A 5000-mile road trip through some of the
highest points of the Eastern United States, July 12-24, 1998
ARKANSAS For those of you that have never been to Arkansas, you are in for a treat (depending on where you go!). The State is very pretty, nice mountains, expansive forests, and tons of rockhounding sites.
(Hot Springs)
Our drive from sunset at Jackson, Miss. to Hot Springs was a long one. We pulled off at a hotel about 1 am. I tried sleeping in the Rodeo, but it was too hot and uncomfortable, so I found an outside bench to sleep on (wasn't much comfortable). About 3am we woke up and headed straight for Hot Springs. We got there about 5am, before the sun was up. The town was eerie at that earlier hour. Hot Springs has been a tourist attraction for well over a hundred years. There is awesome architecture and many historic bath houses.The City has hot spring fountains for the public to use and enjoy. Truth be told the spring water provided by the city has been chilled down below 100 degree (F) for obvious reasons. The actual spring temperature is around 140 degrees.
We decided to take a walkway up to the top of the mountain. On our way down we talked with folks who were using the healing powers of the springs to soothe arthritis and other ailments.
We hiked up the mountain there and watch the sun rise from a gazebo atop the mountain. With breakfast on our minds, we started the hike down. . The actual springs drain from the mountain in a small park, so Ryan and I spent a short time scalding ourselves in the hot water.
After a hearty breakfast at a Hot Springs diner, we were bound for Coleman's Quartz Crystal Mine. We were the first ones there that day. For the first hour of our visit to the rock shop at Coleman's I loaded up on a few pounds of rocks (fluorite, obsidian). Then we got the map and drove out to the mine site. They allow folks (for a $20 fee) to pick through their 'tailings' for the often water-clear quartz crystals that they mine. This consisted of pouring over broken rock and digging in clay looking for the crystals. Ryan stuck mostly to pulling crystals and clusters out of the mud, while I am more of a hammer and chisel collector, preferring to sweat and bleed for my crystals. Needless to say, Ryan did much better both in quality and quantity, but we both had a great time. There were some nice wavellite specimens for same there, so I bought some.
The next goal was Mt. Magazine, Arkansas' Highest Point. Along the way we stopped to stretch our legs and toss some rocks (see photo at left). Being on a flexible schedule, taking time out to throw some rocks, lets you know you are enjoying life. Maybe not by this simple act, but we made the best out of our trip by just doing what we wanted to do. No nagging, or time lines, just a rough plan of what we wanted to do and get there however we can. We made it to what we thought was the top of the mountain...we somehow got turned around or there isn't a sign posted at the top, even though it is Arkansas, the excuse was probably the first. Either way, the view was fascinating. A stop after Mt. Magazine was an impromptu turn off the country road to do some bird watching. We followed signs out to the swamp and drove until we started hearing the banjos (like in Deliverance), then we turned the truck around and headed back out. To our surprise, our trip out gave us an encounter with an actual road runner. That made our jont worthwhile, even if there were no Acme products to be found!
We camped that night on the banks of the Buffalo River. At the height of summer, the river was low, but not low enough to keep us from enjoying a good swim and rope swing.The high bluffs and gravel beds in the river made if quite picturesque.
The next morning we found a great diner with a breakfast bar. Found some good conversation with the locals before we set our sights on St. Louis, Missouri.
Mt. Magazine, Arkansas 2,753'
