We began the day with a drive to Mount Ida, AR, which is a little ways outside of Hot Springs. It was a rainy morning, so we weren't sure that we were going to be able to do what we'd planned, but by the time we got to Mount Ida, it was only a drizzle. We went ahead and braved the drizzle for some horseback riding. (Of course we didn't take pictures during the ride to keep the camera dry!) We all mounted up and then our guides took us on a trail for about an hour round trip. It was a beautiful ride and we all had a good time. This was the first time horseback riding for Anne, Rebecca and Erik. (Erik rode "Henry", Rebecca rode "Joey", Anne rode "Flash" and Steve rode "Lefty".)
From Mount Ida, we headed to Hot Springs itself and toured the Fordyce Bath House, which is run by the National Park Service. It gave us a really good sense of how the old bathhouses of the time worked. Below, Anne and Rebecca relax in one of the "Cooling Off" rooms.
There were even some springs in town that were exposed, like this one.
We didn't put our hands very far into the water though, because it comes out of the ground at 143 degrees. Even though it was in the low 80's when we took this picture, the water was far too hot to stay in it for more than a moment.
We had a picnic lunch on a hill overlooking Hot Springs and then headed out of town towards Vicksburg, MS, where we're spending the night. On the way here, we drove through some of the northeast corner of Louisiana, so everyone now has 46 states. We'll hit Georgia in a few days, which will get everyone up to 47 states, which is where we'll be at the end of the trip. That will only leave California, Alaska and Hawaii.
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