'Twas the night before Christmas

So we headed west across the border to Arkansas, we had a loose idea of our destination - a place called Little Rock, but having spoken to the barman at the Heartbreak Hotel we went a further 35 miles to the town of Hot Springs. This town is famous, wait for it, for it's hot springs, now there's a surprise! We decided to go to a National Park called Gulpha George, which sits about 2 miles from the actual town. We pulled into the park and had plenty of spots to choose from so picked one and got ourselves all hooked up. Payment here was via a machine, put your site number in, days staying and feed it cash for a receipt which you pin at your site. No ripping the system off here. There are volunteers on site here as well as a park ranger that patrols the area in his squad car complete with his AR 15 semi automatic rifle strapped in between the front seats!

Our arrival at Gulpha George National Park


As we were one of only about 3 campers here we quickly introduced ourselves to the volunteers on site, Chuck and Ceal (short for Cecilia). Volunteers are given free sites around the country in the National Parks each year in return for them keeping an eye on things and doing some general maintenance duties. In reality most volunteers are from up North and are wanting to escape the snow and cold in their home towns. Chuck and Ceal were no different with this being their first go at being volunteers.

Within hours we were chatting and having a beer, including Miles the other park volunteer. Miles was a fantastic man of knowledge and we sat and listened to his many stories and experiences.

The next morning as we basked in the sun Ceal asked us if we wanted to hike the 2 miles into town with them. We jumped at the chance and within 30 minutes we were hiking up the very steep hill, a real leg burner! We arrived in town to what seemed like a place lost in time. A lot of the buildings were built in the 20's, and there is a row of "bath" houses fed by the warm water which flows from the natural springs. Many a gangster was known to frequent the town in days gone by. They had an unofficial truce when they came to Hot Springs for a "break" and did not shoot one another.

This building was used to rehabilitate soldiers after World War 2


Many a Bathhouse lines the street


No not "VB" but the springs are capped to maintain their purity, a nice thought though!




It is said that the water is some 4000 years old by the time it seeps deep down into the earth and then comes back to the surface via the springs and it is believed it has many health benefits, which is evident by the number of bath houses still running. There are several "public" taps around the town where people congregate to fill their water bottles with the so called therapeutic water, and yes we filled ours.

Of course no trip into town would be complete without a beer stop so we found a place called Fat Jacks but it was closed, bugger! A bloke sitting out front confirmed this but then the front door opened and we were invited in. They were waiting for a delivery but the bar manager was more than happy to open the bar just for us, we felt rather special. So two beers later the delivery was complete and the barman said he was shutting back up. We can honestly now say we have been kicked out of a bar in the USA at closing time, it was 2-30 pm. We wandered a bit further down the street and found a place called the Ohio bar so in we went for one more beer and then the 2 mile hike back to camp.

Last drinks on Christmas Eve


So we headed home with a few rest stops along the way, to admire the view of course! We said our goodbyes at this point but had decided to have an 'orphan's' Christmas lunch tomorrow at Chuck and Ceals motor home. We made plans for who would bring what and waited with baited breath as there were weather reports of a cold front moving in with possible snow, could our dream come true? A white Christmas?



- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Hot Springs, Arkansas