Eureka Springs, Arkansas

This was supposed to just be a one day side trip on the way to Oklahoma; however, this has turned out to be so much more. This area is a hidden treasure. Eureka Springs was built in approx. 1836 - folks thought the water from the springs had medicinal value. There are lots of interesting stories about the history of this part of Arkansas...beautiful old buildings...quaint Swiss architecture with homes and stores built into the mountains.

Today, we walked through the park (a little exercise)...then took a trolley through the city and had lunch at the Crescent Hotel (a beautiful old hotel that used to be a "con" Cancer Cure Hospital run by a man who called himself Dr. Baker (he was no doctor and no relation to my Baker family). We then stopped to shop for a couple of hours in the quaint little shops and art studios of Eureka Springs' Historic District.

Later, we drove up to the Passion Play area to view the area museums, including a huge Bible collection that includes the oldest known complete bible / some of the bibles date back to 1530, an art studio, and the breathtaking up close view of the Christ of the Ozarks statue.

After dinner, we drove back to the Crescent Hotel for a ghost tour. Neither of us had been on a "ghost tour," and with the interesting history and age of the hotel, it sounded fun. It wasn't. The only thing about Eureka Springs we would not recommend. Tomorrow morning, we will worshop in a glass church (and hopefully bring you photos), go to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Reserve (with over 100 big cats - Pam and Linda, you would love this place!)...then head back to Harrison in hopes of staying over to have the RV generator fixed before we move on to Oklahoma.
Nite~ C~ and K~