Arkansas.....a number of firsts for us!

Our First Time in Arkansas and our first time of seeing a fez of armadillos!

Hot Springs National Park

We love the history of our National Parks! These Hot Springs have always been thought to have medicinal properties starting with many Native American tribes who visited the area. The area was federally protected in 1832, grew into a “spa town” and was made a National Park in 1921. The area boomed from the 1920’s - 50’s (that’s when organized crime moved in too!) The water from the Hot Springs is 143 degrees when it comes out of the ground. It is centrally managed, stored and tested by the National parks System and then pumped to the remaining bath houses and fountains around the city.

Bathhouse Row

This was our favorite. There are 8 historic Bath Houses (built in the early 1900’s). There are only a few that have been renovated to provide bath or spa services today. Bob and I went to QuaPaw Bathhouse for a few hours to soak in the mineral pool. Just to be clear…..it’s not really a spa…..but we had to do it!

The Fordyce Bathhouse

This was the creme de la creme in it’s day. It’s no longer a bathhouse - it’s the National Park museum. They have all the institutional tubs, steam cabinets, bathtubs, showers and treatment areas on display. It looked a little scary but the beautiful stained glass helped the ambiance.

The Fez of Armadillos we saw

How much do you know about armadillos? A ”group” of armadillos is called a fez. Females can choose when they want to give birth (within 2 years) after they get pregnant! They almost always give birth to identical quadruplets (that’s what we saw)! The armadillo young are more pink than the adults. Who Knew?

Bob’s long time friend Jim drove down from Little Rock to spend the day with us. Thanks Jim!

The heat, humidity and storms continue to follow us East…..UGH