Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013--Beavers Bend State Park to Wilburton, OK
After another night of sleeping 12 hours (with earplugs this time to keep me from hearing the horns announcing water releases from the dam), I awoke to find the campground overflowing. As I took apart my tent and cleaned the bottom of it on top of the picnic table, a couple came over from a tent that had been put up on a non-designated site. They asked if they could take my site if I were leaving. Of course, I told them they were welcome to it. They were so excited. They said it was the best camping spot in the park and that they had stayed there last year. Before driving away, I took my trash to the garbage bin and stopped at the toilet. By the time I returned, their tent was already at my site!
Today was cloudy. The evening had been warmer than the night before, because it didn't bother me to have my hands out in the air rather than under the covers. But the clouds made the day seem cooler than the day before. Also, I found it difficult to take good photos of the trees due to the darkness of the day.
Anyway, I drove northward until I got to Oklahoma Highway 1, a National Scenic Byway known for its fall foliage. I turned westward on it toward Talihina. The highway follows the ridge of the Ozark Mountains with views on both sides of valleys of trees. About half the trees here are pines, so they are a lush green. Contrasted with them are many oaks and a few maples. The oaks are brown to yellow in color, while the maples are a bright red. It's a beautiful sight with all the contrasts.
After two nights camping and with no access to the Internet, I wanted to try to find a bigger town. I expected Talihina to be that town, but it was small, too. Therefore, I continued to Wilburton which I had planned to visit tomorrow. Fortunately, I saw a McDonalds when I pulled into town. It was lunchtime, so I stopped to eat and to use their free wifi. I posted the entries to my blog that I had written the past two nights at the picnic table at my campsite and researched motels in the town. There apparently are only about 3 places to stay here, so I went to the one that seemed to have the best reviews--The Traveler's Inn. They had a room that seemed fresh from recent remodeling for only $50 plus tax, so I took it. That would allow me to bathe, to use the Internet, to recharge my camera batteries, etc. First came a LONG, hot shower!!
The big tourist site here in Wilburton is the Robbers Cave State Park about 4 miles further down the road from my motel. I drove there and explored the cave. Then I took a long hike thought the woods. The Ozark Mountains used to be a very tall mountain range back when there was one land mass before the continents were formed. Over the millions of years, they have worn down for various reasons. What is left is rolling mountains and land with lots of scattered stones. The walking trail would have been impossible to follow if it hadn't been marked with red paint on the trees. The trail was filled with stones, and between the stones the land was covered with fallen leaves. There was no trail to be seen, only one that was marked by those red dots. I walked about 3 miles in about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Most of the trail went through rather drab woods with a few colorful trees showing up occasionally. But on the last quarter of the trail, it followed a ridge that had lots of yellow and red trees. I was so glad I had turned clockwise so that the best part was at the end of the hike.
Wilburton has a movie theater, and I considered going to it tonight. However, it was showing a children's cartoon. Therefore, I decided to stay in the room and take care of other matters. First, I stopped at a local food store that has a smokehouse and deli inside it. I had a sliced beef sandwich, potato salad, and jalapeno beans. The beef was more like pulled beef--tender and delicious. From there, I headed to the room where I stayed for the rest of the evening.
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