Hot Springs, AK
Here we are, perched at the top of a mountain, enjoying the 82-and-breezy weather. Earlier today we went into Hot Springs National Park, having visited the Baths yesterday. The park is unusual in that it surrounds the town’s main street, which is not parkland. Everything else is. But it’s the street of bathhouses through the center of town that is really unique. Some pictures follow.
The hot springs are really hot and throw a lovely mist over every fountain and stream. I read that the water has to be cooled so people don’t get scalded. It’s 145 degrees when it comes through the pipes. There is a central fountain equipped with faucets where you can fill your bottles and containers with the water, which is reportedly very pure and good tasting. I’ll let you know on that one. Our jugs are still way too hot to drink.
The town was famous from the 1800’s on, and especially in the early 1900’s, before modern medicine, when “taking the waters” was thought to cure just about everything. Some of the old time pictures of wealthy people relaxing in their individual tubs and being attended to by African Americans, who of course were not allowed in the waters, gives one pause for thought.
The big news about Hot Springs, however, is that it is the boyhood home of President Bill Clinton (“Billy”) and it would appear that the town is dedicated to him. I was so, so tempted to point out that he is MY neighbor now, not theirs. But in the interests of North-South harmony, I held my tongue.
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