Exploring Hot Springs, Arkansas
Our journey today brought us to Hot Springs, Arkansas and finally back to a National Park. We walked through the streets and soaked up the history and the old bath houses along Bath Street Row. Apparently gangsters from Chicago used to frequent this area, the most notorious being Al Capone.
After collecting our park map, we headed to Superior Bathhouse Brewery. They are the first brewery in a US National Park and the world’s first to use thermal spring water as their main ingredient. Ron and I shared the bathhouse flight which gave us a little taste of each of their beers. The kids enjoyed root beer floats made from their in-house root beer. Ariel and Wyatt love to eat soft pretzels and dip them in cheese. So, we had to order one for them to enjoy. Everything was delicious.
After our beer tasting we were off to have dinner at Maxines, a local restaurant recommended to us. They served deep dish Chicago style pizza, which Ron and I haven’t had since we made the chilly winter trip there to pick up Maggie when she was a puppy. We walked inside Maxine’s and immediately realized the reason for the recommendation. They had decorated for Halloween and the whole place was very eccentric. We dined in a room with a giant creepy clown. The kids thought it was funny that mommy had to eat dinner with with a scary clown since they know clowns scare me. The kids loved all the interesting things to look at in the restaurant. Ariel was excited because our waitress had long red hair just like the Little Mermaid.
The history of the building that houses Maxine’s was pretty interesting too. At one time it was a brothel, but a bookstore on the main floor disguised its true purpose. The restaurant is named after Maxine Temple Jones, the madam of what was once the most notorious brothel in Hot Springs.
We finished our night with a walk down Bathhouse Row and soaked up all the atmosphere of the National Park and the historic old bathhouses. The natural hot springs flow out of the ground at an average temperature of 143 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 62 degrees Celsius) and they produce almost one million gallons of water each day. We now understand why they built so many bathhouses here. The Indigenous People called this area “the Valley of the Vapors”. Apparently it was a neutral territory where all the tribes could enjoy the healing waters of the springs in peace. Ron and I would have loved to try soaking in one of the bathhouses but we will save that for a day when we don’t have to worry about Covid.
Goodnight from Hot Springs, Arkansas!