Gangsters, sassy madams & crooked politicians: the childhood home of Bill Clinton

The drive up Highway 7 from Little Rock was all it promised: beautiful sweeping views of the valleys and mountains; and stunning old forest growth lining each side of the road, the canopy almost touching overhead as the road curves and bends its merry way north. Wildflowers grow abundantly either side of the one-lane 'highway'; the concrete almost forgotten with such a bounty of nature right in front of you.

I arrived into Hot Springs and happily settled into my hotel for a well-deserved rest. I was even happier to discover how well I'd chosen; my room was not only plush and comfortable but overlooked Lake Catherine - a beautiful sight indeed.

Hot Springs is an interesting old town, it has seen many different eras. I suppose none so as interesting as the Roaring 20's, when Leo P McLaughlin was elected Mayor, and proceeded to announce to anyone who was interested, that he was only too happy to take bribes for himself and his police force, to look the other way at the illegal gambling and brothels that had begun to pop up in the town. So a golden era was born for Hot Springs. Infamous gangsters such as "Lucky" Luciano, and Al Capone came to call it their home away from home. So prevalent were the gangsters escaping the law from up North, that the town began to thrive on illegal gambling, with Leo boldly declaring that as long as the gangsters kept their crime (other than the gambling and whorehousing) out of Hot Springs, he would happily not notify the Northern authorities that they were in town, and leave them in peace. Hot Springs, so named for the many underground springs that welled up and provided essential healing and luxurious bathing, became the gangster holiday city of choice. 1927 - 1947 was the pinnacle for wealth and tourism in the area, with the architectural masterpiece Arlington Hotel being rebuilt for the third time in 1925. Suite 443 was the long-standing favoured suite of Al Capone, and often he would rent out the entire floor to ensure his privacy. Gangsters during this period, were the equivalent of Hollywood A-listers today, so an elaborate set of underground tunnels were used to provide the gangsters with a means of getting around the city without being frequently spotted and harassed for photos or their autographs.

Much to the disgust of the gangsters, brothel madams and undoubtedly the local police and other mayoral authorities, Rockefeller was elected Governor of Arkansas and began a campaign to bring illegal gambling to a close. In 1967 he succeeded, and Hot Springs was no longer the mecca for all things salacious as it had been in the forty previous years.

For the next twenty or so years, the city fell into decline. Indeed it wasn't really until after Bill Clinton was elected President, and the town received a boon of money to rebuild, than Hot Springs started to re-become a holiday destination in the area. Subsequently there are two sides to Hot Springs; the historic downtown district that encompasses Bathhouse Row and many other beautiful old buildings, and the almost derelict outskirts which I drove through with my windows up and my doors locked.

With two beautiful blue lakes in the town, and plenty of natural forest to provide that jade-green backdrop, Hot Springs is a lovely place to look at (if you don't go too far West and end up in the derelict areas..). North of the downtown area is a woodland called Garvan Woodland Gardens, where you can stroll around and see many beautiful trees and wildflowers. It even has a wildlife viewing area, although I didn't get so far on my walking tour, as it was blazing hot and even with my broad-brimmed hat on and my face slathered in sunscreen, I could feel the heat chipping away at my resolve step by step.

Day two in Hot Springs and I was ensconced in the Gangster Museum of America - quite an interesting step through history run by a very sweet young gentleman who offered to show me around town and pointed out some 'must see' attractions along Bathhouse Row to me. Once I'd had my fill of lazily wandering around taking happy snaps, I hopped back in my trust red mobile and headed North again along Highway 7. I had heard that Highway 7 North of Hot Springs was the most scenic of the self-named "scenic byway", and I was very much looking forward to drinking in the beauty of the wilderness as I drove North to Russellville. I imagine this stretch of highway to be particularly gorgeous (having seen some photos in the tourism brochures), but unfortunately for me, due to incredibly heavy fog, I barely saw a tree the entire three hours I drove North. At some points, particularly high in the mountains, the fog was so dense I couldn't see more than 10 metres in front of the car. Which is why the 90 minute drive took me three hours. While I still had GPS reception, I was actually relying on the little image on my iPhone screen to advise whether the road ahead was curving left or right. Disappointing, yes, but beautiful in its own haunting and ethereal kind of way.

Finally the fog cleared a bit as I descended the mountains and came to the Petit Jean State Park I had so been looking forward to hiking. I came to the visitors information centre, and proceeded to grab a trail map, when suddenly the light mist turned to dense fog, and then rain. Decidedly against getting soaked and lost in the wilderness, I jumped back in my car, sighed and headed North again for Russellville. Which by the way, is not a destination - it was simply a place to lay my head for the evening, without having to press too much further North.

Arkansas certainly delivers on its title of The Natural State. It is very easy to forget that you're only a few hours from the bustling metropolis of Memphis when your one-lane road bends and winds its way through mountains and valleys that are lush and green and filled with the noise of insects and movements of bigger things.

Chat soon,
M x