Bicycling Florida to Texas
Through
Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas & Oklahoma
2008 - May - June
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Mena AR to Talihina OK
Distance: 54.6 Miles
Entered Oklahoma our 44th State to Cycle In
This morning we loaded the bicycle and drove a mile to breakfast at a gas station, and then back up 2 hills to turn onto Highway 8 to head out of Arkansas. The weather was cooler and the further east we rode the easier the hills. We made several stops along the road to rest or have a snack. We stopped at the state boarder and took a picture of both state signs, as we entered Arkansas crossing the Mississippi River and the middle of the river is not a place to stop a bicycle to take a picture.
We stopped in Whitesboro for a snack and rest and met the store manager, who said in the last two weeks traffic and business had really dropped off. As prices rise people have less to spend and it is a vicious circle. As we approached Talihina we came to an "Open place of prayer and Bible Walk" We stopped and Mary Kay spent some time going around the Bible Walk. She took several pictures of the area. The walk covered both the major events in the Bible. It is no longer well maintained and we wondered who had made the walk, because someone had worked hard to make the attraction.
We arrived in Talihina and found out that another motorcycle club was ahead of us. They had every available motel room in the town taken. It was a repeat of Mena. Finally, the first motel we stopped at said that one person had not arrived to claim their room and we could have it. So tonight we have a clean room without internet access, but we are very relieved as we called all over town and our only option was to ride another 25 miles.
Motel Notes for Arkansas:
Most of the motels had religions tracks sitting on the counter when you registered and several had a Bible open at the desk in the room. One motel had a copy of the Upper Room Devotional in each room, and one motel on cable TV had a free pornography station, the first we had ever seen in a motel room. We also for the first time received bed bug bites in one motel, which are still itching.
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