15 February 2004

One of the opulent bath-house hotels of the 1910s and 20s is now the Hot Springs National Park visitor's center. A store sells gallon jugs across the street for about $1.49 apiece, so people can sample the 4,000-year-old water, which has picked up plenty of minerals (and radon to the tune of 42.9 picocuries per liter) as it heats up on its way from Blowout Moutain (a fwe miles west) back up to the springs. The park would be a nice day trip, but we only had an hour. We enjoyed a nice view from the 21-story tower, then took a tour of the visitor's center, learning about the "golden age of bathing," before heading back to the hotels in Little Rock.

DWL