August 8th

August 08, 2023

August 8th

TODAY IS FIGARO AND CHERRY'S BIRTHDAY!!!!💖💖💖😻😻😻😻😺😺😽😽😽😽

Went to check out Cascade Falls. This is more of a local falls area with a few swimming holes. They're all spring fed and the water is so clear and pretty. There was a lot of people here with their kids swimming in the pools and jumping off the cascades. We just wanted to check it out so there's not much time to spend here unless you were going to swim. I put my feet in the water and it was super cold. It felt nice.

We passed Cascade Spring picnic area on the way so we checked that out on the way back. Lots of signs for poison ivy, but didn't see much lol. There weren't any people here when we went over to the spot where the spring is coming out of the ground. There's a gazebo next to the pool of water. So pretty. But again, not much to do here unless you're having a picnic or swimming. There were little fish in this specific pool.

I found a spring in Hot Springs called Kidney Spring and we went there. This was on the pathway to the Hot Springs Waterfall that I also wanted to check out. People here have been getting water from this spring since 1922. The current gazebo has been preserved, in a way, over the years. It started as a rock formation and was destroyed. Old pictures also show that it was then a wood type structure until that was also destroyed (lots of floods)

Now it has a roof and a sculpture of a woman with a jug reaching out to catch the elixir. I think it's super pretty and there's also a plaque with the water analysis. We saw a few people fill up their water bottles here. We filled up a jug and a 6 gallon jug with a hose that a people cut and leave on top of the spring for ones with bigger jugs.

Went to a pet store that was no longer there. So we stopped at the nearby old jail and train cart that was across the street. Went to the store for some more desiccant and some treats for the cat's birthday. Also did some grocery shopping and stocked up on stuff that we can eat when we dry camp. Which will be a few times during the trek back to Ohio.

Got back to the trailer and opened all of the windows for the cats and took some birthday pictures with birthday treats. Did stuff on Instagram. Left reviews.

Got out the atlas because I want to start mapping where we've been and adding our stops and giving them ratings or leaving notes. I want it to be like a notebook of places we've been but on maps.

Joe started marking the routes we've taken since the beginning. He's better at that stuff lol. I'm going to mark where we went and ratings and notes. Starting at the dealership! We left off on North Carolina. Stopped midway through because the sunset was super pretty! Went outside took some pictures and brought Cherry outside to see the sunset too.

A storm is coming! Maybe watch a movie and go to bed. Mount Rushmore tomorrow!