We had reached the state of Oklahoma and spent a full day in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is basically in the centre of the state. We drove into the city and we were surprised that the freeways were not ultra busy. The city has a population of over 600,000 but as land is reasonably cheap, and flat, the city has spread out over quite a wide area and the central business district seems somewhat empty. There was ************e on the street, and when we asked a young girl about the tourist bus stop she wasn't aware there was one as no one catches a bus! We definitely did around the city and it was great. This girl told us that all the office buildings etc are linked by over bridges and passage ways so no one goes on the street which is great when it is snowing etc in the winter, and unbearably hot in the summer. Makes sense and also gives reason as to why we hardly saw a soul walking even though it was Monday. We learned why we couldn't find an actual bus stop. There were none but instead you step out and flag down a bus coming towards you. There is seating in the street and passengers can wait there if they want until a bus comes along and then step out when the bus arrives. Great system but couldn't imagine how the system would work in the likes of Melbourne. We only had one full day in the city so decided to visit the National Memorial Museum first. Walking towards the museum we passed Chickasaw Baseball Stadium in Bricktown. This is the home of Oklahoma City Dodgers baseball team. It was built back in 1998 and is a very impressive facility. Bricktown was an old industrial area which is going through a revival with the buildings now accommodating many restaurants and bars and lots of accommodation. A small canal in the area with water taxi is also popular. Many people will recall that back in 1995 in Oklahoma City there was a truck bombing outside one of the Federal Buildings in downtown which resulted in the deaths of 168 people and hundreds more were injured. The person who set off the bomb was executed in 2001 for his crime. Now neither of us can support execution but having been to this museum we could understand some of the level of anger held by members of this community. We have been to many museums over the years, and this year we have visited at least one museum in most cities. We spent many hours in this museum which walks visitors through the period leading up to the bombing and the weeks and months following. (It is a bit like IKEA - it appears to be a one way road throughout the building and can be difficult to find a quick exit if you wish to shorten your visit). It is an extraordinary museum with many exhibits, videos, television segments, recordings etc. As well as the inside museum there is a reflective pool where the original road was and in the peaceful gardens there are named chairs placed as a memorial for those who lost their lives. A visit here can be very emotional but it should be on the must do list of every visitor to Oklahoma City. When we eventually came away from e museum it was already after 4.30 pm, so we meandered our way around the city for a while, including the botanical gardens, then headed back to the car as shopping at one of the big outlet complexes was on my agenda. Now I am not a big shopper and often go home after a trip like this without any extras but we did enjoy checking out some of these shops. Central Oklahoma is prone to tornadoes. Overnight we had very strong winds and we woke to the caravan rocking. There was no rain but dark grey skies so we hesitated for a while deciding whether we should move on as planned. Decision made - we would pack up and as the wind was coming from behind us it wouldn't be too much of a hindrance. Back on the I-40 I checked out Google and sure enough El Reno, where we were staying, regularly had tornadoes and had experienced a very large and intense tornado in 2013 - the widest tornado in world history and several lives were lost. We were happy we were heading out of there! We had now been driving across the width of the USA for a few days with limited stops. There was time for just one more national park! So at Fort Smith in Arkansas we turned off the I-40 and headed south and finally reached the small city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Here we checked into Gulpha Campground which is the national park campground but two miles north of the central business district and situated on the edge of the city. We were in for even more surprises - this national park is like no other we have ever visited! Hot Springs National Park is an usual blend of a park in a small city surrounded by mountains. The main theme of the park is the historic bathhouses and the natural springs. The visitors centre is housed in one of the historic bathhouse buildings. We really thought the buildings should be part of a government historic building trust and not really a national park. Interesting! Historically this city was the holiday spot for the elite but by the 1930's it was the centre of gambling, prostitution and gangsters. With the supposed abolition of gambling the town's economy faltered and the town stagnated somewhat. However, the healing water of the springs always brought people and elaborate bathhouses were built. After World War 1 some 30,000 soldiers were sent to Hot Springs for rehabilitation in the purpose built hospital (now basically in ruins) and were treated in the bathhouses. Today these bathhouses on Bathhouse Row in the Main Street have historical significance and are the basis of the national park. Behind the bathhouses is Hot Springs Mountain with many walking tracks and picnic areas and at the top is the Mountain Tower - the 216 foot tower (fortunately accessed via elevator) supposedly gives fabulous views but it was somewhat cloudy on our visit. The walking tracks warned of stinging insects, ticks, snakes and poison ivy so we kept clear! Within the park there are 47 springs and on average 700,000 gallons of water is collected daily with an average temperature of 143 deg F (62 deg C). The springs are all covered with green wooden covers so nothing picturesque there however there are many fountains where people collect their drinking water for home use. The National Park Service does not claim that the water is curative but does certify it is very safe to drink. The hot springs water rise from an estimated depth of 8,000 feet and it is stated that it originally fell as rain over 4000 years ago. The bathhouses are still popular today but not for medicinal reasons. Where originally they were frequented mainly by men this has changed now and their main customers are women. It certainly was in our case - Peter wasn't going anywhere near public baths, massages etc. as for me - well I am always a starter so made an appointment and enjoyed some pampering at Buckstaff Bathhouse where the advertising buy line is "relief, rejuvenation and relaxation" in the famous Hot Springs National Park thermal mineral water. We did take a behind the scenes tour of Fordyce Bathhouse and it was really interesting to see the original baths and equipment used. We enjoyed three days of relaxation in a lovely setting however it was time to move on again. We headed north again and went around the city of Little Rock without calling in and rejoined the I-40 heading towards Tennessee. We were soon on familiar roads - we had travelled this section of road to Memphis last year. For the first time during this road trip we were in an area we had previously visited and I must say it had a certain comfort about it. We had initially thought we would overnight in Memphis but as we were quite early in the day we moved on towards one of Peter's favourite cities, Nashville, Tennessee. We checked into a camping ground and on Saturday we joined the country music fans visiting Broadway. It was busy, hot and so familiar now. We had checked out on line the band schedule for one particular bar where Pete was keen to listen to a favourite band - Eileen Rose and the Silver Threads. Don't ask our grandchildren about this group as they are tired of listening to their music in Grandad's car! We were happy to sit and listen for hours, perhaps longer than initially planned as the heavens opened and there was flash flooding for a while so we weren't leaving in a hurry. For us Nashville is a great place to sit and while away the time while listening to familiar and pleasant music. It was great and we are sure it is not our last visit. Still we need to get back to North Carolina and that I-40 was beckoning us. Next morning we hitched up the caravan yet again and continued eastward through Knoxville and drove through the valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Asheville which is just over the state line into North Carolina. One more day of travel and we will be back in Durham.