Mountain Harbor Resort Mt Ida, AR (part one)

 November 17, 2020

Today we drove to Mountain Harbor Resort.  We will be here for a bit, 

13 days in all while we explore Ouachita National Forest, 

Hot Springs National Park, and the area.

We are at one of 3 forest view RV spots.

There are another 3 spots down at the Marina.

This resort has 900 acres with a lodge and numerous cabins.

Lake Ouachita is large.

The Marina has lots of boats

and today they all seem to be in the marina.

November 18, 2020

Today I started off with a walk around the marina.

Here is one of the rentable houseboats.

That's a full size pontoon boat dwarfed next to her.

This houseboat is  84 x 16 with a fly bridge and 20' canopy

Sleeps 17, 6 queen bedrooms, 3 sleeper sofas and 2 full baths

Hot tub, slide, wet bar on upper deck, washer/dryer

In summer peak season a week will set you back $6,895.00

A deal at twice the price, no?

You could wander around on Lake Ouachita here in Arkansas.

Right now is definitely the off season

Jim & I feel like it is just the staff and us right now.

Later this morning Jim and I went off together to explore some of the other 

areas of the resort's 900 acre property.

We are RV3 spot in the Mountain Harbor Area.

We drove over to Harbor East and explored sunset beach.

A lot more rocks than sand on this beach.

It made me wonder how many of these rocks would Claire fill her pockets with?

Would Evan find the colors of these rocks photo worthy?  I did.

The water here was clear and so was the view.

Ah, the simple pleasure of skipping rocks.

(The video is better than the audio that's for sure.)

Harbor East has some permanent homes in the area

which ranged from mobile homes to very very nice.

We then continued on to Harbor North and explored 

the Joplin COE campground which was currently closed.

We parked the truck and walked through the campground.

It turned into a great trail to hike with wonderful views of the lake.

Yes, this is one of the better campsites

if you pass on the houseboat rental this site goes for $24

and comes with water and electric hook up.

The views from all the sites were great

however some of the sites were far from level

even for a tent.

Yes, the grill also comes with a site.

Here is the campground map.

Sites 46-63 were all on a hill which made us wonder where you would pitch a tent.

Every site had water views, which is why this non trail trail was great 

for me with constant views of the water.

Enough exploring for the day,

time to sit back and read a little down at the lake.

 Saturn, Jupiter and a Crescent moon are clearly visible tonight.

November 19,2020 

Time for another national park

Hot Springs National Park

If it's good enough for drunk baseball players, it's good enough for us.

Jim and I were treated to a whirlpool mineral bath, hot pack,

sitz bath, vapor cabinet, needle shower and swedish style massage.

Here we are before our spa treatment.

Aah, totally chill after

just sitting on the front porch afterwards.

"Hot Springs National Park has a rich cultural past. The grand architecture of our historic bathhouses is equally matched by the natural curiosities that have been drawing people here for hundreds of years. Ancient thermal springs, mountain views, incredible geology, forested hikes, and abundant creeks – all in the middle of town – make Hot Springs National Park a unique and beautiful destination."

The Buckstaff, originally opened in 1912, the only facility 

on the Row that has never fully closed since it first started offering baths. 

Former bathhouse, built in 1922, known for its Spanish colonial facade & resident artist program.

The Quapaw Bathhouse offers modern day spa services with amenities

 like thermal pools, private baths, and a steam cave. 

The Fordyce now the Visitor Center

currently closed due to CoVid.

The Maurice, with a total floor space of 23,000 square feet, the three-story bathhouse had ample room for a complete range of services and amenities, including a gymnasium, staterooms, a roof garden, twin elevators, and in the 1930s a therapeutic pool, situated in the basement. It was the only bathhouse on the Row to have a pool. It's currently vacant.

Hale Bathhouse is the oldest visible structure on Bathhouse Row. 

Most of the present structure was completed in 1892.

It currently is a luxury hotel.

The smallest bathhouse on the Row, the Superior also had the lowest rates; 

it offered only the basic hydrotherapy, mercury, and massage services.

Today it is a brewery where we had lunch.

Jim had a Chaudfontaine Trente Trois (Trippel) 9.5%

I had a root beer, both were very good.

Okay so now we are all massaged and fed, lets hike.

Come join us on the Grand Promenade, it's a beautiful day for a stroll.

Here is a display spring.  The water comes out from the grotto like

area in the back right and fills the pools down below.

You can put your finger in it but realize its 143 degrees.

Now why do we have a display spring.

Because when the springs were open, fine fellows like these

stuck their stinky feet in it.  This did not go over well with the 

bath house owners who complained about the purity of the water.

Which resulted in covering and locking all of the springs.

"Each spring in the collection system has been sealed and covered 

with a green box about four feet square with a metal cover, chain, and padlock."

"The hot springs are located on about 2.8 acres along Bathhouse Row and the Grand Promenade, at the base of Hot Springs Mountain. The bulk of the approximately 700,000 gallons of thermal water flowing each day from Hot Springs Mountain is collected from 27 of the 47 presently active springs."

A snapshot of an informative sign in case you too

 were wondering what it looks like inside the box.

Further down the promenade is a Hot Spring Cascade

here on the north side you see a cascade and small pool

It flows under the path and falls down the hill

into a man-made pool below.

See the steam rising from the water?

Here's a video so you can hear it too.

So how long does it take to heat the water?

Would you believe 4,400 years?

So the rain goes deep into the earth gets heated

 and comes up 4,400 years later.  Amazing.

At the end of the Grand Promenade is the 

Arlington Lawn decorated with some Christmas tree lights

and the Arlington Hotel.

Time to climb to the top of Hot Springs Mountain.

Sure we could have driven to the top on this twisty road

but we need to work off lunch.

Hot Springs Mountain Tower

And an overlook pagoda.

I have no idea why it is a pagoda.

Us at the overlook above Hot Springs, AR

The unobstructed view (without us blocking you)

At the end of the day we had hike 3.28 miles.

The time includes lunch and massages, my app

apparently pauses measuring not time.

November 20, 2020 

I started off the day with a morning walk around the resort marina area.

Jim wasn't with me so I went up and down each dock

(He would obey the signs that say slip owners only)

It was a cloudy morning with a little mist in the air.

Here are some of the boat names that caught my attention

grandma obviously likes to get out on the lake

this boat owner likes to get around

So many options as to what this name implies about the owner

I can relate to this boat owner

A definite Dr Seuss fan

And my personal favorite

Arkansas loves their hogs.

My path looks a little like a crab

Jim used today to install a new convertor

The new convertor will work better with the lithium battery.

Then we played a little tennis here at the resort.

This is the first court I have had a mountain view,

forest view and lake view.

It was a lot of fun to play here.

Here is a video for you to see the entire view from the court.

November 21, 2020

KAYAK DAY!

Yes, on the 21st of November it's nice enough to kayak here.

2.5 miles out on Lake Ouachita

the lake was calm it was warm but cloudy

It was a great time to be on the water.

Earlier I got my walk in

under clearer skies.

Again as we watched some afternoon football

the sun did its best to break thru some more.

Which we will accept as

the kayak and life jackets are drying out

here at the campsite

before we pack them all up.

Time to try something new,

well new to me.

Horseshoes!

Jim had played before

He even managed to get a ringer.

He also handily won the game.

No surprise, as the horseshoe on the edge of the pit is 

as close to a ringer as I got, not quite on the post.

And then while we played a horse and carriage went by.

Quite unexpected, very handsome horses.

Another great day.

November 22, 2020

It's a rainy day here in Arkansas.

I will be working on a RV Life post that my 

friend Martha asked me to do.

If there is anything you would like me to blog about, just let me know.

We are here at Mountain Harbor for another week

and as this is getting long I will post it today 

as part one.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving