AIRSTREAM LIFE IN HOT SPRINGS, AR // A national park in the middle of a city?

I know it sounds crazy, but right now I am in a national park. It is one of the only ones in the U.S. that actually has part of a city inside of it. And it's also the smallest one. Hot Springs National Park. Last week we were in Springfield, Missouri where I ran my very first marathon. Since we knew I would be sore for a while, Hot Springs, Arkansas was the perfect destination for our next Airstream adventure. People have been visiting the Hot Springs for centuries to soothe their aches and pains. The natural thermal waters flow from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain and Native Americans believed they had healing powers. Today you can access the springs from eight bath houses, which are basically spas. They were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But the craziest part? They're actually located in Hot Springs National Park. We've visited a lot of national parks and let me tell you it is so weird to see these signs in the middle of a city. Obviously incorporating a spa day into our exploration of the national park was our number one priority. But before our appointments it's time to grab a bite to eat. Before we head to the spa we've stopped at a local taqueria called Diablo's. We are enjoying some lunch but I am also trying cactus tacos for the first time ever. Not something I would have expected out of Arkansas but she said that they're awesome so I'm excited to try them. So far the tacos are delicious. I had one regular veggie and these two are the cactus ones so first time tasting cactus ever. It's like sweet. It's really good. I like it. For lunch it was time to head to Quapaw Spa and Baths for an authentic experience of the Arkansas Hot Springs. We're going to check out the bath houses which Arkansas, Hot Springs, Arkansas is known for for the first time since the pandemic started. We're finally getting a massage and it is long overdue. This is something we used to do sort of routinely. I'm not saying like every day or been assigned to our private bath. So the water is a little over 100 degrees and it feels great. Especially the jets and the hot tub air. It feels great. So far so good. A very relaxing massage and a quick dip in the thermal pools. It was time to continue our adventure exploring Hot Springs National Park. Here are a few fun facts. Hot Springs, Arkansas covers an area of around 5,500 acres. It's estimated that over a million and a half visitors visit this area every single year. Hot Springs was designated as a national park on March 4, 1921. How cool is that? Oh wow that's really hot. I don't know if you can tell but there's steam coming off this water. It's like a public fountain here but I mean the water is coming out of it. It's scalding hot which is kind of shocking when you first touch it. It is shocking how hot that is. Let's see if Daniel is just a baby or if this is legit. I mean yeah that's hot. I mean he's a little bit of a baby but dang that's pretty amazing when it comes straight up out of the ground like that. Why don't you just dip your hand in that big section over there. Just go all in on it. No I'm not. No? No I'm making it hard. No right there. Right there. Yeah just go for it. All in. Dip your hand in there. Oh yeah. Keep going. Yeah I mean it definitely works. It's pretty cool. One of the things that we have been seeing a lot of people do is coming over here and filling up jugs of water. So this tap is actually directly from our springs which are protected but they've got it here free for the public which is really neat. We are unfortunately on this trip not going to be able to embark on any of the trails but we found some information here at the visitor center and they have a list of trails and there are quite a few ranging from 0.06 miles which I mean technically is that even a trail or is that I'm dead. Up to like two and a half-ish to three-ish miles. They're listed as easy to moderate to moderate to strenuous. If you're around here and you want to do some hikes there are plenty of them. All right I have no idea what this is. It's called Tunnel Spring but the inner Indiana Jones in me wants to like break in here and like crawl through How did we miss this? They just happened to be closed today on our last day. Truthfully I just cannot get over we're in a national park in the middle of the city. It's cold. Super hot and super cold. It's brisk. After walking around the urban parts of Hot Springs National Park all day we decided we were thirsty. Time for a quick pit stop. Arkansas bucket list. Having a drink at the oldest bar in the state. Cheers. After saying goodbye to Al Capone we headed back to the Airstream. I've got to tell you Hot Springs National Park was totally different from any experience we've ever had in a national park but we had so much fun from a relaxing spa treat to delicious local cuisine and hiking trails. Hot Springs National Park is a really unique experience and definitely a place we will be happy to come back to someday but for now we have to get some rest because tomorrow we have to start packing. Yep that's right we're moving out of the Airstream but it's not what you think. Make sure to subscribe to our channel and click the little bell so you don't miss finding out what's going on in our next video. Until then make sure you take the time to wander local in your own community this week. It's good for the soul.