HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, ARKANSASin

It was cold and drizzly but a perfect day to visit the Hot Springs National Park and Museum.  The visitor's center is at the Fordyce Bathhouse.  In 1915, reviews proclaimed the Fordyce the best in Hot Springs.  It closed its doors in 1962 and reopened after extensive restoration in 1989.  The bathhouse looks as it did in its earlier years outfitted with the furniture and equipment of the time; steam cabinets, Zander mechano-therapy equipment, tubs, massage tables, sitz tubs, hydrotherapy equipment, billiard table, piano, beauty parlor, lounge and exercise room.

We took the 45-minute ranger guided tour and all of us enjoyed it.  After the tour, we walked Bathhouse Row.  In the 1960s the bathhouses began to close their doors and fell into disrepair.  In the 1980s the National Park Service began exploring ways to return Bathhouse Row to its splendor. 

Hot Springs is not in a volcanic region.  Pores and fractures in the rock conduct the water deep into the Earth.  As the water percolates downward, increasingly warmer rock heats it at a rate of about 4 degrees Fahrenheit every 300 feet.  Eventually, the water meets faults and joints leading up to the lower slope of Hot Springs Mountain, where it surfaces.  The drinking water here is pure and natural with no filtration or chemicals.  People still come here for health reasons to soak in and drink the water with no sulfur smell.

Fordyce Bathhouse - now the Visitors Center & Museum

All the Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row have been renovated - Now the Cultural Center

This fountain was in the men's bathhouse

Not much for comfort but it served its purpose

This was a beautiful leaded stain glass skylight in, of course, the men's bathhouse

The Arlington Hotel & Spa - The present Arlington opened in 1924 but the original opened in 1875.  The original was
a 3-story high wooden structure.  That building was razed to make way for a new 300-room Spanish
Renaissance structure in 1893. That building was destroyed by fire in 1923. Famous guests like Presidents, Babe Ruth,
Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Yoke Ono have all stayed here.  Al Capone had a whole floor
for his staff and bodyguards.

Thanks for stopping in to say hi and God Bless.

VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK - RAINY LAKE, MINNESOTA

Left Walmart in Pine City, Minnesota for a 4-hour drive to Voyageurs National Park.  The only visitor's center open at the park was at Rainy Lake.  Most of the campgrounds in this area don't typically open until May 1st but it worked out well for us.  The parking lot was empty and because they are open 7-days a week 24-hours a day, we were able to spend the night here.  We're parked in the lower area where the boat ramp is and it has big parking spaces for vehicles towing their boats. Perfect for us and a beautiful lake view.

Voyageurs is a water-based park with 500-plus islands and 655 miles of shoreline.  But with 218,054 acres of land and water, we were able to find a nice walking trail starting at the visitors center.  The waterways of Voyageurs include an important segment of a 3,000-mile fur trade route of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The route of these voyageurs shaped the international boundary between the US and Canada, and the legacy of these voyageurs inspired the naming of this national park.

Welcoming Committee

Nice Walking Trail

Gray Wolf at the Visitors Center

Temperature is supposed to drop to 26 tonight and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we don't have snow flurries tonight.  Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

We attended a lovely 8:30 mass in the small chapel of St. Rita's in the town of Mancos.  After church we came back to the campsite for breakfast, a bit of laundry and to reset the tire sensors (which turned out to be a bit of a pain, but was accomplished).

The weather is in the mid-40's but there was no wind and spotty sun so we decided to take a drive down the road to Mesa Verde National Park.  It's not completely open for the season but the visitor's center was open and the Mesa Top Loop was open.  From the visitor's center to the loop is 22 miles and with no traffic, we made in no time flat.  The loop took us a couple of hours.

I didn't have lunch before we left and thankfully the cafeteria was open and had a nice menu.  I selected a black bean chipotle burger to go which was filling and delicious.  Denis picked up a Mesa Verde coffee mug for his Texas Thunder coffee on those long drives.

 A little history about the area.  The Pueblo people settled in Mesa Verde about AD 550.  The people farmed and hunted.  They made tools, pottery, bow and arrows and built pit houses for homes. Pit houses were dug into the ground with four corner timbers to support a roof.  It had a firepit and an air deflector to circulate the air.  About AD 750 they started building houses above ground with poles and mud.  By AD 1000, they started building stone houses.  Between 1150 and 1300, thousands of people lived on Mesa Verde.  They lived in compact villages with kivas (courtyards).  The kivas were round chambers, usually underground.  The kiva is still an important ceremonial structure to modern Pueblo people.

The cliff dwellings were built from the late 1190s to late 1270s.  They ranged from one-room houses to community centers of about 150 rooms.  The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde were discovered by ranchers and remain amazing intact.

We really enjoyed our visit.  Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

Mesa Verde

Kiva

Pit house with ventilation hole

Cave dwelling

DEATH VALLEY WITH CHRISTI AND PHIL

We had a very long day yesterday.  The 2-hour drive into Death Valley took us about two hours and we drove the scenic loop with stops along the way.  It was extremely hot but it didn't stop us from putting in 4.5 miles.

Their first visit to Death Valley

Cute couple

Christi holding up the
Natural Bridge

Pretty hot

Harmony Borax Works

Denis cooling off

The colors are always changing

We drove Artist's Drive scenic loop admiring the multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills.  Saw the Devil's Golf Course with its immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires.  Walked to the Natural Bridge where Christi clowned around a bit.  Drove to Badwater which is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.  Toured the Harmony Borax Works where the refinery operated only from 1883 to 1888 but was the birthplace of the Twenty Mule Team.  Finally walking out to Zabriskie Point which is surrounded by a maze of wildly eroded and vibrantly colored badlands.

It was a long, hot day and we all needed a visit to Dairy Queen before heading home.  Thanks for stopping in to say hi.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

Decided to take a drive to Joshua Tree National Park today.  The park is higher elevation than Palm Springs and was about 10 degrees cooler.  It's been several years since our last visit to the park and we've heard that the desert flowers are beautiful this year.  We didn't spot any big horn sheep but we did see some lovely colors.

Perfect weather for a drive through
the park

First time seeing the Joshua tree
in bloom (top left corner)

More blooms

Reminds me of a
morning glory

Prickly Pear Blooms

Can you spot the lizard?
Great camouflage

Can you see the people?

Thanks for stopping in to say hi and have a blessed Easter.