Back to San Antonio

Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013--Wilburton, OK, to San Antonio

It was sunny with fresh air.  After checking out of the motel, I headed eastward.  I took a different route back to Talihina with plans to explore Talihina State Park.  As I drove into the park entrance, I was surprised.  There were no park roads really.  There was just a turn to the right to a camping area and the entrance road going about a block to the cabins.  Unlike the other parks I had visited, there were no scenic drives.  There wasn't even really a parking lot.  Signs were up saying that a $5 parking permit was needed, apparently because the number of parking spaces was so limited they were reserved mostly for the use of people staying overnight.

I left the park and turned at the nearby junction to retrace my route on Oklahoma Hwy. 1 that I had covered yesterday.  In the sunshine, the color of the trees was much brighter.  The most frustrating aspect of this drive is that there are no shoulders.  There were beautiful scenes that I would have liked to have photographed, but there was no place to stop.  Where they have pull-off areas for scenic views, the photos were all the same--views of the mixture of colorful trees in the valley rather than close-up photos.  Therefore, I skipped most of the pull-offs this time hoping to see some interesting sights in Arkansas.

I passed the spot where I entered Hwy. 1 yesterday, and a short distance away pulled into the parking lot of a National Forest office and hiking trail.  The office was closed, but many people were stopping for the rest rooms.  Only a few took the hike which was a nice loop trail back through the trees.  For the most part, it seemed that the trees here were past their prime.  With nothing special to see, the fact it was November and a crispy cool morning made me think of picking up pecans.  This is the time of the year when people in Texas head out to pecan orchards to gather pecans that have fallen from the trees.

The mountaintop ridge climbed as I entered Arkansas and led to a great disappointment.  Although color could be observed in the forests in the valleys below, the trees along the ridge were far past their prime.  Most had no leaves at all.  It was just an ugly, dull brown, wintry look.  I had planned to stop, and maybe even camp out, at Magazine Mountain, the highest point in Arkansas, for the evening.  It was obvious that if the trees were already ugly at this atmosphere they would be the same on top of the highest point in the state.  I made a quick decision based on the following thoughts:  I had enjoyed the trees the past couple of days.  It seemed that I wouldn't see any better fall foliage on this trip.  I had intended to eventually be in Hot Springs only because the scenic byway in Arkansas would lead me there.  I really had no interest to drive through a wintry forest to get there.  I had planned to visit Bob and Judy Maroney again on Tuesday evening, but there really was nothing I wanted to do between now and then.  They were in Dallas where they were attending the opera.  It was Sunday, and the traffic would be better than it would be on a weekday.

I made a right turn and started heading back to San Antonio.  After driving straight through except for quick stops for something to eat, I got home at 10:30 p.m.

OK Hwy 1 Byway and Robbers Cave State Park

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.

Beavers Bend State Park

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013—Boxelder to Beavers Bend

Judy cooked breakfast for us this morning—scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls.  We continued our conversations from last night talking about lots of different topics—her quilting, Bob’s grapevines, Bob’s wine, their jellies and preserves, public radio, preferred magazines, computer connections in rural areas, novels, classes over the Internet, etc.  There seems to be a neverending series of topics when we get together.

After breakfast, Bob gave me a tour of his vineyard.  He told me what he has learned in the last year to improve his production and to keep the leaves free of fungus.  We tasted the different grapes which he said are not as sweet now as they were a month ago when he was harvesting them. 

He then gave me a tour on his new mule—a great improvement over the old one he had.  This one has a glass windshield and side windows.  It has a hard roof.  It has two bench seats so that it carries more people, and it has a small truck bed on back.  We went down the road a short distance and then returned.

By then, it was 11:30 and I needed to head for Oklahoma.  Tent sites cannot be reserved at the state park, and since there is a festival starting tomorrow at the park, I knew I needed to get here and get a site before there was a chance for them to be full. 

The trip took me across the Red River just north of Clarksville and then through Idabel and Broken Bow in Oklahoma.  As I progressed, I kept getting glimples of yellow and red trees.  The park, however, is south of the mountainous area I will be visiting in the next couple of days, so I expect to see more color there than I have so far.

I knew I would be in remote areas, so I stopped to get gas and to eat a burger at a Dairy Queen.  I was surprised at the size of Broken Bow.  I remembered it as being smaller than Idabel, but there isn’t a big difference in size.  Both have Wal-marts, and both have small Choctaw Casinos even though they are only 12 miles apart.  Neither is a great town, but each is better than I thought it might be.  The main reason, I guess, is that there are no larger towns nearby.  Clarksville was once the size of these towns, but people started going to Paris and Texarkana because they were bigger and offered more shopping opportunities.  In this part of Oklahoma, there’s nothing else bigger for a long distance.

This is my first visit to Beavers Bend State Park since the 1960s.  My family came here a couple of times on Sunday outings when I was still in school.  It’s a pretty park along a river with rocky cliffs going up one side.  I have chosen a camp site that is at the end of the Dogwood camp ground overlooking the river.  The ground is a bit damp because of the rain from yesterday, but it isn’t muddy.  I can hear lots of ducks in the area, and fallen tree leaves cover the site.  The trees here are either truning yellow or already have yellow leaves.  No one is swimming in the river, because it is now too cool.  The front yesterday took temperatures down to just above freezing last night, and it is comfortable this afternoon only in a thick long-sleeve shirt.  But the air is fresh and the scenery is beautiful.

They were already setting up for the folk festival when I stopped at the office to get a tent site.  There are food booths being set up.  I understand that there will be exhibits, demonstrations, etc., tomorrow and Saturday.  Bob and Judy will drive up and meet me here late tomorrow morning.  We will see the festival, then Bob wants to go to a nearby winery operated by two women.  I’ll stay two nights before heading further north into the mountains on Saturday.

Friday, Sept. 8, 2013—Beavers Bend State Park

I read using my headlamp for about an hour after it got dark last night.  My hands were getting cold being out of the covers, though, so I put everything away and went to sleep at 19:30.  I slept very well except for one problem.  About 4 times during the night there were loud horn noises—a series of 3-4 short honks followed by one lone one.  I kept thinking maybe it was a warning for a bridge raising to let a boat through.  Bob suggested today that it was probably warning that they were releasing water downstream from the dam.  Anyway, it was disturbing, and I will wear earplugs tonight to try to lessen the interruption.

I slept 12 hours, getting up at 7:30 this morning.  I washed, changed clothes, and walked to the festival grounds for the Beavers Bend Folk Festival.  It was only about a 25-minute walk from the campground to there.

I went through the exhibits, surprised that they were already crowded mostly with elderly people and with groups of school children.  There are many demonstrations—making lye soap, blacksmithing, carving, making candles, making ropes, quilting, weaving, spinning yarn, pressing flowers and leaves, etc.  They were fun to watch, but the most fun was to participate in a lesson teaching us to play the dulcimer.  There were 6 of us given dulcimers.  We were shown how to position them, how to hold the pick, how to stroke the pick, how to use our left finger to position for different notes.  Then the woman guided us through playing by telling us the positions for our fingers as we stroked the pick across the strings.  It was easy and fun.  Within 10 minutes, she had us playing while reading from a sheet of music. 

A great Irish band was playing as I waited for Bob and Judy.  They arrived just on time at 11:45 as Bob had said they would.  We went through the exhibits together, then we ate.  Bob and I had pork loin sandwiches (charcoal-grilled pork loin, tomato, onion, lettuce, and a spicy chipotle sauce.  Judy had a box of stir-fried noodles and vegetables. 

Bob and I listened as the Irish band played a second set.  Judy went back inside to do some shopping.  After that, we headed just north of here to visit the Girls Gone Wine shop.  Bob bought us each a glass of wine which we drank on their patio.  There, we continued to visit about various topics.  Around 16:15, we left there, and they brought be back to the campground.  I’ll spend the evening here again.  I’ll read and probably be heading to sleep at an early hour again this evening.  I’ll wear my earplugs tonight, though.

Back in Boxelder for a Visit

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013--San Antonio to Boxelder

It's still a very long drive from San Antonio to Boxelder (which is in northeast Texas just south of Clarksville).  I left San Antonio at 8:20 and arrived at Boxelder at 16:30--8 hours and 10 minutes with very little stopping.  I pulled off the highway in West to get kolaches for lunch at 11:30, then ate them as I continued driving.  I had a sausage-cheese-jalapeno one, a pulled pork one, and a cinnamon-maple twist one.  UMMMM!  I pulled off again in Rockwall to get gasoline at Costco.  Then I detoured through Commerce briefly.  There, I drove through town to see changes--new Luigi's Restaurant, new Dollar Tree, new sporting goods store, construction to expand the student center, etc.  I went to the art gallery in the art building, saw some interesting panoramic photographs of the university and the town on the walls in the Wathena Temple art building, and saw some nice photographs on the third floor of the Journalism Building.  Before leaving campus, I met a man in the development building who showed me some artwork which has been donated to the university by one of its former students.

I arrived in Boxelder just as Judy was getting home from her quilting date with the area women.  Bob had a fire going in the fireplace.  We sat and visited for a while.  Then Bob made caipirinhas for us while Judy cooked dinner--a chicken-spaghetti-cheese casserole with a green bean-pecan-feta cheese salad and garlic toast.  Bob served his homemade muscadine wine to go with the dinner.  It was all very delicious.

Afterward, we talked more.  We discussed health issues, friends, the university in Corpus, estate planning, travel, etc.

It was a nice evening.  It's just too bad we live so far apart.  It would be good to get together more often.

Tomorrow, I will head into Oklahoma.  Bob and Judy will drive up on Friday to join me for a folk festival they will be having at Beaver's Bend State Park where I will be camping for two nights.