Ride along with the Chang Gang: Summer of Fun- Week 4

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Summer of Fun- Week 4

SAW-HEARD-DID

I saw a lot more of Arkansas than I initially thought we would. Aw heck, I'm not even sure going to Arkansas was in the original plan. When we left Colorado, we knew where we needed to be and when, and beyond that, we've just been wandering. And here we are, over a week later- still exploring new areas of Arkansas. Who would have guessed that?!

First stop was a lovely little campground near Nimrod dam/ Nimrod Lake (near the town of Plainview, just off the scenic Hwy 7).

Sidebar- I think in Arkansas- scenic means " this road is filled with lots of twisting/curvy/roller-coaster type dips-making the road the scene to keep a close eye on! No need to look to the sides, as it is nothing but trees, trees and more trees.

We were not pleased with our last spot in Oklahoma (Short Mountain Cove, just across the state line from Ft. Smith, Arkansas). The site was horrible, the camp vibe was way off (is that harmonicas and banjoes I hear in a creepy movie style?)- and for just $10/night, we opted to cut our losses and try our luck elsewhere!

Quarry Cove #12

Ah much better site...

and vibe!

From here, we'd head over to a campground just west of Hot Springs

Crystal Springs Site 12

and now we are finishing up our Arkansas exploration just outside of Greer's Ferry Lake

Shiloh D-04

I heard stories of the glory days of Hot Springs

Which some historians argue is America's first national park. That argument stems from the fact that this area was identified as a federal reservation (land set aside for all to enjoy) in 1877- pre-dating the formation of the NPS system by over 30 years.

Technically- it is recognized as the 18th national park and remains the only National Park that is smack dab in the middle of a town. *which I decided makes it a strong contender for being labeled "America's noisiest national park". Seeing several ambulances, lights and sirens on full force, cruise down Central Avenue is clearly not something I've witnessed at other national parks.

Anyways- back to Hot Springs...

it is these natural occurring very hot springs that brought folks to town

reported to have healing properties coupled with the rich and famous loving their baths...

Of course, the rich and famous are more likely to come if you build elegant and luxurious bathhouses

Eventually 8 bath houses would be built between 1892-1923...each more grand than the last..

These bath-houses pampered their guests

and offered state of the art amenities...for the 1920s...

Besides bathing, the town also found itself popular with 2 other B words-

Baseball and Bad guys

As this entertaining tour guide explained at the Gangster Museum of America

Hot Springs was good at ignoring certain activities

(gambling, drinking and entertainers of the female sort)-

and hence welcomed a long list of bad guys to town-

With Mr. Al Capone being one of the big name fans of Hot Springs

As for baseball,

when AZ was but a desert and FL was a swamp

The White Stockings of Chicago first visited in 1886-

some say to get their players in shape for the season, others say it was to sober up before the season-

but everyone agrees, several major players from that era found their way to the Arlington Hotel

prior to their seasonal work playing major league baseball.

I did... In between playing tourist, I did tackle the task of laundry- two weeks of travel, lots of dips in the lake, and drip-dry, things were starting to smell a tad fishy.

I also decided to take ownership of my food choices