By Bill Morton

On Travel

It all started with warm water. Charles Darwin reminded us we lived in it at one point on the evolutionary chain. I know I spent my first nine months bathed in a pleasantly warm liquid cell.

Warm water has been balm through the centuries. The Romans centered their far-flung empire around thermal springs. And the American natives favored bubbling warm spots wherever they found them — from Palm Springs in California to Warm Springs in central Oregon to Banff Springs in the Canadian Rockies.

And don’t get the Japanese started on the joys of hot soaks in thermal waters. Visits to their beloved “onsens” are the only delights that rate higher than golf, the mayor of Seattle’s sister city, Kobe, once told me.

So you see why a business trip to Hot Springs, Ark., turned into a prolonged vacation for this thermal aqua lover. How hot are the waters of Hot Springs? And do visitors there still take to the waters? Are the pools clothing optional as they are in Baden-Baden in Germany, Albano in Italy, or Karlovy Vary in Bohemia? Serious investigative reporting was needed.

First, the historic baths of this Arkansas town an hour’s drive west of Little Rock, the state’s capital, still enjoy a flow of 143 degrees Fahrenheit along Bathhouse Row. The city of Hot Springs today is an unusual mix of a rapid development spurred by the boom in retirement lifestyles and a national park in the heart of its downtown historic district.

From Civil War days on, Hot Springs was on the map as a great place to recoup from the ailments of the 19th century. Presidents came to partake of the waters and enjoy the early springtimes that visit central Arkansas. By the 20th century and until the 1950s, Hot Springs was where Chicago mobsters went to relax and gamble alongside senators and business moguls. And it was understood: Everybody leaves their guns and their moralizing at home. Hot Springs was where a person could take a load off, and no one would raise an eyebrow.

Booze, women, gambling, golf, along with warm water, long massages, and steam baths — Hot Springs has always known how to dispense hospitality.

Today most of the vices are long-gone, but Hot Springs may be better than ever. Thanks to a spate of Depression-era dam building, Hot Springs is awash in gorgeous lakes. The Hot Springs-Diamond Lakes region is a playland for summer sports such as boating, waterskiing, and bass fishing. And while not thermally heated, these central Arkansas man-made lakes heat up in the summer.

As a lover of American history, I especially enjoyed the pleasantly walkable downtown, with its national park-operated Bathhouse Row. The tree-shaded streets are lined with 1910 and 1920s limestone and granite bathing buildings atop the burbling springs, with handsome old commercial buildings just across the street. Those buildings are stocked with impressive art galleries, gift shops, antique stores, and plenty of restaurants.

At one end of Bathhouse Row sits the matron of the era — the grand art deco-inspired Arlington Hotel. The Arlington features the quintessential bath experience of the Roaring ’20s golden days, along with rooms, suites, meeting spaces and a grand lobby complete with bandstand, dance floor and restaurant.

I had to experience it.

After I paid the cashier, I was ushered into the white-tiled men’s bathing room (this is not a coed experience), and directed to my private, curtained stall to disrobe and wrap around my waist a special towel with Velcro to ensure the wrap would stay in place.

After storing my clothes and valuables in a locker, I was invited to sit on a chair while my attendant prepared my bath. It was in an extra-large classic bathtub with a voluminous brass faucet set that gushed hyper-hot water from below and mixed it with cool water from other sources. Once the right balance was found (most people settle for 98-102 degrees), my attendant invited me in and turned on the bubble machine. It was clearly pre-Jacuzzi, but worked just as well. After soaking for 15 minutes in these pure mineral waters and being encouraged to drink several cups of the cold mineral water, my attendant asked me to sit up in the bath as he scrubbed by back with a special soapy glove made of textured material that was slightly less abrasive than sandpaper. The glove had my name on it. A souvenir, my attendant explained.

I was then asked to lean back one at a time and scrapped away (what? dead skin?) on my extremities. I must admit, it sure felt good — once he quit.

Five minutes later, I was asked to get out of the tub, not an easy task, feeling as mellow as I now felt. Would I prefer a sauna or a steam bath? I chose the steam and got 15 delightful minutes in a contraption that was certainly retired by World War II. The steel box “vapor cabinet” had swing doors in front, and a flip-top with a hole for my head to stick out. Classic. The steam was turned on, a towel placed around my neck to ensure that the steam stayed neck down, and a cooling towel draped over my head. Ah, I LOVED this. A steam bath in which I could actually breathe. What a concept.

Fifteen minutes of this, and my attendant assisted me out and pointed to a very unusual shower stall: It had pipes and bars in every direction. The water was turned on, and 15 to 20 mini-squirts pulsated my body from virtually every angle. I guess those early visitors to Hot Springs had not yet mastered the concept of turning around in the shower.

A minute of shower, and then came ? the cocoon. I was told to lay on my back on an enamel table with a sheet, while more sheets were placed over and around me, with soft knee and head cushions, and a cool towel for my forehead. I was invited to slip into Wonderland for 20 minutes, but it took less than 60 seconds before I was asleep.

That would be enough for most bathing guests, but I opted for the 30-minute massage for dessert. My masseuse employed the classic rubs that my father taught me as a child. None of this “shiatsu” or “deep tissue” or “seaweed wrap” stuff for historic Hot Springs. No, this is old school. And it felt wonderful.

Don’t leave Hot Springs without a historic bath experience.

What else is there to do in Hot Springs?

Hike and walk. With national park forest lands 100 yards from the center of downtown, visitors who love to hike out (or bike out) into nature will love this in spades. The hills and valleys of these Quachita Mountain foothills are perfect for daylong or hour-long walks, and every season except summer lends itself to changing nature. In summer the humidity does not inspire anyone except the most enthusiastic and addicted hikers and bikers.

Road Trips

Arkansas State Route 7 heads due north from the fountains of downtown Hot Springs, and the road is probably the most beloved scenic drive in the state. It crosses the heart of the Quachita Mountains and National Forest and north to the Ozark Mountains that border the Arkansas-Missouri line. The small towns that dot SR7 capture the friendly, down-home feel of southern hospitality, and remind me of the small towns of Bavaria and Tirol in Europe.

Bed and Breakfasts

I stayed at Lookout Point B&B on Lake Constance, 20 minutes outside Hot Springs. It was fabulous. I’m told that Arkansas is getting lots of B&Bs, especially in its hyper-cute Northwest corner centered around Eureka Springs. If they are half as good as Lookout Point B&B, then the state is well-endowed. Kristie and Ray Rosset entertain guests in their newly-built B&B with 10 suites. Everything here, from the sheets to the showers and Jacuzzi-baths to the omnipresent free cookies are five-star. The B&Bs grassy back yard flows down to the lake, and owner Ray loves to take guests for motorboat tours of the area lakes or let them kayak on their own.

The Clinton Center

Flying into Arkansas typically means flying into Little Rock at the center of the state. I spent a wonderful afternoon at the new and impressive Clinton Center and Library. The complex housed an exact re-creation of the Oval Office, President Clinton’s armored limousine, hundreds of unusual and artistic gifts accepted by the president on behalf of the American people, and lots of videos that capture the president’s years in office. Plan on at least two hours at this must-visit. Monday through Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday: 1 to 5 p.m.

The City of Little Rock

The Clinton presidency has been good for Little Rock and the skyline has changed dramatically over the past decade with several impressive bank and office buildings puncturing the skies. The city’s farmers market along the Arkansas River is a great place for lunch with lots of options in a food circus of booths and concessions. Meat lovers will be happy here as barbeque is king, and there are many more varieties than in Seattle.

IF YOU GO:

Arlington Hotel: Bath with whirlpool is $26; massage is $34. For more information about the baths or rooms, call 1-800-643-1502 or visit the Web site at www.arlingtonhotel.com.

Lookout Point B & B: on the web at www.lookoutpointinn.com or call Ray and Kristie Rosset at 501-525-6155.