Cross Country Trip 2012: Hot Springs NP

We spent this morning walking around Hot Springs National Park. Its a fascinating historical place, going back to 1832 when the US Gov't named it a "National Reservation". It became a national park in 1921. There are 46 springs flowing out of Hot Springs Mountain, at 140 degrees, which have been captured and directed into a series of bathhouses. They were very popular right up until the 1950s. Today, 8 of the original bathhouses have been restored along "Bathhouse Row". There are a number of old hotels in the downtown area, some of which have been left to disrepair due to lack of demand. Some have been renovated to their former glory - we stayed at The Springs Hotel, of the latter category. Also along the downtown Main St many of the store fronts have been fixed up and house some pretty eclectic wares. So all in all, it was a very interesting place to visit!

In the afternoon we headed directly north along state route 7, known as the "Scenic 7 Byway", about 100 miles of twists and turns though the Ozarks and such places as Ola, Dardanelle (where Tyson processes factory farmed chickens) , Harrison and on into Missouri for our final destination, Branson, which we achieved after dark. We crossed the Buffalo River which is "National River", not sure why. The Ozarks are not very picturesque. They aren't real mountains and there are very few places to get a view because of all the trees.(Another reason to enjoy Idaho!)

Not sure what to make of Branson - we'll find out tomorrow!