Hot Springs, Arkansas

November 15, 2013

We're at Hot Springs! We are going to a place called Garvan Woodlands. It was all decorated for Christmas. There were bonsai trees, koi ponds, and waterfalls. The paths were so confusing that we missed a lot. The decorations for Christmas were so cool. I wish we would've seen it all at night. There was a peacock too. It came really close. One thing my brother really liked was a kids’ place where you can run around, go behind a waterfall, and find passages.

                After a long exhausting walk, we came to this glass chapel. It had chimes right next to it. It was really cool because it was right in the middle of the woods and you could see the trees through it. Tyler asked something that I thought was funny. He said “Does it have bathrooms?”

~Jack

The days are starting to blur together, almost like we are on a European Tour of 10 countries in 10 days!

On Wednesday we departed Memphis and drove the 5 hours or so to our current location, Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Originally, I had wanted to go to Eureka Springs to see Thorncrown Chapel.  It is a glass chapel sitting in the middle of the woods.  It just sounded really interesting to me.  Looking a the map, it just looked too far out of the way for us.  We have to be flexible, right? So someone had suggested Hot Springs as a nice place to visit and here we landed.  We found a 10 Star RV resort, no kidding, it is like Millionaires Row of RV’s.  In each bus, I imagine some famous Country Singer!

Thursday morning was nice, cool & crisp.  I feel like I am getting a whole other fall season down here.  I know some friends that would be jealous…Keri…Kelli!  I was online poking around and found the Garvan Woodland Gardens were close by to us.  They are open year round and even allow pets for a nominal fee.  Scout even came right into the Visitor Center and get a very nice welcome from everyone there!  They are located on a 210 acre peninsula on Lake Hamilton. Here is a link to their site  http://www.garvangardens.org  Well, to my surprise, they too, had a similar glass chapel to the Thorncrown Chapel called the Anthony Chapel.  

"Nestled under a thick canopy of sky-reaching southern pines and age-old oak trees, the Anthony Chapel quietly beckons those in need of solitude and respite. Nearly six stories tall, the brilliantly designed structure compliments the surrounding wooded landscape and offers views of the changing seasons with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and multiple skylights that encourage sunbeams to dance across the impressive flagstone floors."

Above: Photo of outdoor chimes that rang every half hour

We had such a nice time walking around.  This place is truly a treasure.  The woodland area had all kinds of paths, bridges, waterfalls, a koi pond and neat nooks all over the place.  There were more employees than visitors as they were busy decorating with all kinds of lights and decorations for Christmas.  Our favorite part was the Kids Adventure area.  They had a waterfall that you could walk into and around without getting wet that led to a tight stone staircase that brought you up top to the water source.  Tyler did not want to leave.  It was one of those places that you wished was your backyard. 

After a quick trip to Wally World for a few essentials and to pick up my one-hour photos we settled back into our site.  Tyler and I  worked on my scrapbook with the photos I just had printed…I am determined to stay up to date.  I am using a really easy system called Project Life by Becky Higgins and you can find it here http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/  The kids have their own books too.  Here is a photo of Tyler working on his.

Homeschooling: Some of you are asking what we are doing in this area.  The kids are doing work online thru Kahn Academy under Scott’s supervision.  He is a great teacher, especially all things math related!  I am in charge of the Field Trips!  I found a nice educational video online put on by the park system about the Hot Springs and the baths here.  We watched that last night, but the kids are too young to enjoy the hot baths.

So today, it looks like we are on the move to Oklahoma City and to hook up with Rte 66.  If it was a nicer day here, I would prefer to stay but, we will take the rainy, gray day and get some miles behind us!

~Linda