October 4 and 5.
|
|
Not much to report on the 4th. We rode the interstate to Clinton, OK. It was just a typical interstate ride, not real exciting. On the morning of the 5th, I had the idea that it would be cool to surprise Lana and sneak home a day early. Eric wanted to go to Fayetteville, AR, to visit an old college roommate. This would mean turning north of I-40, and I really wanted to head south, ride the Talimena Trail, and then work my way home. We decided to ride together to the Muscogee area, have lunch, then go our separate ways. We were out around 9:30, once again battling crosswinds out of the south. As we passed through Oklahoma City, the landscape changed, the barren plains gave way to rolling hills with plenty of trees, and the trees cut the wind, which made for easier riding. The Troopers were out in force, so we kept our speed to about 5 over. As we rolled along, I saw road signs saying “Entering Seminole Nation”, “Entering Creek Nation”, “Entering Muscogee Nation”. I knew that all of these tribes were from Georgia and Florida. We were at the western end of the Trail of Tears, where the U. S. Government had forced the Indians to re-settle in the 1830’s. A sad chapter in our history.
At Checotah, we stopped for lunch at a little local diner. It seems that Checotah had its five minutes of fame when a local girl won first place on American Idol. The food was good; I had the special, which was meatloaf, three veggies, and a drink for $5.75. I also saw the only drive-through convenience store I had ever seen…a metal building with garage doors in both ends and shelves on both sides. You drive in and tell the attendant what you want, he loads you up, and you pay and leave. Must be a lot of lazy people in that town!
I left Eric at the next exit and headed south on Highway 2. It felt odd to suddenly be riding alone! In a few miles I crossed the Canadian River (there must be an interesting story about why a river is named “Canadian” in Oklahoma) and jogged east to Highway 82. The road quickly went from flat and straight to hilly and curvy. It got pretty entertaining, and I thought that Eric just couldn’t be having this much fun, droning down the interstate. I was pleasantly surprised to find this little stretch of road.
| 82 deposited me in Talihina, the western terminus of the Talihina Scenic Byway. It runs about 50 miles to Mena, AR, snaking and winding it’s way along the ridge-tops, very much like the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Cherohola Skyway. It was a very pretty, very fun road, but I could not help but think how much prettier it would be in about a month. The leaves had not started changing colors here, but the views were outstanding. This would be a great drive in leaf season. As it was, traffic was very light. I saw less than a dozen cars in 50 miles. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I fueled in Mena, and took a moment with the map to plan my next move. The ranger at the Talihina Visitor Center had told me that 88 to 270 into Hot Springs was a nice ride. I was also looking at 8, which took me further south, thinking I could cross the Mississippi at Greenville. I finally decided to take the ranger’s advice. I checked for cell coverage…none. I was considering calling some friends in Hot Springs and hooking up with them tonight. But as I rode on, I thought better of it…tomorrow would have be an early morning, and I would not be able to spend much time with them if I was going to stick with my plan of surprising Lana. Better to visit with them when I had more time.
The ride to Hot Springs was quite nice, and I got there right about sunset, where I found a Holiday Inn Express that had a few rooms left. They were almost completely filled with hurricane victims. I spoke to a few and they said they expected to head home in a day or two…and that they were ready. Poor folks, living in a hotel in a strange town for a month, not knowing if your stuff back home was even worth returning to.
I checked in and ran to Wendy’s for dinner. I chatted with Lana a bit; she was out with some girlfriends and was holding the phone up for me to hear the guy playing Rush covers in the bar she was in. I told her that I was in Fayetteville with Eric, and tried not to slip up and say anything that would make her suspect that I was coming home early.
411 miles today.
