Day 7: McAlester to Hot Springs (191 miles)

Fun road today! We’re taking the Talimena Scenic Drive between Talihina, OK and Mena, AR. But first: my heated gear was acting up last night, and my radar detector would turn off every time I hit the brakes, so I had to chase down some electrical gremlins…

It turned out I had run the wire to my USB charger too close to the engine’s exhaust headers.

Time to do some roadside soldering with my handy Radio Shack butane soldering iron!

With the electrical issues fixed, we were finally on the road. Well, almost. I had to stop at Walmart to buy some clothes, and by then it was lunch time, so we stopped at Twins Cafe in Haileyville, OK. The meatloaf special was phenomenal!

From there, we headed to Talihina, and then faithfully followed Google Maps to Mena on Route 63, which we thought was the Talimena Scenic Byway. It was pretty enough, but frankly kind of underwhelming. About halfway to Mena, I spotted a sign that said “Scenic Byway ←” — turns out we had accidentally taken a less-scenic shortcut! We turned, hopped on OK-1 — the actual Talimena Scenic Byway — and it was fantastic. Breathtaking views from the many overlooks, and gorgeous twisty roads.

The weather today was absolutely perfect: high 60s-low 70s with clear skies and a light breeze. We made a stop at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge in the eponymous state park — named in honor of teir queen by Dutch railroad investors — for a bathroom break and coffee paired with cobbler and ice cream.

We looked for hotel in Hot Springs, and Clo found The Hamilton, a motel which got great reviews. I was a bit skeptical — how great could it be for $84 a night? — but it turned out to be fantastic. We arrived just after sunset, checked in, and got to enjoy this view from our balcony over takeout burgers that I picked up from Boondock’s Billiards just across the street.