Hot Springs, AR

#139 (December 17, 2022): We traveled 5.5 hours east to Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is our last stop before arriving home to Nashville in 3 days. The scenery on our drive started to look more “normal” to us today, like what we are used to seeing having lived in the southeast all or most of our lives. It is evident that we are no longer “out West,” and we miss it already. We crossed over the winding Arkansas River twice (what?!) before parking at Catherine’s Landing. (Google Maps is especially appreciated in these types of curious moments).

#140 (December 18, 2022): We went to Hot Springs National Park today. The kids were less than impressed. Bless! We walked through the visitor center, which is a historic bath house, imagining what it may have been like to be a wealthy guest here back in the day seeking healing or simply relaxation. We tasted the hot spring water, walked Bathhouse Row, and drove up to the mountain lookout, but we opted not to go up into the tower. Not surprisingly, the kids were not interested in taking a bath in the 143-degree hot spring water at one of the still operating bath houses. And since Emily and Chris came to the bathhouses many years ago when her grandmother lived in Hot Springs Village, they decided to skip the baths as well. We ate delicious, inexpensive homemade burgers and fries for lunch at Bubbalu’s. That afternoon, Emily and the kids found another soccer field to practice and play soccer.

#141 (December 19, 2022): Since Arkansas is the only state where you can find diamonds, last night when asked if they wanted to go dig for diamonds, all the kids eagerly exclaimed, “Yes!” Joanna, our rock collector and treasure hunter, was so excited she could hardly sleep. Bless! So today after guitar lessons, Emily and the kids drove a little over an hour west to the world’s 8th largest diamond reserve, Crater of Diamonds State Park, in Murfreesboro, AR, to see if they could be one of the lucky guests to find a diamond (in a 37.5-acre field of plowed dirt) and keep it! Surprisingly, diamonds are found almost daily, although most of them are teensy-tinsy small.

Unfortunately, a cold front last night dropped the temperature today to the mid-40’s, it’s cloudy, and the air is damp, so it feels cold! And because it rained last night, the ground is muddy. Needless to say, these are not ideal conditions for digging in the dirt and sifting and sloshing it through troughs of cold water, where you are pretty much guaranteed to get wet. Nonetheless, we tried. After a couple hours and only a couple small pebbles to take home, we decided we had had enough. Unfortunately, our digs were not successful, but the process was educational and a unique experience. For the kids, it was a tangible let down to say the least. I think if the weather had been more ideal and we could have simply observed an experienced diamond hunter in action, the entire experience would have been more positive for the kids. On our way home, we lifted our spirits by playing some soccer at the same soccer fields we found yesterday. Bless!