June 21, 2017 Day
13
This morning I woke up cold which was a shocker since I have
been so hot lately. Last night there
were quite a few coyotes nearby which although eerie was soothing to hear. Waiting until everything opens up at 09:00
is very difficult when you are up at 06:00 and really have nothing to do. To pass the time I unhooked my camper and
called my grandma. While on the phone
with here the police started rolling on in.
I don’t know if it’s a morning ritual here in Hot Springs for the local
police to have a convention before
beginning work and just stand around and talk but either way it comforted me to
know they were around and so was AJ while I left my camper all alone in this
strange environment. Leaving my camper
almost felt like I was living a child behind haha.
Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and headed into
town. Since everything was still closed
I drove up to mountain tower and stopped at one of the spring stations that are
set up around town. Apparently the
spring I chose was a local hotspot according to the people there. I ended up filling all my water bottles, my
solar shower, and my 5 gallon jug with spring water! From there I found a free parking garage and
started walking around town ending up at the visitor center. Leaving the center I had a plan though at the
time I did not know that plan would kill me!
The lady at the center told me the hike I was about to undergo was 0.6
miles and very easy….HA yeah right. Let’s
just say me and this older woman would have to disagree. I know I am out of mountain hiking shape but
damn! At first I was alone hiking up the
impossible steep trail but then an older woman who was behind me caught up due
to the fact that I stopped to assess if I was still breathing. She asked me, “Are you having as much difficulty
as I am?” I laughed and joked that I
must be dying, though, I was only half joking.
In the end we made it to the top and said our goodbyes.
Since I was not about to spend $5.00 to walk up hundreds of
stairs I just bought a sticker and postcard.
I mean seriously, I have to pay you for me to walk up stairs and die in
the process? I think not! Better luck on the next chum. Back in town I stopped at the post office to
drop off mail and buy more stamps. I
then decided I deserved to treat myself to an old-time bathhouse and the more I
thought about it the more excited I became and realized that I have never been
to a spa of any sort. Arriving at the Buckstate Bathhouse I paid my dues and
was escorted up in an old time elevator to the second level. There I was I shown a stall and locker and
told to take off all my clothes. Wait
what!? I had worn a swimsuit thinking that I could just wear that and not be
naked in front of strangers. Apparently
that is not how this place worked and I was not about to walk out.
The lady then wrapped in some sort of sheet/towel thing and
told me to wait. While I waited I took a
glance in one of the mirrors and was shocked by who I saw. I actually looked and felt like someone who
does this all the time and for the first time in a long time I felt
beautiful. When my name was called a
lady escorted me to the bathhouse section and oddly for never being naked in
front of anyone, except for the men I have been with, it didn’t bother me like
I thought it would. Without going into
too much detail the whole entire experience was relaxing and interesting to say
the least. At one point I was placed in
the medieval contraption that was a metal box I sat in and only my head was
visible and I sweated off 15 pounds. All
in all I could get used to going to a spa every day…now only if I could afford
it.
I ran some errands and then headed back to camp. There I
packed up and AJ came back over to make sure everything went okay last night,
to see how my day went and to wish me luck in the future. He also informed me about a good blackberry
bush that I visited on my way out. It
was then off like a heard of turtles to my next destination: Haw Creek Falls. In the end, I would not be staying there
though since all the sites were full and with no service and running out of
fuel and daylight I chugged along to try and find somewhere to call it a
night. With my handy map next to me I
made it out of the mountains without the assistance of a cell phone. Luckily, I came across a rest stop/look out
and pulled in for the night. There I
emptied my 5 gallon gas can into my vehicle and began talking to a woman who
pulled up in a van. She started talking
about crystals that she had in her van and all I could think was you probably
shouldn’t be broadcasting that.
Haha. After a second, I realized
she was talking about the rock and not the drug. She offered me a crystal and
we both hunkered in for the night.
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