We had one full day in Hot Springs.. weather has turned south on us, getting cold and stormy.

We did drive through Hot Springs National Park, but didn’t get out and hike for fear of getting hit with a downpour.

Josie taking some photos of the view atop the mountain in the national park.

Hot Springs is eponymously famous – it’s heyday was from 1870-1930s.. people would come from all over the world to take in the springs and attend one of the numerous bath houses along the main street.  Only one bathhouse still accepts visitors; the others have been shut down or taken over as museums.

There are still several spots in the city where the springs bubble up from far below.  The water that comes up now is from rainfall approximately 4000 years ago.  As the water percolates down through the earth, it is heated up by several radioactive isotopes in the ground.

Gymnasium at one of the bathhouses.  Hot Springs is also the birthplace of baseball spring training.  Starting in 1886, as many as 9 professional teams did their training here.  However, too much drinking, gambling and whoring (all of which were legal here at the time) forced the owners to find alternative locations – not enough exercising and training was taking place.  Every big name from the 1890s through the 1930s played exhibition games in town.  The photo above is an exercise room that was used by several teams.

Front view of one of the bathhouses that is still accessible.