the Ouachita Mountains

Driving directions

Really just passed through Le Flore County on my way from Robbers Cave to Broken Bow Lake.  It's the home of the Heavener Runestone, a strange artifact of mysterious origin.  Heading east to Heavener, the terrain gets ever more rugged and picturesque; the hills get taller, and you can catch a glimpe of Sugar Loaf Mountain, the most prominent peak in Oklahoma.  Heavener Runestone Park is perched up on a hillside with splendid views overlooking the valley and distant peaks.  The walking trail is very pretty, and I even unexpectedly got to see some icicles hanging from a rock.  The runestone itself is quite large, and very bizarre; wherever it came from, it's certainly interesting to look at.

Heading south from there, I crossed into Arkansas before driving up a very steep road onto Rich Mountain, a long ridge spanning the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line.  The portion in Oklahoma is the highest elevation in the eastern part of the state at 2666 ft/813 m.  Running along the length of the ridge in both states is the Talimena Scenic Drive, which offers many pullouts with views akin to Skyline Drive in Virginia.

Over on the Arkansas side is Queen Wilhelmina State Park, whose lodge is of an old, classy variety.  It has a restaurant, but was very crowded when I was there, so I chose not to wait.  It would be a great place to stay for a weekend, and I imagine during the summer it would be at least marginally less hot and humid than the surrounding states.  There are also several great hiking trails forming loops from the lodge with breathtaking panoramas of the valley floor far below.  Most people not from this part of the country probably don't associate "hills" and "views" with Arkansas and Oklahoma, but they would be wrong!

Continuing south back in Oklahoma, I reached Beavers Bend State Park on the shores of Broken Bow Lake.  It was too late to do any hiking that day, but I enjoyed watching the golden hour light and sunset on the hills surrounding the lake.  Again, it would be a beautiful place to camp, but it was cold enough I stayed in a motel in town.  I was very hungry by that evening, so I wolfed down two(!) delicious pizzas at Grateful Head Pizza Oven & Tap Room.  Despite its mediocre Google rating, I would recommend it.