Images of Hot Springs National Park – Arkansas, taken in July 2016.

In 1832 the United States Government, recognizing the importance of the spring water flowing from a mountain in Arkansas, declared several large parcels of land in the area a U.S. Reservation. It was the first time such a step was taken to protect a natural resource in the United States. Throughout history the hot springs in this area have been a source of comfort, whether for medicinal or recreational purposes. In 1921 Hot Springs National Park was created to protect Bathhouse Row as well as the springs themselves.

To call this park unique compared to the other 58 national parks would be an understatement. Today only Mesa Verde protects more man-made creations and archeological sites. Hot Springs is as much about the businesses developed around the springs as it is about the springs themselves. Early on the bathhouses touted the benefits of the water to include healing diseases of the skin and blood, nervous afflictions and “various diseases of women”.

Today there is a more modern spa emphasis by the two existing bathhouses and I decided that when in Hot Springs, do as the Hot Springers (sic) do! So I walked into the Buckstaff Bathhouse, the only bathhouse that has been in operation continuously since 1912, and signed up for your basic Mineral Bath. The facility is much the same as it has been for over a hundred years and the tubs and fixtures were exactly the same as I had photographed in the visitor center museum earlier in the week. First was the tub bath; now the spring water comes out of the ground at 143 degrees so it gets “cooled” to about 100 degrees by your attendant before you can dive in. After 20 minutes of sitting in the calming waters there is a sitz bath for the back, a trip to the vapor cabinet which is basically a sweat box; you get hot packs applied to the areas that ail you…in my case my knees, and then take a cooling needle shower before it’s all over. And of course you also drink the cooled mineral water which is the star of the whole process. Now I feel like I’ve buried the lead a little because the water is the story and the story is quite amazing as the water coming to the surface today, after seeping through rocks and then percolating back to the surface, is actually over 4,000 years old! And it’s clear, clean, and delicious and it’s free; makes that 18 year old bottle of scotch seem a bit overpriced…