TALIMENA 1 Event! (120 Mile Road Tour), May 2-4, Oklahoma Options

[ClayPerrine]

For the last three years, this has been an informal gathering of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas 914 drivers and their cars. Last year, among all the 914's, we had three 911's attend the event (without incident, brawling, or name calling (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif), plus a 944. And this year we may have 3 or 4 Carreras, an early longhood and a Cayman. For whatever reasons, many of the Okie teeners are gone. So while our group size will remain about the same, and air-cooled, we will be more multi-colored... a good opportunity to learn more about the porsche family. And the event will continue it's tradition of being a low cost casual gathering that emphasizes cars and driving.

I look forward to seeing all the beautiful people and their rides!

Here is the updated info for this year.

We will meet in Talihina, OK, at the Talihina Inn. This is a classic "car" motel from the sixties and the rates are very economical (about 40 bucks or so). We have permission to grill hamburgers in the parking lot again Saturday night. Kitty (motel owner) likes our group.

For our tour 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 higher speed turns with many tight switchbacks that are often preceded by steep downhill grades.

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.

Remember, this is a road tour. It is not a race, nor is it a driving competition. If you want to race, I suggest you go elsewhere. In fact, I'd love to see you at my next autocross. All participants are encouraged to drive at their own comfortable pace and obey all traffic laws.

We will tour around Mena, maybe have lunch, 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. Remember, this is a 120 mile round trip - be adequately prepared... or be prepared to be adequately humiliated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) We will be in touch as the time draws near.

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TALIMENA 1 AGENDA

Friday, May 2nd
Just hangin' out for those who don't want to drive down early Saturday morning. Maybe we'll order takeout pizza. Of course we'll need some beer to go with that...

Saturday, May 3rd
9:14am Breakfast at Pams Cafe
10:00am (meet in parking lot of motel)
Kiamichi Inn (504 Dallas St.)
Talihina, OK ( http://www.talihinacc.com/ ).

We'll discuss the tour, swap out some mobile numbers and have a few designated leaders & sweeper.

11:00am We will plan on heading out from Kitty's parking lot for the tour to Mena.

There will be several scenic turnouts we will take advantage of on our way to Mena, AR.

1:30ish We'll have a late lunch in Mena, we will return to the BBQ place we discovered last year.

2:30pm We'll tackle highway 1 for our return to Talihina. We should be back at the motel around 5:00pm or so. We'll take a break and clean up our cars.

7:00pm hamburger/hotdog cookout in the motel parking lot.

Sunday May 4th
9:11am Breakfast at Pam's Cafe and say our goodbyes.

For reservations call 918-567-2243. VERY important, tell "Kitty" or Carmin you're with the 914 group.
NEW 2008 RATES:
1 bed 1-2 people 43.90
2 bed 2-3 people 54.88

If there are no rooms available, just google Talihina OK and there are plenty of other nearby motels.

If you have any questions, call myself (Joseph 405-615-9000), or Clay (817-360-4067).