Just to the Southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas sits the Fountain of Youth. That is what Juan Ponce de Leon would have thought had he and not Hernando de Soto soaked in the hot mineral water pools of what is now Hot Springs National Park.
Just to the Southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas sits the
Fountain of Youth. That is what Juan Ponce de Leon would have thought had he and not Hernando de Soto soaked in the
hot mineral water pools of what is now Hot Springs National Park.
After battling his way across Georgia, Tennessee and half of Arkansas Hernando de Soto entered the “Valley of the Vapors”. For the Native Americans it was a common ground of peace where they set aside weapons and all took a hot tub. But Hernando was never one to pass up a prime opportunity and once he had toweled off he claimed the area for Spain in 1541.
Later the Native Americans of the Ozarks area led the French explorers Father Marquette and Jolliet to the healing waters in 1673. Bingo, it was claimed for France! This gives new meaning to the power of “just showing up”.
Never being ones to pa
ss up the chance of a second
childhood, Stan and I headed to Hot Springs’ Fountain of Youth for our spring
road-trip…
We stayed at the Arlington Hotel; a grand 1920s affair that sits within the park and has its own mineral springs bathhouse. The park has preserved and restored several of the historic public bathhouses. They are ornate structures inside and out, stained glass and sculptured fountains. In total 43 different springs sit within the park – and nearly every one has a different mineral composition. Doctors prescribed different waters for various ailments – thus the need for several different bathhouses.
The simple, the famous and the infamous flocked to Hot
Springs during its peak. From the infirm seeking cures to whole baseball teams
looking to purge the off-season alcohol from their systems - baseball’s spring
training! Our hotel lobby flaunts photos
of Rudolph Valentino dining with famous prizefighters – and of course there was
the mafia. Famous gangsters with names
like Capone, Lefty and Lucky took up winter residence in Hot Springs and were
treated like celebrities. Gambling and
alcohol, illegal at the time – were available in Hot Springs. Rival Chicago and New York mafia gangs stayed
at different hotels. For the most part the mafia boys behaved themselves in Hot
Springs. They followed the ancient tradition of putting aside weapons while in
the Valley of the Vapors.
Nearly every one of the long time Hot Springs residents has a story handed down about mafia encounters. And evidence is still being uncovered. Recently a secret passageway was discovered running from the Arlington Hotel to a building across the street. It led to an underground bowling alley that was carved into a cave. With the exception of the mafia – who are long gone – no one knew it existed!
The drive to Hot Springs is beautiful and lush. Take Highway 30 Southwest out of Little Rock until you get to Highway 70 that continues southwest and rolls you straight into the center of Hot Springs National Park. Public Bathhouses are open for tour, and several are open for therapeutic bath services.
The Arlington Hotel has very affordable rooms and makes puts you in the center of where Al Capone’s gang reserved a whole floor. Every Sunday afternoon in the hotel’s grand ballroom you can enjoy some wonderful bands – from classic rock’n’roll to big band swing.
By the way – we did feel perkier after our visit so perhaps this really is the Fountain of Youth!
I’ll be looking for you along the BlueHighways!
Denise