Eureka Springs recap (and brief ghost tour review)

Last week, I got the chance to visit Eureka Springs again and take in the sights, sounds and flavors. Upon arriving and navigating the small streets nestled in the Ozark mountains, we made our way around a few shops and stopped by a wonderful Mexican restaurant for lunch (and birthday margaritas, of course!).

Deciding to walk off some of our lunch calories, we marveled at some of the city’s many gorgeous springs, scenic pathways, and Victorian architecture, while making sure not to trip on the mildly treacherous sidewalks. My favorite part was walking in a historic residential area where all the homes were painted candy-like colors and had tons of flowers around.

Plants and flowers grow near one of the many springs in the town

A colorful gazebo near a spring

Lovely flowers near a limestone outcropping

We checked in at the Basin Park Hotel, which was built in 1905. It’s built on and out of limestone, and is rumored to have its share of paranormal activity. While its ghostly inhabitants may not be as widely known as those of the Crescent Hotel, it’s thought that some of the ghosts reported on the fourth floor, including a Victorian young girl, may have been residents of the Perry House, a wooden hotel that burned to the ground before the Basin Park Hotel was built.

After purchasing our tickets for the evening ghost tour at Basin Park, we headed over to a lovely Italian restaurant for ravioli and fettuccine. It was delicious! Afterward, we strolled through downtown a bit more, then made our way back to the hotel for the ghost tour.

We congregated in the lobby, then were led into a back room that used to be an alleyway between the hotel and some gift shops that the hotel once owned. You could see part of the limestone mountain the hotel is built on, which was neat to look at. We learned about the town’s long history and its lore, dating back to the period when Osage Indians inhabited the area and considered the springs, especially what is now called Basin Spring, to be sacred. Later, others began noticing the supposed healing powers of the mineral-rich water, including a man named Dr. Jackson, who bottled it and sold it as “Dr. Jackson’s Eye Water” and made quite a fortune.

We hoofed it up to the sixth floor to really begin the tour (There is a small elevator, but with twenty-plus people on our tour, we figured taking the stairs was the path of least resistance). That floor contains an event space/ballroom where visitors have reported seeing ghostly Victorian figures dancing there long after it’s been locked up for the night. Next, we made our way down to the third and fourth floors, where apparitions of a Victorian women and young girl, a cowboy, and even a lion have been reported.

A hallway in the Basin Park Hotel

Overall, the hour-and-a-half-ish tour seemed a bit lacking, at least compared to the one I went on last fall at the Crescent Hotel. While there was great historical information up front, there just wasn’t an overwhelming amount of ghost stories or any sort of potential evidence presented (barring one photo that could in all likelihood be dismissed as lens flare). At the Crescent, the tour guide took time to provide prints of photos at nearly every haunted room or location in which we stopped (although many of those could be explained by natural or technological phenomena as well). Or maybe my paranormal investigation experience has just made me a little bit of a tough customer for this kind of ghost tour.

While the Basin Park Hotel is beautiful, it just doesn’t have quite the same charm and character as the Crescent, in my opinion. Nevertheless, it’s worth a stop if you find yourself in Eureka Springs! And don’t be afraid to wander the quaint and charming city streets to see some gorgeous Victorian architecture amidst natural Ozarks beauty–just make sure you have on comfy shoes!

Advertisement on the side of a brick building

View from a pedestrian bridge in Eureka Springs

View from a balcony at the Basin Park Hotel

Natural spring in downtown Eureka Springs

A bit of comfort on Christmas Eve

It’s kind of hard to believe the holidays are already behind us and we’ve turned our collective calendars over to 2014. Now that we’re all beginning to get back into the grind of everyday life, I’ve gotten a chance to do some reflecting on something I experienced with my family recently during our holiday festivities.

Christmas Eve is the one night of the year where my whole family (all 40-plus of us) comes together for a huge meal, laughter, and enjoying being around each other. A year ago in October, we lost my grandfather. Needless to say, last Christmas was difficult. This year, it’s still not easy, but we were at least a little bit more able to reflect on our lives and his with fondness rather than grief.

One of my cousins decided it would be nice for us grandkids to go visit the cemetery where he was laid to rest and reminisce and honor his life. After dinner and exchanging gifts that night, ten of us piled into a Suburban and drove the couple of miles to the cemetery. We pulled into the dark parking lot directly in front of the porch of the little country church, climbed out, walked through the cemetery gate and formed a semicircle around Grandpa’s headstone. It was bitter cold, but once we started telling our memories of him and laughing thinking about how he would be laughing at us for standing out catching colds on Christmas Eve, it didn’t seem as chilly.

A few of us blinked back tears, and with our gloved hands we each pulled small battery-powered plastic tea light candles from our pockets.

There was silence. Remembrance. Peace mixed with lingering sadness.

After a few minutes, my cousin said, “Merry Christmas, Grandpa.” The rest of us echoed this as we stood still, but immediately after, the porch lights of the church at least 50 yards away came on. It surprised us, but we weren’t scared. One cousin looked at me and quietly asked, “What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure, but before I could form an answer, someone else chimed in and took the words right out of my mouth. “I think that’s just Grandpa saying ‘Merry Christmas.'”

It can be difficult for me to put aside my skepticism and my need to find rational explanations. Part of me could still point out some possibilities like motion-sensing lights. None of us were sure if those porch lights are indeed motion-activated, but I do know that they didn’t come on when we pulled up and got out of the vehicle. And, yeah, I guess there is the possibility the lights are on some sort of timer.

But for some reason, those explanations seem too cold, too impersonal. Too unaware of just how much like him it would have been to give us some little sign. How much he would want us to know he’s in a better place and still sees the legacy he left behind.

My Investigation Wish List

It’s hard to believe that December is already here and 2013 is nearly in the books. Well, it’s a little less hard to believe when I’m curled up on my couch blogging and binge-watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on a Friday because the six inches of snow outside gave us a snow day! But now that the holiday season is officially upon us, it’s a great time to think about the top five places I would put on my holiday wish list.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium – Louisville, Ky.

When Waverly Hills opened in July 1910, it was a much smaller building only designed to accommodate about 50 tuberculosis patients. The structure that stands today was opened to combat the epidemic of tuberculosis, but was rendered obsolete once an antibiotic was discovered to treat the disease. Many paranormal investigators have flocked here to investigate, and many have had interesting experiences and captured various pieces of evidence.

Edinburgh Vaults – Edinburgh, Scotland

The chambers of the South Bridge in Edinburgh were home to taverns and businesses in the late eighteenth century, but eventually became home to the town’s poorest citizens as the conditions of the chambers deteriorated. In the nineteenth century, the vaults were enclosed with rubble, but were rediscovered and excavated in the 1980s. Numerous claims of paranormal activity have been reported within the chambers, and several television shows have explored the vaults.

Highgate Cemetery – North London, England

Often considered among the most haunted locations in London, this cemetery opened in 1839 and is home to burial plots of Karl Marx, George Eliot, Douglas Adams and more. Tours are given daily of the East and West cemeteries, but there are many stories and legends related to spirits that may still roam the grounds. One in particular is known as the Highgate Vampire, a tall dark phantom-like figure with dark coat and tophat who vanishes without a trace.

Roswell, N.M.

This desert town gained notoriety in the mid-1900s as rumored site of a UFO landing. Many in the town haven’t shied away from the sci-fi and conspiracy theory notoriety, and local businesses tend to cater to those interested in UFOs, aliens and other paranormal topics. While we may never know for certain if an extraterrestrial craft landed, its occupants were captured and a massive cover-up took place, we can appreciate the opportunity to revel in gloriously kitschy gift shops and alien museums in Roswell.

Winchester Mystery House – San Jose, Calif.

When Sarah Winchester began building her home in 1884, she sought continuous construction noise to appease the spirits she felt haunting her. Sarah was heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, and a fortune teller told her the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles would seek revenge if she stopped building the house. Sarah died in 1922, and construction stopped that day. With 160 rooms, staircases leading to nowhere, doors opening to bare walls and other design oddities, this is truly a mystery house.