Talimena Scenic Drive and Heavener Runestone Park

It has been a long time since I posted anything on here.  Debbie and I spent all day last Saturday traveling from Oklahoma City to SE Oklahoma to travel the Talimena Scenic Drive between Talihina, OK and Mena, AR.  The two lane road, Oklahoma Highway 1 and Arkansas Highway 88, is listed as an American Byway.  Talimena Scenic Drive.  Our goal was to see the fall foliage.  As it turns out, we were a few days early in Oklahoma because not too many leaves had changed yet and too late in Arkansas, where most of the leaves had already fallen. But, we saw some great vistas.

 

 

 

We saw a flock of pelicans flying south, perhaps for Florida.

Once in a while, the sun would shine just enough to see a bit of color.

We stopped at the Queen Wilhelmina State Park for a break.  The park is a few miles east of the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line.  The park has a nice lodge and restaurant plus several nice camping spots with parking for RVs.  It looked like a nice place to spend a weekend.  If you visit, ride the train and watch out for bears.

The trees were mostly barren of leaves in Arkansas.  There were a few patches of color.

It took us about 4 hours to make the trip from Talihina to Mena.  Not sure why exactly because the entire route is only about 50 miles.  Guess it takes that long to enjoy the scenery.

We drove for three hours from OKC to Talihina.  The sun was shining until we were a few miles from Talihina.  The clouds did not clear out until we left Mena and headed toward Heavener, Oklahoma.  The SE part of Oklahoma is beautiful whether the sun shines or not, but the changing tree leaves really do not pop out of the landscape without the sun.

We ate lunch at the Chopping Block Steakhouse in Mena, AR. A nice log cabin building that was filled with a lot of bikers and families.  The owner was milling around talking to customers and instructing workers to clean tables for those of us waiting to have our meal.

We wanted to find a Sonic and get some tea.  Debbie searched the www on her phone and found a Sonic in Mena.  When she mapped the location this is what was displayed on her phone:

For some reason, her phone thought we were in Tennessee!

After the meal, we went to Heavener and visited the Heavener Runestone State Park.  Heavener Runestone State Park.  There is a huge piece of shale with Viking runes carved into it.  The runes are estimated to be at least 1,300 years old.  The "state" park is no longer funded by the State of Oklahoma.  The park is managed by a non-profit organization.  The walking trails are a bit shabby as is the building housing the runestone.  We made a donation while we were there, but I doubt it will help as much as needed.

The runestone is down in a valley.  Looking up from the runestone, you can see shale outcroppings and a small waterfall.  Someone, perhaps the WPA, built a dam at the base of the waterfall.  The dam does not appear capable of holding water, but it is pretty cool.

The runestone is inside a building, which is in various states of disrepair.  Hopefully the non-profit organization can somehow get funding to make the repairs and protect the stone.



If you get a chance to drive either the Talimena Scenic Drive or visit the Heavener Runestone State Park, do so.  Debbie and I traveled for 13 hours and 508 miles.  We saw some great Oklahoma and Arkansas country.  It was a long day but fun, too.