Longer day today, but we did manage to take the scenic route. Nice hotel and pretty good breakfast with real scrambled eggs, not those instant ones, wherever they come from.
Our daughter had been through here some years back in her year of car wandering and recommended the south east corner of Oklahoma. Deb poked around and found the Talimena Scenic Byway (AKA Rt 1) which feels just like the Blue Ridge Parkway. Who knew this part of Oklahoma and Arkansas were so beautiful?
Today marked the first day of "real green" landscape. Kinda weird seeing water running under all the bridges. We are so used to dry washes back in Arizona.
The Byway starts in Oklahoma and ends in Arkansas. It was built in the 1960's and sure looks like a tourist attracter (is that a word?), as well it should be. Talihina is the town near the west end and Mena is the town it ends at in Arkansas. In the Choctaw language Tali means "iron" and hina means "road", which is what they called the railroad that went through. There was a resort built in 1898 near the Byway named after Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands to attract tourists (to ride the new train), but it flopped and it stood empty for 60 years. They rebuilt it as part of the Queen Wilhelmina State Park in 1963, it burned 10 years later and they rebuilt it again in 1975. The Dutch connection is from some Dutch investors in the railroad.
Lots of coffee breaks but pretty much nose to the steering wheel all day.
A note on gas prices. When we left Bisbee, gas was $4.99 per gallon and we filled up in NM the same day at $4.45. It has been $4.35 to $4.45 the last 4 days and today we got gas for $4.29. Hmmmm.
Dinner at a local pizza place. Tomorrow we make it to Deb's brother's place in Tennessee.
Had to check, of course: the word is "attractor" -- the Hoover ;-)
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