Café and then went on ...