Hot Springs National Park KOA
I am excited that we are here , on our way to Texas (Grapevine) for Christmas. This week is a bit chill and exploration while Brad works and we get “caught up”!
We did explore Bathhouse row and that area and were happy to pick up some gifts as we explored!
“I think recharging is important, absolutely. Every now and then, you need maybe a couple of weeks to just chill out and let your emotions balance themselves out a little bit.” – Malin Akerman
⇐ Better shot of how pretty our full site is. As noted it was tough to park but, Brad did & it was worth it!
We arrived here on Friday, December 1st. Our site is beautiful (thank goodness that Brad is good at backing into lots!). We got to walk around the park this
afternoon after spending some time in town. The park is very “hilly” and we are still quite happy with this lot and its location.
Bathhouse Row – Exploration
“Hot Springs National Park has a rich cultural past. The grand architecture of our historic bathhouses is equally matched by the natural curiosities that have been drawing people here for hundreds of years.” – From National Park Website.
And then we shopped across the street and especially liked the Downtowner Marketplace! And the newly opened Art Studio that was upstairs in one area and had several different artists!!
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas!!
We are so happy that we got to do this tour of Christmas Lights at the Garvan Woodland Gardens! I had read about it when looking into the area so we decided to check it out! It was nice to have an evening activity since Brad is still working.
I hope my pictures show a bit of the beauty and if you are in the area it is a great event for ALL Ages and the people working this were fabulous! And the Hot Chocolate at the end made it PERFECT!!!
Choose Happy
We did get there when they opened so it was still a bit light when we started and very dark at the end. This was nice to see more of the park while we were there!
The Christmas Tree scene on bottom right was beautiful – the lights were changing while a beautiful song played!
It was a lot to take in and I almost wanted to walk it again but, the Hot Chocolate … and then we were told to see one more part of the park…. ANTHONY CHAPEL
Onto Anthony Chapel….
The Chapel is beautiful – note that the first picture is from the website since it is much better than the one that I took in the dark. However the Christmas lights are beautiful – made me want to renew my vows!
“Garvan Gardens is the 210-acre botanical garden of the University of Arkansas, located on the shore of beautiful Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas. ” – Anthony Chapel Website.
We toured Crystal Ridge Distillery
We enjoyed our tour and especially the tasting afterward! The building is historic and has quite a bit of history that I enjoyed reading on their website. The gift shop, retail liquor, lounge, convention room and the distillery itself are great to visit! It was interesting, due to the temperatures in this area they DO NOT keep the distilling going year round, However, when they are not distilling, they have plenty of to try and they are open year round!
Gulpha Gorge
It was a beautiful day so we headed out for a hike on Hot Springs Mountain Trail
It was approximately a 3.25 mile hike which was great for us at this time (we have not moved enough since traveling more and dealing with chicken pox)! It was a bit steep at the beginning but, after my breathing got through that, the hike was great! It was also fun to see the camping at the park – seemed like a small area but, nice – need to research this! After our great hike, we headed back to Daylos to chill, enjoy some football and dinner!
Mural Tour
Promise for Peace
by RayShaun McNary
I enjoyed all of the Mural Art throughout Hot Springs and a I found this great website about the tour/artwork & artists! I did not get all of the murals but, I have a few!
Verna’s Dream by Pepe Gaka – co-designed by famed architect E. Fay Jones dedicated to the local botanical Garvan Woodland Gardens
Quapaw Mural by Pepe Gaka – 502 Central Ave
Black Broadway by Pepe Gaka, Anthony Tidwell, and several young artists, located at 350 Malvern Ave.
Playing Cards by Chris Arnold and Jeff Garrison
It was a Great Visit!!
This is one of those times that I feel blessed we were able to visit Hot Springs, made me realize how much I like to learn the history of an area and this one has a lot. I may be back to explore and find more Mural Art and History!
