We went last week to Arkansas and stayed at a cabin on Lake Ouchita near Mount Ida. Steve's sister lives in Arkansas and made most of the arrangements for us.. Thank you Mischel! The weather could not have been better and every day was filled with walks, hiking, rock hunting and lounging about. Tylea had a great time finding crystals which where laying everywhere we looked. Kids have such energy.. she would come home after an
all morning hike in the mountains, get a drink and head back out to look for rocks.
One afternoon some of us girls stole off and went into Hot Springs to get pampered at a bath house. Hot mineral bath, towel wraps, steam sauna, a shower and then a full body massage. You just cannot beat that!

One day Steve and I took his folks into Hot Springs to be tourists. We made a trip up to the mountain tower in Hot Springs which provides an excellent view of the town and surrounding countryside. Plus there is a small historical museum at the top floor where you can learn facts about the history and people of Hot Springs. Later we took a tour of the Forsythe Bath house which was famous in its' day but now only used for touring. It was fascinating to see how the folks pampered themselves back in the 1920's and earlier even. I found the stained glass in the roof particularly beautiful.
The spring that fed the fForsythe baths was still running under the hotel and there was a windowed area so that you could see how if flowed beneath. The architecture of the building was breathtaking and intricate.
We did a bit of shopping and lots of eating.




The whole time we where away it was bothersome to Tylea that we had left Texas.. After all it was her first trip out-of-state and she would say "Mom, I just miss Texas." So when we got back we made a point to stop and take a picture just for Tylea right in front of the Texas monument on the Texas side of Texarkana.

We are glad to be home but blessed to have had such a safe and refreshing trip!