Revisting Eureka Springs, Arkansas!


Dear Henry, 

Recently, I went back to Northwest Arkansas to visit my oldest son, and we took a day trip to one of my favorite places in the Ozarks, Eureka Springs. Let me tell you all about it.

Eureka Springs is a small town of about 2,100 located deep in the Ozarks, near the Arkansas/Missouri border. The area contains many natural springs which are believed to have healing properties, and the area was always considered a place of rest. The Osage people used the springs regularly, and in 1856, Dr. Alvah Jackson built a hospital near Basin Springs, which was used during the Civil War. 

By 1879, the area expanded to a resort, and in 1882, after a rail was laid, Eureka Springs became the perfect summer spa destination. Eureka Springs' most famous hotel, The Crescent Hotel, was built in 1886 and still operates an on-site spa, as does the Basin Park Hotel, another historic hotel. 



In addition to the spas, the Opera of the Ozarks, established in 1950, has full summer performances.  Mountain biking, hiking, and boating activities are also along the lake.

A fun little place to visit is the grounds of "The Great Passion Play."  In 1964, Gerald L.K. Smith tried to establish a religious theme park near Eureka Springs. The park itself was never finished, but there were several interesting activities created.  The Great Passion Play is a summer performance troupe containing around 170 actors and live animals. It offers about 70 performances of the Passion every summer.  There is also a bible museum featuring 6,000 Bibles, a section of the Berlin Wall, and a seven-story sculpture of Jesus, known as the Christ of the Ozarks.

Another place of beauty in the city is Thorncrown Chapel, built in 1980. This non-denominational chapel is available to rent for weddings and is often open if you need a moment to rest and contemplate the beauty around you.


This year's visit was a walking one.  We toured the historic Catholic Church of  St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and we had coffee at The Daily Roast, a charming little cafe in a converted Victorian-era soda shop.  We wandered about the springs and looked at all the shops.  Or at least some of the shops. We went on a Tuesday, and like many places with weekend traffic, Eureka Springs is a little sleepy the first couple of days of the week.   

One of the great finds was the B-Side Cafe. Located in the back of Mojo Records, this quirky little cafe had one of the best meatball sliders I've ever had. 

We came back to NWA exhausted.  Eureka Springs is a steep little city, and you are definitely in for an urban hike, but I recommend visiting and can hardly wait until I get to go again. 


xoxo a.d. elliott

P.S. Check out my YouTube video tour here: https://youtu.be/MCArR8Oy_Ik?si=7zcY3MXO4rxPFq4j

****************************************

a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

#TaketheBackRoads

Like my page? Please consider supporting my work by visiting my sponsors, my webshop, or by buying me a cup of coffee!



Location: Eureka Springs, AR, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bucket List Book Adventure: Book 15 - Histories

Image
Dear Henry, It's been a while, but I've finally gotten back to the bucket list book adventure  and have finished "Histories" by Herodotus. Hair- odd- uh-tus.....hair-odd-uh-tus.....It's taken me a month to learn how to pronounce his name, and I still say it wrong half of the time. Anyway, let me tell you all about the Histories. Herodotus, the "Father Of History," is somewhat of a mystery. He was believed to be born around 484 BC in the vicinity of the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus, today known as Bodrum, Turkey. Maybe. There are a lot of question marks.  His life has a lot more question marks. Herodotus traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and North Africa and was believed to be in Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. And, of course, his death is also big of a mystery. It is estimated to have occurred between 430 and 420 BC, and he probably rests in Thurii, Italy, having left Athens around 430 BC for the...
Read more

Basilicas, Books, & Bringing Home the Bacon

Image
Dear Henry, Wow, it's been a while. Let's catch up. I've been so busy! Several months ago, I took a part-time job at a local bookstore to get out of the house and out of my head (plus, you know, the discount). I had just begun adjusting to the physical demands of retail work when the Christmas shopping season (and working hours) began. I'm not quite sure if it's because of "the accident" or because I'm a pudgy middle-aged woman, but wow, I've been exhausted. So, I put everything on hold and dedicated myself to reading the entire 14-book Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan ( read his Everyday Patriot biography here ). I've been keeping my feet up when I wasn't at work, and I'm just now getting used to the job. This season of holiday hours has helped me feel better about my Camino plans. I've always worried that it would be too challenging, but I now know I can spend six to eight hours a day on my feet, multiple days in a row.  Now,...
Read more

The Resurrection of the Old Lick Cemetery In Roanoke Virginia

Image
Dear Henry, I have always felt a strong call to "pray for the dead," even as a child.  My grandmother was an avid genealogist (I inherited this love from her), and I used to accompany her to various old graveyards, where she transcribed and photographed old headstones. I would spend my time trying to scrape overgrown grass and weeds from the headstones, having developed the strange belief that they couldn't go to heaven if you couldn't read the name on a tombstone. It always made me so sad to see unkept headstones. While I've (somewhat) grown out of the belief that an unmarked grave condemns people to walk the earth as ghosts, the image of Patroclus, in Madeline Miller's book The Song of Achilles ( review here ), wandering the world as a shadow because no one would write his name down made me cry. I was also very sad to see this poor, unkept little cemetery right as I pulled off Interstate 581. One of my first thoughts entering the city of Roanoke for the firs...
Read more