Wonderful Wednesday Wanderings

We wonderfully wandered around Oklahoma today. 

So, here's the deal:  Wendy and Rick announced that they are retired and Don and I, semi-retired this summer, blissfully took the day off, so we all decided that we're in no hurry and we would just take our time going over and down to southeastern Oklahoma.  There's only one problem with that plan... we have to come home.  It was almost 10:00 last night when we got back.

But it was a good tired.  We saw a lot of beauty in this state.  There was one wrinkle in my day, however.  About twelve pictures into the day, my camera announced that it's internal memory was FULL.... TWELVE PICTURES?!!!  Surely I did not leave my SD card in the computer.... oh, surely I did.  Thank God, Wendy took her camera and got lots of pictures.  Here's what I did get after I erased my goof-off pictures and got ready for serious picture taking: 

Our first official stop was about 12:30 when we pulled into the Sardis Lake area for our picnic that we had prepared.  We were very hungry and enjoyed our picnic immensely under the shade of trees and on a nice, clean park picnic table.  After our picnic, the guys baited their hooks and went fishing.  Here's Rick in his new hat.

Don got a bite right off, but the fish took off with his worm and broke his line on a rock.Now, doesn't that look relaxing?  I don't know who this is (fingers crossed), but he looks cool.Don, again, after he got his line repaired.While the guys are fishing, Wendy and I are relaxing in our recliners.  We love our folding, portable recliners!  Wendy read a book and I.... well, it wasn't long before I was sawing logs ... zzzzz.  This dragon fly was perched on a small limb about eight feet above me. A bird pooped on Wendy's new chair... sorry, no picture. :-)  As we were leaving the lake park area, which was really nice with lots of RV parking sites, we saw this gaggle of geese.

We're now headed for the Talimena Scenic Drive, a national scenic byway.  Here are a few shots from the top of the ridge as we drove along the Talimena Scenic Drive.And just for me, a stately dead tree glistening in the sunshine.In the valley, the temperature was about 91.  Up here on the Drive, we saw 78 registered on the thermometer, with a nice breeze.  Such a beautiful day.A lake in the distance.  All of the mountains we saw today were part of the Ouachita (wah-che'-taw) Mountain Range.As we were driving along, all of a sudden, eagle-eyes Don said, "There's a sky-diver!"  We pulled in to the next vista point and found Matt sitting at the launch site talking to Ron way up in the sky flying his glider... not a sky-diver.  We all got to say "HI, RON!" in unison over the two-way radio.  Ron was way up there... this picture is zoomed in as much as I could zoom.From the launch site on the Talimena Scenic Drive at the Panorama Vista, you can see the landing site down in the valley below.  Sometimes the gliders land there, sometimes they land over in the Buffalo Mountain Valley area.  Matt, from Missouri, said today was a little windy for him, but he had been up earlier.  Ron, is his instructor.  It was very interesting and Don was wishing he was thirty years younger and heart-healthy. That was the end of my picture taking, but we drove on across the Arkansas state line, to the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge.  <<-- go to this site to see a beautiful aerial view of the lodge.  And this is the official site:  http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/      The history of this lodge is very interesting: http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/history/default.aspx

It's now getting late in the afternoon and we decide we need to turn our wheels toward "home."  Down the mountain we travel and head back west toward Heavener, OK, where we found the Southern Belle Restaurant:  a refurbished passenger train car converted into a restaurant with a well-known reputation for it's cuisine, especially the cream pies.  Don and Rick had the coconut cream, of course.  For pictures, you must visit Furys' Follies, Wendy and Rick's blog.  If she doesn't have today posted yet, just keep going back, she will get it posted soon.

You could spend and entire season (not including winter; too icy) in this area and not see everything.  The Fall is especially beautiful, also, with the turning leaves.  That's one thing about Oklahoma, you get to experience all four seasons in all their beauty.... and gusto.

Well, it was a great day.  We really appreciate Rick driving.  The back seat in their truck is more roomy than ours.  Don tries to drive our truck most of the time, because when Rick drives, he is such a good driver, he doesn't get to sight-see when he's driving, unless he stops, which we did a lot today.  We love sharing Oklahoma with them and I'm seeing parts of it that I've never seen, too.  We were even on one road today that Don had never been on. 

We are just so thankful for the RV ministry that God has called us to.  If not, we would never have met the Furys and experienced the love, friendship and happy times we've had with them.  Laughter abounds when we're together.

We are so blessed.