Arkansas

Display Spring

Location: Hot Springs       
When: middle of March               
Miles traveled: 784
Price of gas: $2.86!
Interest: Yellow swallowtail butterfly & crows talking    
High point: Everything! 
Low point: Feeling rejected by a church       
One thing learned: In a sealed container of ocean sand+water, the sand turns black.  Remove the water and dry it out, then the sand returns to its original color.  I don't know why it does this. 

Alabama follow up: Mystery tree is a Redbud tree!

 

 

 

Hot Water Cascade

    Nestled between two tree covered mountains is Arkansas' historical bathhouse row in Hot Springs.  Only two bathhouses hold onto their calling as peaceful places for soaking in the natural hot mineral water.  Other bathhouses have been turned into a restaurant, hotel (with the Springs' water piped into each room), and National Park visitor center.  The two open bathhouses do not take reservations.  Opportunities to soak in the thermal water is on a first come first serve basis.  My 30 minute drive into town and late morning wake up time made it difficult for me to arrive early enough to get a spot.  Thankfully there are two public locations, Hot Water Cascade and Display Spring, where the thermal water rises above ground and collects in shallow pools.  I was told in the Summer, people can be found soaking their feet in Display Spring, but on the cool days I visited, the water felt too hot to touch for very long.

    I discovered my first "flat" tire in Hot Springs!  It was a slow leak.  I filled my tires before driving from Mississippi, and the next day in Arkansas discovered my tire was again very low, at 10 psi.  Walmart technicians found the nail and patched my tire before they closed.  Thankfully they were open till 7pm.  Everywhere else closed at 5pm and I found my flat at 5.

    Because I'm strange, I decided to go hiking on the day it rained constantly.  Lake Ouachita (wash-i-taw. Native American word with French spelling) State Park is a beautiful place with four mile Caddo Bend hiking trail.  My campsite was close to the trail head.  I hiked part of the trail out to Point 50, and took the maintenance road back as I did not think I was ready for the full 4 miles.  I also hiked the shorter Dogwood trail and visited the Three Sisters Springs, which was just ok.  By the end of the day, my gear and boots were very wet.  It took 5 days for my boots to fully dry out. Thankfully they are not my only shoes.

View from Point 50

Center of field early in morning

    On Friday, I spent the day searching for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.  I did not find any diamonds or other rare stones.  I only found common stones like quartz, jasper, lamporite, and volcanic tuff.  Searching for diamonds is only permitted while the park is open, so when the park closes at 4pm, everyone has to be off the field.  There are three main ways to look for diamonds; surface scanning, sifting top soil, and digging-sifting deeper soil.  I mostly surface scanned, but also sifted some top soil.  Sifting is hard work.  It involves washing your collected dirt in two screens, shaking the rocks so the heavier ones gather in the center, then flipping and looking at the center.  This link explains it more thoroughly.  At the busiest time of the day, there was at least 200 people on the field.  I had a good experience, but I would not do it again.  There is a great thrill hoping to find a diamond (and if you are a kid then everything is a diamond!), but chances are a diamond will not be found.  I think the time is better spent looking at some of the larger rocks and going at a pace that will not injure one's back.

   If you go, I suggest taking: a spoon or shovel for gathering dirt, a bucket for holding the dirt, waterproof sturdy long gloves to protect hands during sifting, waterproof shoes and clothing as everything gets wet, smaller cup/bucket with lid for the rocks you keep and a container for the rocks you would like identified (the park does this for free), and a change of clothes for any kids. 

Sifted rocks before flipping

Water tanks for washing/sifting rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left: 2 jasper, hematite, don't remember, 2 white stripes of volcanic tuff

 

    That evening, after a long day working in a field and driving two hours round trip, the night was a comfortable 42°F.  A one match! campfire blazing in the constant light wind and warm soup in a cozy bowl.  Guitar music drifts over from the family singing a few campsites away.  And when I lift my cup to drink, I see Orion and a host of stars bright in the clear night sky!   Lovely.

A historic bathhouse

A view of Lake Ouachita, all views have a lot of trees

Caddo Bend trail view

Taco Mama restaurant