76 Churches in 131 Miles of Arkansas Backroads

...but only 2 Pawn n' Guns...

We got up early this morning and tried to make haste; I'm usually with it but this morning I believe I was the dawdler...

Marge started her day with the report of a slip and fall in the women's bathroom and showers - it was quite the uproar, and so she beat it out of there because there were already family and friends on the way and it just promised to get weirder.

So, given that our destination of Hot Springs, AR was not that far off, but would entail some mountain passing and a bit of backroad driving, we decided to take advantage of the clear sky and get on the road..

Backroads of Arkansas are depressing; I mean poverty and squalor and "Brother's Keeper" landscapes, the whole deal. Then, no matter what happens at what fork in the road, they've converted something into a church... I'm always amazed at how the congregations differentiate themselves, but this one has to take the cake for honesty: PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH. Saw about 4 or 5 of these...

Here's something to ponder - have you ever had your credit card not be read at a gas station pump?? It always works there for me but then at stores or the KOA, they always have to type it in... Now, if they make readers for the petro-industry that can insure everyone has a chance to give up dollars, why can't everyone get on board and make commerce easier?

As to fuel:
214 miles
32.383 gallons
$72.51
2.239/gallon
6.61 mpg - that sucks...

As we drove through the town of Greenwood, a little bit of a place, but a junction of two AR roads; they had a pretty large Coal Miner's Memorial right in the rotary in the center of the junction - that and about a million Tyson's chicken houses spoke to the local economy.

We drove over a little mountain pass and stopped to take a look at Nimrod Lake - someone had picked some wild grapes, these would be those.

Got into Hot Springs KOA - The KOA of the Year for 2005!!! They are wicked friendly and have a great set up. They will shuttle you into downtown Hot Springs, and then come pick you up and return you to the Kampground when you call them... so we did.

Trip to town took about 15 minutes and the downtown is right on the old Bathhouse Row. Because the National Park is now in charge, all except one of the historic bathhouses were closed, and the one that was open was just a little too skanky for me. I'm a bitch about that kind of shit, but it stunk and it was a people mill.

So, we looked for other opportunities a little higher up the scale, and found none. There is a lovely little park at the actual Hot Spring; we went there and gave our feet therapy. The water is pretty hot, we could only dip our feet in quickly and then out right away... but it did feel pretty good.

Along the street are other weird Springs and historic pieces of the Bathhouse era - the first one, not the Village People one - and the National Park Visitor Center.

It's in an old bathhouse and it's preserved and presented nicely over the original 3 floors. There is some wierd shit in there, and the word syphillis appeared way too many times for my liking (I know the chemistry is probably wrong, but I'm imagining a virulent strain loving the 130 degree water and thriving there since the 30s...)






I also noted the water had a high natural flouride content, and you know that only means one thing. Pretty cool to check out the history, not convinced about the therapies of old...

Marge was really excited when we finally found Historic Maurice's Spring (it's the water fountain, I think...)

I'd say the bonus of the day was this little place, Rolando's, which turned out to be Ecuadoran cuisine. It was very nicely prepared, great ingredients and excellent presentation and taste. We were really surprised, definitely our best unplanned meal of the trip. I'm surprised these are the first food photos now that I think of it.

Big shout out to Red Elk; no you cannot have some of my hide; we have hide and hair both; I'm not sure of method but have heard brain is preferred...

Teams of the day would definitely be the match-up between the
MAGAZINE RATTLERS
and the
YELL WOLVERINES. The towns were about 7 miles apart, so I bet they do play.

Marge's favorite T-shirt sighting of the day:
MUSIC IS THE MEDICINE
since we're on it, saw this one at the GC
THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO LOVE - LOVE IS THE RIGHT WAY

Roadkill:
Armadillo - more than 9
Workboot - possible Red Wing
Turtles
Possums
Splat - unidentified
Racoons

Live:
Deadbeat Boyfriend - pending again
Lil' herd of Wild Turkeys
Cattle Egrets with Cattle
Goats

Vanity Plates: singular
KENPO

Thought of the day:
Most visible bird in North American Tour - Turkey Vulture, aka Buzzard. "Are we a Carrion Nation?" asked Marge. Does that imply we need more temperance?

Track of the day:
Loser - Soy un Perdido by Beck
Can't You See by Marshall Tucker Band (but it died in the mountains...)

Mini-Golf Score: 18 hole luxury course at the 2005 KOA of the Year!
Marge 46 (8 under par with 2 holes in&out in one)
Harve 50 (4 under par with a hole in one!!!) and fire ant bites all over my right foot!

Harve