Oklahoma, Ho!

Our blog entries are running a bit behind real time, so starting with this entry, I'll include some dates to help keep track of where we were when.

Monday, April 29th - the day DH got to check off Oklahoma on his list of states he has been to!

We left Hot Springs by 9 AM, headed west to Oklahoma.  Our accommodations for the night were about 110 miles away, so we didn't have to be in a hurry to get there.  We were taking US-270 and Arkansas 8/Oklahoma 63 through Mt. Ida, Pencil Bluff, Pine Ridge, and Mena, Arkansas.

We stopped in Mt. Ida to mail postcards from the Post Office, and then drove to a roadside vista that overlooked the mountains between Mt. Ida and Pencil Bluff.

Post Office in Mt. Ida

Vista view between Mt. Ida and Pencil Bluff, Arkansas

Vista view between Mt. Ida and Pencil Bluff, Arkansas

We stopped in Pine Ridge to see the Lum and Abner Jot 'em Down Store and Museum, but it was closed.  I wasn't familiar with Lum and Abner, but the museum was right on the highway.  Apparently the characters of Lum and Abner were so popular in the 1930s that the town of Waters, Arkansas, renamed themselves Pine Ridge after the fictional town of Lum and Abner.  You can read more about Lum and Abner here.

Lub and Abner Museum, Pine Ridge, Arkansas

A little further down the road was Mena, Arkansas.  We stopped at the Mena Depot Museum and Visitor Information Center.  When we arrived, it was closed with a "back in an hour" sign (but no indication of when the hour started).  Because it's the old Kansas City Southern Depot, there were things to see outside.  While we were waiting, a train came by; it was running fast and it was loud and made it really windy.  I got it on video on my phone.

About 10 minutes later, the lady came back and opened the museum.  It was small museum but had a lot of local history, and it also included an area dedicated to Lum and Abner, the two fellas who got their start on radio from Mena.  We spent about an hour in Mena before heading on.

The train coming by in Mena, Arkansas

Mena is about 15 miles east of the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line, so it wasn't long before we reached the signs.  The highway we were on was not busy and there was a safe place to pull over, so we stopped to take pictures as it was DH's first time in Oklahoma!

Welcome to Oklahoma

Our accommodations for the night were in Big Cedar, Oklahoma, at the Big Cedar Cabins and Campgrounds, about 12 miles into Oklahoma.  Check in was at 2 PM and we were arriving just after noon - so we stopped at the corner of US 259 and the road we were on to look at a memorial to John F. Kennedy.  I know what you're thinking - because DH wondered, too - why in the world is there a memorial to President Kennedy at the corner of US 259 and Oklahoma 63?  The memorial was erected in honor of JFK having dedicated the highway on October 29, 1961, just a few weeks prior to his death.

JFK Memorial, US 259/Oklahoma 63

Our next entry will be about the campground and our first night in Oklahoma!

And what I really want to know is if any of you were familiar with Lum and Abner?

~ Cindy D.