We bid adieu to Little Rock this morning and left for Hot Springs, about an hour away. Time for a few spa treatments!!! The hot springs of the town feed directly into the bath houses that line the main street. It was a high-end, thriving spa destination in the late 18-early 1900’s; now 2 of the spas on “bath house row” still operate. The others have turned into museums, restaurants and shops. The architecture is amazing!
We reported to our first treatment stop and nipped into pools whose temperature ranged from 94 to 108 degrees (the water comes out of the hot springs at a consistent 143 degrees). Then on to our private baths for a mineral water soak capped by a couple’s massage (P.S. It’s a good thing we hadn’t signed up for the couple’s bath soak!!) Too funny.
Inside the Bath Houses
The opulence and oddness of the bath houses was fascinating and we couldn’t help taking a lot of photos.
Stained Glass
Lounges and Locker Rooms
Work Out Equipment
Gerry, we thought of you here – this is your category! Many of these early work out machines haven’t changed much; look familiar?
Pipes and Bizarre Bumpy Spa Things
Taking the Waters
At last we were able to take the waters…yes 143 degrees but not sulphur tasting like Saratoga. Filling a growler (what a waste!!) and a Swell with the Hot Springs water.
We met 2 women friends at the spa and talked about our trip. They were from Arkansas and Mississippi. We hear we have some fun sights and great food comin’ up – especially fried chicken, fried okra and collards with bacon and purple hulled beans. Not sure what those might be but we can’t wait!!!
Off to Shreveport, LA to visit our friend Margie who moved back down there after spending 30 plus years in NJ.
The most bizarre National Park Movie ever
P.S. On looking back, we felt we had to mention a little something about the movie we saw in the Fordyce Bath House, the National Park site with the recreated Bath House in the photos above. We usually try to attend some of the national park movies in the visitor centers we visit. So we sat for this one in the Fordyce assuming it would be a movie about the history of the baths.
It started that way with old drawings and descriptions of bath houses. But it soon launched into a hilarious (we thought) 1970’s infomercial about how to go and enjoy a bath house/spa.
The scene is set..a young couple approach the clerk behind the desk at a spa. The voiceover says something like:
“Spas can be easy and fun. A couple enters the spa. The man takes out his wallet to pay. He pays the clerk who then gives the couple wrist bands.” (All this time the female in the couple was basically batting her eyes). Back to the voiceover…”The man and woman wear wristbands on their wrists and are instructed to leave their valuables in the box. The clerk will put the valuables in the lockers behind the desk. Now the man and woman go off to enjoy the spa treatments, separately.”
The movie then takes our couple through the process and treatments which include, “You can be naked or wear a bathing suit, whatever you want; the woman wears a sheet like a roman toga while in the spa; here is the man in the sitz bath; here the man gets a massage from the attendant; here the man enjoys a needle shower”
“The woman enjoys time in the metal cabinet”. She is sitting in a metal box with just her head sticking out and her neck area is wrapped in towels (Glenda and Susan doubt this is enjoyed by the woman). “The woman lies in the resting room, cooling down.”
The movie runs for about 10 minutes and is quite remarkable for a national park movie. It was literally laugh out loud for us… 🙂