TALIMENA 1, Southwest gathering and 120 mile drive. Options

[Joseph Mills]

TALIMENA 1 is BACK!!!

Okay... it's that time of the year again! If you live in the great southwest and are just dying for a teener gathering, you're in luck! This is a no fees, no frills, no t-shirt, cheap motel gathering of teener owners with an emphasis on DRIVING.

Details:

Saturday, April 22nd
10:00am (meet in parking lot)
Kiamichi Inn (504 Dallas St.)
Talihina, OK ( http://www.talihinacc.com/ ).

For reservations call 918-567-2243. Tell "Kitty" you're with the 914 group.
These are new rates (still cheap):

1 bed 1-2 people 38.41
2 bed 2-3 people 49.39
3 bed 3-5 people 60.36

We will plan on heading out from Kitty's parking lot around 11:00am.

I will bring two of my 2-way radios. If you have some, bring'em... along with your mobil phone.

Remember, this is not a drive around the block - be adequately prepared... or be prepared to be adequately humiliated. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif) Extra parts and tools are strongly advised.


We have 120 miles of beautiful driving in store.

The tour will be similar in nature to the MUSR road tours, in that there will be opportunities for some "spirited" driving, but it is not a race, nor is it a competition. If you want to race, meet me at the next MUSR AX. All participants are encouraged to drive at their own comfortable pace. We will be stopping on numerous occasions for "breaks" at the scenic viewpoints and a few "photo ops'. This will allow us to re-group when necessary. Bring your camera!
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OVERVIEW:
This is an informal gathering of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas 914 drivers and their cars. We will meet in Talihina, OK, at the Kiamichi Inn. This is a classic "car" motel from the sixties. We again have permission to grill hamburgers in the parking lot Saturday night right next to our cars. Miss Kitty (motel owner) likes our group.

From Talihina, we will approach State Highway 1, also known as the Talimena National Scenic Byway, or for short, Talimena Drive. This road runs for sixty miles to the town of Mena, AR. Although other states can boast of a larger quantity of twisties, Talimena holds it's own when it comes to a driving challenge, and has been identified as one of the best sportscar roads in America by Car and Driver Magazine and various other car and bike organizations. It extends west to east on top of the ridgeline of Winding Stair Mountain and Rich Mountain in the Ouachita National Forest north of the Kiamichi Mountains.

These sixty miles of highway are filled with sharp curves and 13% grades of unbroken blacktop. There are lots of both low and high speed turns with many tight switchbacks that are often preceded by steep downhill grades. Your brakes should be in their best condition.

Overall, the road surface itself is in very good shape with only occasional, rough areas. There are many scenic vistas that overlook the valleys for pulling over and regrouping, or taking some pics. All of it comes together so nicely, that even if you're temporarily stuck behind a slow moving RV, it's still a cool drive.

We will tour around Mena, have a lunch break, and when everyone is ready, get back to the driving task at hand, and tour back to Talihina. After a break, we'll get together for our cookout and favorite beverages. Sunday morning we'll have a nice breakfast before heading home.

This is a fair weather get together. Mild chance of rain will not deter us, however eminent threat of severe precipitation will cancel our plans. We will be in touch as the time draws near.

Hope to see you!