Hot Springs, AR - 4,305 Miles

We weren't going to spend the night in Hot Springs, but we stopped at the Gulpha Gulch Campground in the Hot Springs National Park just to check it out. It is a great place to camp but there are no hookups. We have decided that rather pay for a campground spot without hookups we would dry camp at Wal-Mart. We would forego the ambiance of a real camp ground in order to save a few bucks.

After our quick look-see at Gulpha Gulch we drove down Central and turned into Fountain Street. We came to a warning sign that said that RVs over 20 feet were prohibited from driving up to the tower. Unfortunately it was at the entrance of the park and not at the turnoff to Fountain Street so we had to unhook the toad and turn the RV around.

Central, the main bath house row, has bath houses on one side and stores, everything from cheap trinket shops to nice jewelry stores, on the other. We found some free parking behind the stores and spent an hour or two checking out the stores and the Fordyce Bath House. The Fordyce is run by the National Park Service and has been restored. The procedure people visiting the baths went through to use the facilities to their fullest was a lot different than I expected. A full treatment could take a half of a day. I have had steam baths a long time ago in a YMCA in Huntsville, AL. No, don't go there. YMCAs at that time offered a lot of great things for kids. Now I wouldn't go into a YMCA, let alone send a kid into one.

Just in case you think Wal-Mart underpays its help today, this letter from a bath house operator will be an eye opener.

It rained all day today. We haven't had rain to deal with this entire trip so it was a new experience for us.