Hot Springs National Park
Road trip from Houston to Hot Springs National Park
Day 2
Next morning after breakfast we drove out to see poverty point a UNESCO world heritage site. It was built in 1650 B.C. by the American Indians – a massive earthwork complex of mounds & ridges. You can drive to each of the exhibits or walk the trail.
After visiting the site we went on our way to the Hot springs national park. En route we decded to stop at Little Rock. After all, this is the home of Bill Clifton, one of the US presidents. In addition, there were a few sights that we wanted to touch upon.
Our very first stop was to see the Arkansas State Capitol followed by the Presidential library of Bill Clinton the 42nd President of the United States. Due to Covid the library was closed but the building is worth a visit. Last but least on our list was Little Rock Central High School – the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier.
Finally we settled for an early dinner at Kemuri - shout out to this lovely restaurant for the great food. After dinner we drove to Hot springs which was about an hour away from Little Rock. We checked into our hotel The Waters. This hotel had a polished modern vibe located near bathhouse row in downtown. The room had exposed bricks and Keurig coffeemakers.
Our Hotel in HSNP
Day 3
The hotel wasn’t offering breakfast due to the Covid situation so we just decided to walk to some of the recommended spots for breakfast. The pancake shop had long lines so we decided to skip it. Another recommendation was colonial pancake & waffle house. My favorite however was the Kollective – excellent coffee & good vegan choices. It turned out to be a rainy day so our plans to go hiking on the trails went up in smoke. However we decided to drive upto the Garvan woodland gardens. This is the University of Arkansas botanical garden and what a gem. The garden has a beautiful chapel – ideal for fairytale weddings. The gardens are an absolutel visual delight replete with a tree house. Since it was so close to downtown we came back to town to grab lunch at Grateful head pizza oven and beer garden . After lunch we walked over to see the only open bathhouse – Quapaw bathhouse. You could walk in if you wanted to use the bathouse. Do not forget to bring a swimsuit & flip flops. We chose to sit this experience out and instead wanted to drive to see some of the fall colors. We drove on the north loop, and wrapped up our visit at the hot springs mountain tower to get sweeping views of the park. We had dinner at The Pho House - Viet Kitchen and Cafe. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we randomly picked a place and the food was decent
