A day in Talihina, OK

On Tuesday, I decided to take the day off and relax in Talihina and see what my hosts from the Choctaw Nation had to offer. I was tired and worn out. After contacting a BMW dealer in OKC (Oklahoma City) I went out for lunch and a little sight seeing. The local diner was the first stop.

 Very nice diner with interesting decoration. You know you are in the frontier when you have .45 peace makers hanging from the wall

 And again, this part of the country is super cheap that steak below for $13 clams and unlimited root beer. It was a hunk of meet a tender as hell. I was surprised.

I then went out to take a few pictures of the town (the town was actually two streets) and shop around. Ha!

I wanted to buy a Swiss army knife but could not make up my mind

 Then went for an old time Ice Cream Soda.

After the soda, I felt it was too hot to walk outside so I went to the hotel to wait for the sun to come down a little. At around 3:30 PM, I jumped on the saddle and headed for.. you guessed it. Talimena Skyline. I wanted to take the pictures I missed taking the day before and I also wanted to enjoy the cool weather at 2,600 feet Watch.

 

 Right on top of the ridge. On the right side of the ridge is the North and on the left the South and because each side has different sun exposure each side has different vegetation. Hard wood on the South, Pine on the North. The road goes along the mountain ridge you see in back.

 Parts of the road were covered with flowers.

 The official photo entering the state. I couldn't make one when I was crossing from Alabama

 Ooohh and you know it's on when I see this sign. I get nasty.
 To make matters even better, I didn't have all my luggage with me so I was just having a blast. What Tail of the Dragon!??

 The tail of the dragon is over rated

 This tree below is a White Oak. As you know, this tree grows in excess of 100 feet but these only grow 10 feet tall.This dwarf Oak is believed to have more than 200 years. The reason is that the wind is always blowing from the SW taking away all the moisture from the surface and because the ground is rocky the water quickly goes under into the mountain . These mountains get an average of 60 inches of rain per year but very little remains on top forcing the Oaks to adapt to very harsh conditions; almost like a desert.

 These are the views that were hidden by fog the first time I made the trip. I saw the park in a different new light.

 This rattle snake was trying to cross the road when I was passing by. I had never seeing one before so one less from the bucket list

 And on these stretches of road is where I would hit 75 miles without having to worry about anything. Just the occasional Turkey.

 The day ended back in Talihina, Oklahoma and its 87 F degrees after 4 hrs of riding to and from Mena, Arkansas. I could not complaint. I saw deer, snakes, beautiful views and flowers. Wotta day!!