Arkansas you are far more beautiful than I realized!! 
After some deep thoughts this morning and breakfast I headed to the country’s smallest national park, Hot Springs national Park, which I also believe is the oldest national Park, but don’t quote me on that! It’s freakin adorable and stuck right in the middle of the city! So it’s a thermal hot springs where the water is 143 degrees! This is the only hot springs for people to visit but you can’t go in.
So my shortened version of it: local Native American tribes found these hot springs and realized how healing they are for folks due to the minerals but then the white man kicked them out and took over, digging up pools, to soak in. They were segregated by sex and you could only use the springs in good weather. So then they built bath houses out of wood, which would rot out and then burned down. This happened several times, and left lots of people homeless by the time they stopped the blaze, then people smartened up and made them out of brick. Then they were segregated by race. Then many of them shut down, but two remain open! Here’s some actual history: https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/historyculture/index.htm
So I attacked this backwards because of where I parked but I went up the Hot Spring Mountain to the top and then went up the 216ft observation tower! Yes, it had an elevator. And wow!! The 360 degree observation tower was certainly worth the $8, in my opinion! I’m pretty sure I blurted out “holy shit.”
Just incredible! I’m sorry Arkansas when I said you were a weird state yesterday!! These pictures don’t do it justice. 
Then I learned a bunch of history from the observation tower, about how the town was the Wild West back in the day, before it became a gangster town, while the bath houses became popular. 
So then I checked out the visitor center, which is actually the old Fordyce Bath House and a museum and learned more about them!
The first is an old scene and what the attendant wore. So the second picture is a steam box where you sit inside and your head sticks out the top! They would also have massages, court yards and OT/athletic machines, which were all the rage in 1912. (So I read).
So I was set on trying out of one the operating bathhouses and I lucked out!! It was an amazing $40 spent! I got to sit in an old big bathtub with super hot mineral and then got a hot towel treatment, then sat in a Sitz bath (look it up – it’s literally just a small tub for your ass and low back!) and then I sat in the weird steam box! Damn did I sweat it out! It was incredible and relaxing!!
Adventure is Out There! 