Bonfire at sunset on Saturday night after the Slow roll, Mini enduro and Jump Jam.

The Festival was held at Cedar Glades Park, a venue with a 360 view that is part of the Hot Springs National Park.

I never had my 3 girls stand on the same podium before! Hey, there's a first for everything! Also: first time I saw an Elvis cat with a viking crown.

The local microbrewery, Superior Bathhouse brewery (that uses hot springs water to make its beers ), even created a special beer for the event. It was a delicious Norwegian Farmhouse Kornol (never heard of that type of beer before? Me neither!) brew… — The local microbrewery, Superior Bathhouse brewery (that uses hot springs water to make its beers ), even created a special beer for the event. It was a delicious Norwegian Farmhouse Kornol (never heard of that type of beer before? Me neither!) brewed with voss yeast and local red cedar. You could really taste the cedar and we really enjoyed it.

Stout rolling in the grass and soaking up the sun during the festival.

Aïsha leading the Cat 1 ladies at the start!

That last hill (that they had to do twice!) was a dozer after 25 km of racing.

The girls got to race with a pro from Colorado who was incredibly nice and kept encouraging them. I just love the mountain biking community!

My adorable little vikings shared the podium (they were the only ones in the Cat 1 15-29 category).

The Güdrun Northwoods Mountain Bike Festival celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of Hot Springs’ new Northwoods Trail System and combined a mountain bike expo, a group ride through downtown Hot Springs, a mini enduro, a Jump Jam and the annual Attila the Hun Mountain Bike Race.

Güdrun is a Germanic heroic legend. A woman warrior Viking! She was the wife to Attila the Hun and later defeater of the Huns. We were sold!

As you might know from our social media, we barely made it to Hot Springs National Park** in a cloud of white smoke before the bus engine died on us. Replacing it is an expensive and long process, so we are figuring out the best options. The Festival was a great diversion and allowed us to focus on something else for a bit and let solutions emerge (isn’t it often the best way to go at it?).

We thought we would at least enjoy the hot springs while we are stuck here, but soaking in the springs is only allowed in the bathhouses in town (the cheapest one is 20$ per person, so 100$ for a soak for our family… yeah, no).

Whereas most national parks cover thousands of acres, are far from city streets, and keep natural resources away from commercial users, it is not the case with Hot Springs National Park. This smallest of national parks borders a city that has made an industry out of tapping and dispensing the park's major resource: mineral-rich waters of hot springs.

A National Park inside a city? Well, almost. The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas was founded right up against Hot Springs National Park (which happens to be the smallest National Park in America) to capitalize on the tourists coming to the area for a dip in the healing hot spring waters.The city’s main street (called Bathhouse row) is actually part of the National Park.

Here’s a little back story that won’t surprise anyone:

Following 8,000 years of use by indigenous peoples, European Americans discovered and appropriated the springs. Then, the government decided that bathing in spring water would only be available in approved facilities at a cost (and they diverted the spring water from the mountains to the bathhouses only). The entire Bathhouse Row area is designated as a National Historic Landmark District and contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America. Comprised of eight bathhouses, these stately structures owned by the National Park Service were constructed between the years of 1892 and 1923. The historic Fordyce Bathhouse, located on famous Bathhouse Row, serves as the park's visitor center.

So, there you have it. It’s one interesting way for a National Park to say that they are “protecting the ressources”...

It’s no biggie. The people we have met here are really nice, the town is just quirky enough for our liking and the trails are pretty sweet! We’ll be OK for a bit.

** Hot Springs National Park is a first-come, first-served campground with full hook-up for 30$ per night, only 10 minutes from the Northwoods mountain biking trails and 5 minutes from Bathhouse Row (downtown Hot Springs).