48 hours solo in Arkansas.
I find myself often looking for new places to explore that may be a little off the beaten path or that may not be quite as viral as the popular places I see others go to. Did you know that Arkansas had a National Park? Because I sure did not until researching cheap flights.
To begin this trip, I was asked to be in my beautiful friend, Sara’s, wedding in August of 2022, a dream. The love this woman shows to her friends, family and just about anyone she meets is amazing to see in a world full of people who aren’t often so kind. The sun to my moon. Anyways, her bachelorette trip was planned for the middle of August and we were getting out of Michigan and traveling to sunny Florida for a few days. We enjoyed the nightlife, shopping, some girlhood bonding, yoga on the beach instructed by our bride and had a great time celebrating the future Mrs. I was able to line up my PTO week at work to include this trip and the wedding, along with a few days in-between the two. Thinking to myself, well I am already away from home, no plans for the days between events, what cheap flights can I find from the Sarasota area? Allegiant to the rescue, less than $60 later I had a flight planned into Little Rock for my first little solo adventure outside of Michigan.
This was also my first time flying anywhere alone, while I was a little nervous, I felt like a pro at this point in my traveling experience. Arrive at airport, wait in line, check a bag, wait in line, TSA, wait in line, board plane. Simple. About an hour later, I land in Little Rock, pick up a rental car and head to my hotel in town. Now this being my first trip alone, I was not about to go exploring in a new city in the evening. You know all the jitters you get being in a new place? The excitement and wanderlust? I know it’s just Arkansas, but this was exciting for me. After getting all checked in, doing the safety checks (you’re welcome, dad), I took to door dashing myself a little dinner and a few snacks for the trails the next day, ate and sat at the pool outside to watch the stars. The night was warm but there was a cool breeze, I sat in the water and looked into some trails within the park. After picking my route, I showered all the airport and pool water off, tucked myself in and sprawled out in my king bed for one.
I am always grateful for a continental breakfast provided by the hotel, once I got my fill and grabbed a few extra snacks for the day I hit the road. Hot Springs National Park is about 30 minutes outside of Little Rock where I was staying. I had decided to do the Gulpha Gorge trail, it was about 4.5 miles long with 800ft of elevation gain, honestly, super similar terrain to Michigan. This hike took me about 2 hours to complete and being a single female in the woods, I never felt unsafe out here. There were park rangers everywhere who were more than willing to help and answer questions if I had them. I found a cool little gift shop at the base of the mountain tower where I of course had to grab a few stickers to add to my Camelbak. That’s my thing, stickers and mugs, specifically a medium sized-mug that coffee just tastes better out of. Once my goodies had been collected at the halfway point, quick trek back down the gain and I had made it back into town. The cool thing about this park is that the trails for the most part all lead right back into town and that town specifically is very walkable so my car stayed in the garage for most of the day.
Hot Springs National Park, obviously known for the hot springs. The special thing about these springs is that Native Americans would utilize that water and have it funneled into bath houses. The iconic street in this town, rightfully known as Bathhouse Row. While there are only a few still operational, based on the day of the week I was here (look at me doing research), I decided on Buckstaff Baths. They offer a few different packages and I had selected the traditional which was around $90 and included a full-body soak and 20-minute massage.
I did not think about this being a naked experience before I signed up, lesson learned lol. When you walk into the boathouse, there is a counter where you select a package and then it is divided my gender after that. Men go upstairs and a very ancient looking elevator and women stay on the same level as the main area. You are guided into a locker room where there are individual stalls that you go into and strip. All belongings get locked up in your stall and once you’re naked and waiting, a nice lady comes and asks if you’re ready, if yes, you get a nice sheet toga wrapped around you from behind. Once I was fully Greeked-out, I was guided to where the tubs are, they’re also in individual stalls. So even though everyone is naked/ wrapped, you’re not seeing a bunch of people just strutting about in what the Lord gave them. I was thankful for that, I am a very confident person but to an extent.
Being presented with my single hot spring, I settled in for a soak. I feel I also underestimated the heat that would be going on in this room. The steam mixed with a 102 degree whirlpool would have been overwhelming if it weren’t for my girl coming around with ice chips. I was incredibly grateful. The soak was about 20 minutes long and that was followed by what I would basically call a steam chamber. The staff wrapped me back in my toga and invited me to sit in what looked like an outhouse with three walls, the front was a door which they closed once I sat and then two wooden doors were closed around my neck. Basically, I sat here and was steamed for a few minutes while waiting for the massage area to be available. Had a great massage, ate more ice, got dressed and I was out and on my way. After a bachelorette trip, it was the perfect little detox and relaxation session, just what I was needing.
At this point, my day was only about halfway over, TikTok research is a great tool when looking for things to do. I had come across Garvan Woodland Gardens in my scrolling and it looked perfect. It is a collection of flowers, trees and greenery that are both local to the US and come from countries far away. I did some exploring here, climbed up the kids structure because, why not, and grabbed lots of pictures. Garvan has a stunning chapel on the grounds that literally took my breath away, God was present in that place. On my way out, I found a little turtle, had to say hello to the local and the rest of my night was spent back at the hotel enjoying a pizza by the pool.
It was a quick trip for sure, around 48 hours but in my opinion, the perfect introduction to solo traveling. My flight back to Michigan was seemless, just in time to head up north to celebrate Sara and her husband-to-be. They had a beautiful wedding and I would say I spent my PTO week from work well, treasuring the love my friend has found and my own for getting outside of my own comfort zone.
Until next time,
