It’s so nice being out of freezing temperatures finally. We can sleep comfortably in the van without a bunch of layers and blankets. We got cleaned up, had breakfast and drove to Hot Springs, AR for a little detour on our way to Memphis.
Hot Springs, AR was Bill Clinton’s boyhood home. This is a historic town famous for Bathhouse Row that took advantage of natural hot springs. Its believed that Natives probably bathed in hot springs in the 1700-1800s. In the 1830s, the first makeshift wood and canvas shelters were built straddling individual springs. The wooden structures eventually collapsed, rotted or burned and were later replaced by private bathhouses made of brick, stone and iron. During the Golden Age of Bathing, 1911-1939, bathhouses flourished in this area, ranging from simple to luxurious. The word was out and people were coming here for all kinds of reasons—therapeutic, relaxation, pampering, socializing.
How are these hot springs formed? It’s not a volcanic region like the other hot springs we’ve visited. It’s heated by a totally different and interesting process. 4000 years ago, a lot of rain fell, about 1 foot/year, into the ground. As that rainwater percolates downward, increasingly warmer rock heats it up. The water reaches depth of apprx 8000 ft to meet large geologic faults and joints-where it will be forced upward. Due to the rapid return upward, little heat is lost when it surfaces at Hot Springs Mountain in this little town of Hot Springs, AR. Interesting. Modern Day, the hot spring runs below the road under Central Ave and then the Bathhouses pipe in water.
During the Golden Age of Bathing, over a million visitors came through to bathe in these waters. People believed these waters could cure just about anything-from aches and apins to syphilis to jaundice. Doctors were prescribing baths for remedies and treatments. There was a trail built in the hillside behind bathhouse row called Dead Chief Trail. Under physician’s orders , patient’s would walk these trails to build strength and endurance in addition to hot springs treatments…what a concept—a historical form of Physical Therapy!!
The Fordyce Bathhouse was quite exquisite and we took a self-guided tour through the 3 story building. It was huge. Separate bathing areas for men and women. Steam Cabinets which are metal boxes you climb into and your head sticks out the top. Your body is heated up by steam 115-140 degrees to induce sweating and increasing your body temperature and heart rate. They believed steam cabinets could treat rheumatism, obesity and a bunch of other things. A typical treatment at a bathhouse would include a 20 min soak, followed by resting with hot packs on a table where attendents would change your towels as they cooled. That sounds AWESOME! Leavenworth needs a Bathhouse like that.
The water is safe to drink. Congress first protected the hot springs in 1832 and they intended the water to be used. “Quaff the exilir” they used to say in the heyday of the spa. The water is about 143 degrees F and is tested and monitored for drinking safety. People travel from all over to fill up their water jugs to take home. We just wished they were using glass, metal or BPA free plastic jugs, instead of re-using plastic juice or water jugs where the plastic can leach into the hot water. We did fill up our metal water bottles and drank the benefits of natural hot springs. It tasted fine, once it cooled down a bit.
We made another stop at Oaklawn-a horse track. Sonia’s never been, so we had to stop. It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday and the place is filling up with gobs of people from all over. Fri-Sun they have horse races. Jason taught Sonia the basics of Horse Race betting. We looked at the horses, checked out the stats, placed our bets and watched-hoping to win something. We spent $30, bet on 2 races and actually won $128 then we left while we were ahead. Sweet—now we can spend it on food and beer tonight in Memphis.
We pulled in at dark to T.O Fuller Campground, paid for a site and went to Beale St—the famous strip for nightlife. We walked up and down the street, listening to the music coming from several bars until we heard something we liked then went in. We listened to some blues tunes by Dr. Feelgood Potts Band at Delta Blues for a set. Then went to a dueling Piano Bar and were entertained by these 2 funny, talented and crowd pleasing guys. We ate some really good fried catfish there. The last place we went, we ate more catfish, shrimp and Jason had the Memphis ribs from the famous City Café. Another great band was playing. We went home after that. We met a few people that night who were all very nice and friendly—telling us about places to see, eat and things to do on our travels. We headed back to camp about 10 miles away from downtown in the quiet and peaceful forest of T.O Fuller State Park. Another nice night with temps in the 40s. We’re diggin this weather.
In the morning, we took a short trail ride around T.O Fuller State Park. The bike trail is in need of overdue trail maintenance. We had to lift our bikes over several downed trees, when we weren’t peeling out on all the fallen leaves. It was good to breathe some fresh air—too bad it smelled like the nearby sewer treatment plant. YUCK! The wind did eventually change directions and the smell wafted the other direction—wooowee, it was a pungent odor!
Memphis is a very poor city where you see mansions lining one street and the neighborhood behind is the ghetto. Graceland, Home of Elvis Presley, is in a similar neighborhood. It’s safe during the day but wouldn’t want to be wandering the streets at dark. Graceland Mansion was named by the original owners and when Elvis Presley bought it (around 1956), he liked the name so much he kept it. It’s a 13.6 acre lot on Elvis Presley Blvd. The tour of the mansion was spendy, $31/person plus $10 to park. If any of you go there, park elsewhere to avoid the $10 rip off parking fee. They shuttle people back and forth across the street, give you an audio tour headset and tell you not to touch anything or take flash photography. They are raking in the money there! The Mansion itself is still decorated with mostly original furniture and décor. It’s very kitchy. Green shag carpet lined the stairway and the ceiling in the jungle room. A 15 foot long white sofa was in the front room. He did have some cool stained glass pieces in the house. The pool room was covered completely in folded fabric imported from somewhere expensive. Elvis must not have been very tall because the ceilings all were so low. Maybe that was before they started putting all those hormones in milk and people didn’t grow so big and tall. Anyway, Elvis loved Graceland and enjoyed his time there with his wife, Priscilla, and his daughter, Lisa Marie. People were coming and going at all hours of the day and night at Graceland. It was a crazy, busy place once upon a time.
Elvis’s career began as an 18 year old young man who just got out of the army. He always loved music. As a young child, he sang at church and performed for local events. He quickly gained popularity and fame. He was soon performing 3-5 shows a day and touring in front of large sell-out audiences. Girls and women were ga-ga over his hip thursting dance moves creating some controversy and waves with public media. At one point, he was aired on TV from the waist up only. He was a clean cut, generous and well-respected person as well as a musician therefore, he was cut some slack. He went on to produce some major chart topping songs and sold more than 1 billion records during his career—more than any other musician to this day!! Elvis was a generous man who would donate to a number of charities, friends, or families in need. There was a wall in one of the rooms that had a bunch of checks written by Elvis Presley for $1000 each to various organizations. He was also known to give friends cars. It seems like Elvis wasn’t a greedy man and had good karma. He lived a hard and fast life. He also got involved in acting and making movies during his career in the spotlight…like he wasn’t busy enough.
He owned many fancy cars and has a car museum showing off some of his toys. He had expensive Rolls Royces, motorcycles, go-carts, super trikes, golf carts and his mom’s favorite-the Pink Cadillac. He even had an old snowmobile that was converted into a go-cart thingy. He liked his toys.
He died at the young age of 42 from heart failure—probably a combination of physical exhaustion, a long time addiction to prescription pill and a diet rich in Soul Food. He was buried at Graceland alongside his Mother, Father and Grandmother.
Graceland was pretty interesting. Elvis was a talented musician who’s short career broke many records and influenced the entire music industry. Thanks Elvis. May you Rest in Peace and catch up on all the rest you didn’t get before.
We drove out of Memphis and free-camped at a TN visitor center to have a down night to catch up on bills, blog stuff and to just chill.
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