Adventures in Hot Springs (Pt 2)

Saturday, October 22 was our last full day to explore Hot Springs National Park. We had several more hikes that we wanted to complete, so we started the day by cooking biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

The day prior to this, we had spent our time hiking in the Hot Springs Mountain region of the park. This day, we decided we wanted to spend our time in the West Mountain region. 

We started off by parking at the Cedarglades Road Parking Area and taking the Sunset Trail toward Balanced Rock.

The West Mountain region of the park had fewer people and felt more secluded, but I thought it was more beautiful. The portion of the Sunset Trail we hiked was no joke, but well worth the effort!

Brooke

Brecklyn, Brianna, Brooke, and Brenson

We were headed toward Balanced Rock . . . not far to go!

We made it! The rock formations were fascinating, and there was also a great overlook of the park. 

Brenson

Brianna, Brenson, Brecklyn, and Brooke

Chris at Balanced Rock

Chris and Bren

The girls at Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock

Peek-A-Boo! I see you!

The total hike to Balanced Rock and back was about 3 miles.

This sign was about a quarter mile from Balanced Rock back toward the trailhead . . . only 1.2 miles to go!

Brianna and Brooke

Daddy and Brecklyn

Momma and Brecklyn

After we made it back to our van from Balanced Rock, we decided to take the West Mountain Summit Drive to an overlook of Hot Springs.

Brenson always has his binoculars handy!

From there, we decided to do a bit more hiking on the West Mountain Trail.

More beautiful scenery!

Brecklyn and Brianna

Bren and Mom

We didn't really have a purpose or destination in taking the West Mountain Trail, so we eventually met up with the Oak Trail and hiked that for a while in effort to loop back towards our vehicle. 

Some of the leaves were crazy big!

While the foliage was lush and colorful and the scenery was interesting, one thing we didn't love about hiking in the park was that the trails were close to roads and it just didn't feel very secluded. At some points on the trails, we could hear traffic and even smell restaurants. That was a drawback for us!

Finally - after what seemed like a lot of hiking - we made it back to our van. We had eaten some snacks on the trails, but decided a treat was in order after all the hiking we'd done. 

We kind of assumed Hot Springs would be like many other tourist/mountain towns that we've visited and have a row of shops and ice cream parlors and such. If that exists in Hot Springs, we couldn't find it. What we did find were a lot of bars and a busy not-so-family-friendly night life. We drove around for a bit and finally decided to park and walk to what we thought was an ice cream shop. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but it got the job done.  

Once again, we had put dinner in the slow cooker before leaving the house that morning, and it was wonderful to have a hot meal waiting for us when we got back. We ate, played a few games, then got ready for bed. One thing about a day of hiking is that it makes bedtime so much sweeter! 

The next morning (Sunday), we got up and ate a quick breakfast. We worked hard to get all our stuff packed up and to get the house ready for us to check out. Then, we traveled across town to the 70 West Church of Christ for Bible study and worship.

Somehow, I didn't take any photos at all on Sunday until later that night when Brianna was baptized (you can read about that here). 

Once worship services were over, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch where we ran into people who had also been at the same worship service we had been to. Then, we headed for home. We were all tuckered out from our adventures and did a lot of sleeping in the van!

While Hot Springs certainly wasn't our favorite place we've ever been, we all came away with good memories from our trip. I don't know if we'll ever go back, and honestly there aren't many National Parks that we leave and say we'd be ok if we never returned. The hikes were nice, but we didn't care for the town. With all of that said, though, we are glad we made the trip and experienced it for ourselves!