143°

A weekend in the Valley of the Vapors

Over four thousand years ago rain fell on the Ouachitas, in a place we now call Arkansas. The drops trickled into the shale and sandstone and quartz, and percolated deep in the belly of the mountains. Each day a million gallons of this mineral-rich water flows out of 47 springs, all of it at 143 degrees.

They built a town around these spouts, and called it Hot Springs.

A glimpse into the Ouachitas, Polaroid SX-70 (all photos 2022)

I find the town is mesmerizing. On what seems like every other block there is a motor court that is either still running or feels like it’s about to be, many featuring neon signs from the last century. I stayed at the Gold-Inn, and while it didn’t have a sign that would turn my head, there was a parking spot right in front of my door, freezing cold AC, and the cleanest bathroom I’ve ever seen.

Not open, but beautiful, Polaroid SX-70

I had hoped to escape the tropical oppression of the heat wave we were enduring in Mississippi, but it was even hotter up there, if lovely. When I needed to swap out film for my cameras I would duck into the beautiful, time-lost lobby of the Arlington and just sit in the air conditioning.

The bandstand of the lobby of the Arlington, Polaroid 600

The neon fawn, Polaroid SX-70

Mother Nature (detail), by Longhua Xu, Polaroid 600

I spent a lot of time trying to get this right, Polaroid SX-70

Firebird with “Please Do Not Open the Hood” written on the windshield, Polaroid 600

Jeep Desert Eagle, Polaroid 600

Polaroid SX-70

I was driving when I saw the deer by the playground, and spoke gently to it while I snapped the photo. I kept watching out the window as it sauntered into the nearby woods. When I looked back through the windshield, a gigantic raccoon was waddling across the road.

“143°” is this week’s installment of GORJUS, a newsletter devoted to art and life in the South on instant film. If you like it, consider sending it to a pal. Just like the weather, some weeks are better than others. I’m gorjusjxn on Instagram, and you can see more Polaroids at McCartyPolaroids.