SE Oklahoma trip

We wanted to share a few of the highlights of our recent trip to southeastern Oklahoma. We talked about a weekend get-away to the Broken Bow/Beaver's Bend area last fall, but we couldn't fit it in with hectic work schedules, so we decided to go this month to celebrate Gary's birthday and our anniversary. So, last Friday morning, armed with Mapquest directions and our road atlas, we headed out for Smithville, Oklahoma. Neither one of us was really sure what to expect and we were a little apprehensive. Since we weren't familiar with the area......restaurants and such, we decided to stop in Poteau for some groceries since our cabin was equipped with a full kitchen. After the pit stop for food, we continued on southward. The terrain was becoming more green, lush and mountainous at this point. We wound through part of the Ouchita National Forest; up, down and around mountians. We finally reached the turn off for Smithville......night was fast approaching and it was becoming very hazy......we were hoping to reach the cabin in the daylight. Following the directions the proprietors gave us, we passed the post office, the school and the little cafe (about all there is in Smithville by the way) and turned left at the rodeo grounds onto a very narrow county road. We wound back into the mountains for 8.5 miles on this creepy little dirt road. I was beginning to get a little worried that we were lost and I was waiting for the banjos to start playing the theme song from Deliverance!! If you've ever seen the movie "Wrong Turn" you know how I was feeling!! But we pressed on and we eventually did make it to the cabin. The food stop was a great plan because we were at least 30 miles from town!! So, Gary lit a fire in the little cabin's fireplace and we cooked burgers for dinner. The next morning, we took off down the county road again and soon found ourselves in Arkansas. We picked up some steaks to cook for dinner that night in Mena, Arkansas and then we took off down the Talimena Drive. The drive was beautiful!! We stopped for lunch at the Queen Wilhemena lodge and continued on back to our cabin. On our final morning there, the owners horses came to visit us before we left. We had some apple slices that they enjoyed. On our way out we stopped at the Mountain Fork River for some senic photos. We also stopped in Krebs, Oklahoma on our way home and had dinner at Pete's Place.....a very historic, tasty Italian restaurant. It was a fun and relaxing weekend all in all and I'm very glad we made the trip!! We're thinking about maybe going back in the warmer months when we can partake in some of the water activities in the area. It would be really nice if we could get the kiddos to go with us!! We've added some photos of the beautiful scenery!!