Dirt, diamonds, and time to take a bath!

On June 12th we drove a relatively easy and short 280 miles from the Memphis area in the Mississippi River to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  We arrived mid-afternoon at the RV park called Catherine's Landing.

The staff was friendly and in training at this new RV resort.  We got settled into our site quickly.

Tim in front of Big Red at Catherine's Landing RV Resort, Hot Springs, AR

Dinner was next on the agenda.  Tim had read about a local spot that was supposed to be good.  It wasn't anything special, but Linda had a decent steak, so she was happy.

Linda hit the jackpot the next day.  She loves to play in the dirt and gamble.  Crater of Diamonds State Park fulfilled both for her.  We drove about 1.5 hours SW in the morning and arrived at the state park.  You pay a small entry fee and can start digging, sifting, and washing.  All in the hopes of finding sparkly stones (diamonds) or something worthwhile.  Every year people find significant diamonds.  Many people come often (like a gambling addiction) looking the the BIG ONE.

Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, AR

The next picture shows the "search" field that is plowed every so often to turn up more dirt.

"Search" filed at Crater of Diamonds State Park

We filled our 5 gallon pail of lucky dirt and headed to one of the "wash" pavilions.

Wash pavilion

Linda started to dump her lucky dirt in some sifters we had rented.  She had high hopes of discovery.

Linda washing & sifting her lucky dirt

After you wash and sift through your lucky dirt, you end up with larger material/stones.  Linda combing through her precious stones.

Linda combing thru precious stones

Well guess what....nada, zip, nothing found of value.  Off to the field for another pail of dirt and the same routine again....carry heavy pail to wash pavilion.  Empty dirt into sifters.  Wash away crap.  Then comb through and find nothing.  Tim was having lots of fun.  Now that we were covered in dirt, it was time to take a bath.  So, we headed to Hot Springs and "bathhouse row".

Bathhouse row (Central Ave.) lies at the bottom of a narrow valley next to Hot Springs Mountain.  47 thermal springs flow constantly and are not affected by rainfall.  Native Americans discovered the springs.  The springs were thought to have a therapeutic and healing effect.  The heyday period of bathhouse row ran from approximately 1910 through the early 60's.  We drove an hour and half from combing through dirt to find diamonds to bathhouse row to the national park visitor center.  We arrived at 4:59 p.m. and the CLOSED sign was being put up on the entry door.  Our government working hard for its employers.....us!

We decided to walk along bathhouse row.  Most are closed and going through renovations. A few were open and we got to look inside.  We mostly took pictures outside and read the historical markers in front of the buildings providing information about the bathhouse.  Below are a few examples.

Historical marker providing info of the house behind it

The following is a look down bathhouse row, which is on the Hot Springs Mountain side of Central Ave.

Bathhouse Row on Central Ave.

We found these marker near the temporary national park visitor center with explanations.

Central Ave. has Bathhouse Row on one side and shops on the other.  They are also statues in the median.

We hadn't eaten much since digging in dirt and walking along Bathhouse Row, so we headed for a BBQ place Tim had heard about.  Below is a little history:
In 1928, Alex and Alice McClard ran a tourist court, which also had a gas station and a diner that served up barbecued goat. When a traveler stayed with them and couldn't pay his bill, he offered up a secret recipe for "the world's greatest hot sauce" They took the recipe and played with it and soon the barbecue business became bigger than the tourist court or the gas station. That was the beginning of a family business now in its fourth generation.
McClard's BAR-B-Q in Hot Springs, Arkansas began in 1928 and has remained a family business ever since. Scott McClard, the 4th generation of the family to work at the restaurant, said they take pride in following the same principles began by his great-grandfather. "Use the best ingredients you can get, buy the best quality cuts you can get, and don't skimp on any portions." They make their side dishes on the premises every day, using the same recipes his great-grandfather used. "You can't buy this stuff off of a truck. You can't take beans out of a can and make it taste like my great-grandfather's recipe."

Tim outside of McClard's famous Bar-B-Q in Hot Springs

 Linda ordered the rib plate and Tim ordered the chopped beef plate.  Below are pictures.

Huge rib plate that was smothered in fries

Tim's huge chopped beef plate

After being stuffed with BBQ and taking leftovers out of the restaurant, we decided to head to Hot Springs Mountain for a look around.  It was a fairly clear early evening, so we drove up the mountain using the entrance off of Central Ave. near Bathhouse Row.

The mountain has a tower, which has been rebuilt three times.  It offers a wonderful view of the area.

Tower on top of Hot Springs Mountain

View of Bathhouse Row and hotels from tower

After playing in dirt looking for diamonds and walking in the heat around Bathhouse Row and being in a glass enclosed warm room at the top of the tower, we were ready for a real shower.  We headed back to the RV park to get cleaned up and ready for our travels the next day.