Do you know the way to Santa Fe?

August 12, 13

Apologizes to Dionne Warwick.  We left St. Louis on Monday, August 12, working our way out West, planning to land in Santa Fe on Monday, the 19th. 
Our route took us to Arkansas so we could add another sticker to our map of travels.  We have a US map and stickers for each state we camp in.  Arkansas was open plus it has Hot Springs National Park.  So, we headed south, in the heat, to Hot Springs. Most of Missouri is trees, but near the border and into Arkansas, it opens up to rice fields/paddies.  Why they grow rice there I do not know.
We had a campsite in Lake Catherine State Park. Our campsite was right on the water.  It is beautiful park but unfortunately the temperature was 101 with high humidity.  We stayed inside with the AC on.

Our campsite at Lake Catherine State Park.

Since we got into the area in the late afternoon, we drove into Hot Springs to get the lay of the land.  The main part of the National Park is a section of the main drag called Bathhouse Row. These are buildings going back to the early 1900s that were built to support the large trade of medicinal baths using the hot water emanating from 47 springs that exit the earth behind the bathhouses.  The National Park system owns the buildings and has leased them for other purposes.  The Superior Bathhouse is now a brewery and uses the hot water from the springs in their brewing. All there beers are brewed with Hot Springs water. This is the only brewery located within a National Park.  The beer and the food was excellent. Katie and I both had flights of beers to sample some of their brews.

The bathhouse now a brewery and restaurant

Our seats faced the main drag. Beer flights and people watching.

The next day we returned to the park to take some tours offered by the visitor center. The NP center is in the restored Fordyce Bathhouse, one of the most elegant of the houses along bathhouse row. In the 1800's the Federal government took over the springs to ensure the quality of the water, etc. They took control of the water and distributed it the bathhouses, which they authorized.  Currently, only two bathhouses offer the bathhouse experience, of which we did not partake.  The remaining are used for a gift shop, art museum, etc.
The water takes over 4000 years to exit at the springs. Rain water slowly seeps deep into the earth and is heated by the warmer temperatures deep in the earth. It is not volcanic so the water is pure and drinkable. It then hits a fault line and takes about a 100 years to reach the surface and exit out of the Hot Springs mountain located behind the bathhouses.  The water is about 143 degrees and very pure and drinkable. There are fountains along the street where anyone can fill up a jug of hot spring water.  The bathhouse experience included sitting in tubs of spring water and also drinking it.  As the water was too hot to bath in, the houses had cooling systems to cool the spring water to temper the water before bathing.  In all cases, only pure spring water was used to ensure you got the full medicinal benefits of the water.  There were no common pools, only individual cubicles with tubs for the bath.
The tour was very interesting as there were all kinds of treatments available. In fact, back in the day you had to have a doctor's prescription to use the baths. Different bathhouses were supposedly specialized for different ailments. Some were for liver problems, other for stomach ailments, etc.  There were also doctors located across the street that could set you up to treat whatever ailed you. 

The Fordyce Bathhouse, now the Park visitor center.

Example of opulence in the Fordyce.. a stained glass ceiling in the Men's bath area.

As mentioned, the Feds took over the springs early on to ensure everyone had access and maintain the quality.  In fact, the Ranger claimed this was the first National Park, almost 50 years before Yellowstone. However, the springs were called a Federal Reserve and not a park. It became a national park in 1921.   Originally, the water just emerged at various places and flowed to a creek. To prevent contamination, they capped all the springs and piped it to central site for storage and distribution to the bathhouses and fountains. They continually test the water.  There was a site where water emerged recently and was not yet capped.  Capping was planned for the future.

Several capped springs. They all have locked trap doors on top.

A new spring emerging from a section of the rocky hill behind the houses. Water is hot.

August 14
We left the area on Wednesday and drove Southwest. We drove though Dallas and took I-20 West to Clyde, Texas.  Tomorrow we head for Roswell, NM.

Our campsite in Clyde, TX.  Nothing special.