Two Score Roadtrip, Day 4: Hot Springs National Park

 

Day 4, May 9, 2021

Two things make for great introspection and writing. 1) ambiance. 2) vigorous exercise out in nature.

Have I mentioned how great this hotel is? It is clean and comfortable and new and fresh—perfect ambiance for writing. Did you notice that Day 1 and Day 2 of my trip were also written at this hotel? I arrived and got to work right away (ish).

I awoke today with a bit of a jolt thinking I would miss breakfast! Well, luckily, I didn’t. While getting my hot breakfast I noticed a pretty sign with a quote on it that really spoke to me. It said: Gratitude turns what we have into enough. For the last little while Spencer has initiated time every morning for each member of our family to share what we are grateful for. It has been a really great experience, I think, for everybody. I think this quote needs to go on our truth wall.

After a lazy hour or so in the morning, I was off to the trails to hike before the rain hit. I had a magnificent time! And as I said before, vigorous exercise out in nature really gets my mind and heart going. So… be prepared for a long read. 

 

The trail started out super duper steep! But then there were flatter places. All in all it was a good mix. The best part was how heavenly it smelled! I didn’t know what I was smelling, but the freshness of the surrounding vegetation was heavenly! One of the trails was called “honeysuckle” so I am wondering if it was honeysuckle I was smelling? It was also super steamy! Living in DC I am used to it. But boy was I sticky! The occasional breeze was very much welcomed! 

 

I hiked several of the trails in Hot Springs National Park. Here is a map of my hike. Did my best to highlight the route, but I know it is rough. I started out on the red trail and went from there.

 

So much history on this hike! I love all of the signs. These trails were originally designed for exercising after people had bathed. It was a big part of the health resort. 

Interestingly, there weren’t many benches to rest on. One trail had several, but most of the other trails had none. But I guess that is a good thing because I noticed that if I sat for more than 2 or 3 minutes the bugs started to crawl all over me! I also saw a couple of small pink snakes—or maybe they were lizards? They were fast so I never got a good look at them.

The natural flowers on my hike were absolutely beautiful and a definite highlight! The part that gave me the biggest smile is that I recognized the coreopsis from my own garden!

The vegetation was interesting in that much of it was so thick that underneath, it was so dark! I felt like I was stepping into a cave of green. 

Then, on the edges of the mountain where the sun was allowed to shine, the trail was bright, sunny, and flower-lined!

I also found the rocks particularly intriguing. What are these colors? Is it…purple? They were also very very square. I don't think I found a rounded edge the whole hike.

 

 As I hiked along, I kept thinking back to my 20-something year-old self and how she would have been too scared to go out on the trails on her own. What if I got lost? What if a bear eats me? What if I tripped and fell off the edge of the cliff and nobody knew where I was? My 40, almost 41 year-old self smiles at that 20-year-old self. Oh how my confidence has grown! I remember a layover I had in Japan when I was on my way to study in Indonesia. I was 26. I had something like an 8 or 9 hour layover in Norita and there was no reason not to go out and explore what I could during my layover. So, I got the needed one-day Visa from an agent and I took an English guide book that listed all of the streets in English. "How helpful," I thought. Well, I left the airport and took the Metro a couple stops and hopped off. As I walked out to the main street, I realized that my map only showed the road names in English. Yet, there was absolutely no sign of English written out on the street signs. And there was no Japanese written in my guidebook. Therefore, the book was of no real help. I would need to memorize every twist and turn that I took otherwise, I would have no way of knowing how to get back to the metro station. I knew absolutely no Japanese. I have never been so cognizant of every turn I have taken on a trip as I did here. I knew there was no where I could call for help, If I got lost. It ended up being quite the adventure. I didn't get lost. But I did meet some very friendly people on the way. At one point an absolute downpour came on and I slipped inside a shop. The storekeepers offered me an umbrella. I gladly took it about the rest of my explorations and on the way back, I dropped the umbrella back off. They smiled at me.

Back in Arkansas, the hike didn’t go exactly as planned, as I needed to hike over to the natural cold spring to refill my hydration pack. I couldn’t believe I ran out of water! It was neat to get the water from the spring. The water has a very low PH—similar to that of orange juice. I like it though. As a child, I would have said this water has a metal taste to it. But now I know, it is just the taste of acidic water. I was amazed at all of the locals refilling their huge jugs with this water. I asked one guy about it and he said he takes the water home and uses it in his coffee, etc… Fascinating! Apparently, the water from the other filling stations (down the mountain and on Bathhouse Row) are a different PH. I want to fill up my water bottles there tomorrow before I head out and taste the difference.  

 

Finished up the hike with dipping my hand into a hot pool. Naturally.

 

And as I walked off the mountain, I felt the first drops of what would become a total down pour. I say that is rather perfect timing. :-) 

Not to brag... but my fit bit stats are pretty stellar for today. These were my stats right after I got back to the hotel. 

82 floors! Didn't I say the trail was STEEP!? Did you believe me?