After spending time in St Louis, we hit the road again for an unexpected long drive to Arkansas. Since we were driving along the Oklahoma border, we decided it was worth it to add to our driving time and visit a new state (for me). We entered into a small town and eventually ended up in Cherokee Nation.
I can’t say that we did much exploring. It was a small town and we needed to keep driving if we were going to make it into Arkansas at a reasonable hour. After being in the car for several hours and rain starting, we became anxious to reach our destination. Finally, we made it to Hot Springs National Park just in time for dinner. We drove through the national park and ended up in the small historic area. I quickly started reading reviews for restaurants and found an Ecuadorian place that many people seemed to rave about. The rain finally subsided and it ended up being a lovely, cool night. The food was delicious and there was even a live band playing. Very cool and unexpected given that the town is really small. We finished our meal and rested up for the next morning. Because I was excited to start the morning and see more of Hot Springs, Arkansas and since we lost some time the day before driving, we woke up before dawn and began our day. We decided to multi-task and put on our running shoes to see the area while squeezing in some exercise. I’m glad I brought my phone so I could take some pictures.
There were old bath houses located all along the park where people would come to experience the springs. Maybe used the springs as therapeutic methods for physical ailments. The hot springs were really neat and it felt good to relax after a run feeling the steaming hot water. After checking out the springs, we found a little place to get breakfast before making our way back home. I feel like we accomplished a lot given our limited time and I was to visit new places in the country. While it went by really quick, I think this ended up being a fun getaway trip exploring new things! That is really the beauty of a road trip, being able to just drive anywhere you want at your own pace and discovering new places! At times it was tiring and it involved a lot of driving, but I hope we get to do another trip soon!