I actually drove one of the Ducks in Lake Hamilton, AR. In 1968 on a family vacation.surprise_i'm_armed wrote:StewNTexas:
That reminds me of a visit we took to Hot Springs, Arkansas on Labor Day weekend of
1997, which was the weekend that Lady Diana died.
We took a lake ride on the military surplus DUKW's (ducks) which are the amphibious
trucks that the US military used during WW II. It was very scenic and cool to drive on the
roadways, then just go down a ramp into the lake and it's a boat too.
Well the story was told that at some point local law enforcement decided that the area slot
machines would be seized during a LEO raiding party. The slot machines were removed from
all the illegal places, taken onto a boat, and dumped in that beautiful lake that Hot Springs
surrounds.
The creepy thing about the "duck" ride was that shortly after we took our ride, maybe in 1998
or so, one of the ducks sank in the lake with loss of life due to drowning. When the duck sank,
many people didn't jump out of their seats quick enough. The ducks had a sun-shading awning on
top and this trapped the victims and brought them down with the duck. For all I know, the one
that sank might have been the same one we rode on in September 1997.
Small world, I was able to visit about 10 years ago on business. I spoke to an old timer there. She remembered the motel we stayed in. The only one with a swimming pool in 1968. Oh, to be 6 years old again. Not a care in the world.