Money Shot ....Healing Spring in Eureka Springs

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Native American legends tell of a Great Healing Spring in the Eureka Springs area, and various cultures visited the springs for this sacred purpose.

The European Americans were another culture to consider the springs to have healing powers. After the Europeans arrived, they described the waters of the springs as having magical powers. Within a short time in the late nineteenth century, Eureka Springs was transformed into a flourishing city, spa, and tourist destination. Dr. Alvah Jackson was credited in American history with locating the spring and in 1856, claimed that the waters of Basin Spring had cured his eye ailments. Dr. Jackson established a hospital in a local cave during the Civil War and used the waters from Basin Spring to treat his patients. After the war, Jackson marketed the spring waters as "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water." The Ozarka Water Company was later formed in Eureka Springs in 1905.

In 1879 Judge J.B. Saunders, a friend of Jackson, claimed that his crippling disease was cured by the spring waters. Saunders started promoting Eureka Springs to friends and family members across the State and created a boomtown. Within a period of little more than one year, the city grew from a rural spa village to a major city.

On February 14, 1880, Eureka Springs was incorporated as a city. Thousands of visitors came to the springs based on Saunders' promotion and covered the area with tents and shanties. In 1881, Eureka Springs enjoyed the status of Arkansas's fourth largest city, and in 1889 it was the second largest city, behind Little Rock.

Grotto Spring, on Spring Street,
is so named because it flows from a
fascinating mountainside cave.

[hubcapsc]

Me and Wimp hung out in that little grotto for about 15 minutes...

Down three steps and 20 or 30 degrees cooler 

-Mike "up three steps and back into the oven..."

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Me and Wimp hung out in that little grotto for about 15 minutes...

Down three steps and 20 or 30 degrees cooler  

-Mike "up three steps and back into the oven..."

No kiddin' ...A local elderly  lady was hangin' out in the cave ( I think she was the candle lady    ) when I arrived and I ask her could she go get me a pillow so I could do a nap inside. She just smiled and moved on  

[donaldcc]

 
  Nice!  Wish i could have made it there.

[Red Diamond]

You do get around Joe, one of the sites I missed. Well, that's another trip. Thanks for sharing.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

  Nice!  Wish i could have made it there.

It's a beautiful area with some nice roads for motorcycling. It was hotter than the hinges of hell while we was there and would have been so much more enjoyable without the heat.We went to the Arkansas Grand Canyon and I just don't get this    I can ride 10 miles from my house and see mountains piled on top of mountains this place just did'nt do it for me but then again I live in God's Country and can see beautiful mountains anytime.

[BonS]

Yeah, but for us flatlanders it was heaven . . . and breakfast.

[thumper]

Joe,

Beautiful shots as usual.  Wish my fast black one was parked behind it.

Give my best to Wimp and the rest of the Wild Bunch.  I've been out of the loop here for a while.

[Gary]

Neat spot that I didn't get to visit. I think I may have seen it as I was winding through some of the streets in Eureka. I recall seeing people come out of an opening in the side of a rock and as I kept winding, entering from another side?  ??? Either way, I missed it and thanks for sharing!

You mentioned not "getting it". I can say I did really enjoy cruising some of the out of town roads, which many times seemed uninhabited winding through the tree tunnels at 50-60 with the tunes playing. It hit the spot, best enjoyed before 1:00pm for me. Once the heat really started kicking in, the appreciation meter dropped a notch.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Neat spot that I didn't get to visit. I think I may have seen it as I was winding through some of the streets in Eureka. I recall seeing people come out of an opening in the side of a rock and as I kept winding, entering from another side?  ??? Either way, I missed it and thanks for sharing!

You mentioned not "getting it". I can say I did really enjoy cruising some of the out of town roads, which many times seemed uninhabited winding through the tree tunnels at 50-60 with the tunes playing. It hit the spot, best enjoyed before 1:00pm for me. Once the heat really started kicking in, the appreciation meter dropped a notch.

You make a good point Gary the heat was working on me I think a ride we did before InZane up into Kentucky when it was 107 degrees took a toll on me and my body has yet to recover 

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Joe,

Beautiful shots as usual.  Wish my fast black one was parked behind it.

Give my best to Wimp and the rest of the Wild Bunch.  I've been out of the loop here for a while.

Hey Paul ....You cross my mind all the time give me a call and let me know how you are doing    I don't want to call you in case you are resting.

[hubcapsc]

Joe,

Beautiful shots as usual.  Wish my fast black one was parked behind it.

Give my best to Wimp and the rest of the Wild Bunch.  I've been out of the loop here for a while.

Hey Paul ....You cross my mind all the time give me a call and let me know how you are doing    I don't want to call you in case you are resting.

Hey Paul... I've called a couple of times (just now in fact)... I'm not much for leaving
messages, I usually manage to say stupid things to tape recorders 

-Mike

[Blues]

I know some don't get our "mountains", but you do need to remember that, although they are called the Ozark Mountains, the Ozark Plateau is a much more descriptive title.  The Ozarks were created around 400 to 500 million years ago when a huge area of old seabed was lifted up.  Since that time, the rivers, streams and winds have slowly eroded from the top down into what we see today.  That's why the tops of the mountains all look to be the same elevation.  Consider the Ozarks as more like the Grand Canyon than the Rockies or the Appalachians...
Much more than anyone cared to know... and you're right... in this heat, it's hard to appreciate any views!