Driven: Oklahoma 259

Summer vacation is over, and the second semester of Ozarkbahn is here. Dress in layers and bring a sack lunch, because we're starting off with a field trip to the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma.

[Highway 259 on Google Maps]

Highway 59 was built to span America from Mexico to Canada, and a previous episode explored an action-packed stretch in Southwest Missouri. US 59 is roughly 1,500 miles long in all, and the final connection built was a steep jaunt through LeFlore County named Oklahoma 259.

In a "Golden Spike" ceremony of sorts, President John F. Kennedy dedicated the highway's opening in October 1961 at Big Cedar, Oklahoma. New Frontier, indeed. Even backwoods Oklahoma was within missile range of Jack's policy of interstellar progress.


Big Cedar, OK, and the Three Sticks monument

Lucky us, because the road's switchback climb up Kiamichi Mountain from Big Cedar is one of the most entertaining ribbons of pavement in the country. At the top, the Three Sticks scenic overlook commemorates the state politicians who helped build the road with a monument symbolizing land, wood, and water. The highway never spurred the intended commerce to unlock those resources, but a drive like this is a fine legacy as far as I'm concerned.



If nothing else, the area does a thriving business in one thing: bigfoot sightings. The area around Big Cedar has seen its share of Sasquatch reports.

[Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy - LeFlore County]



Make no mistake: this is Sasquatch country. Locals hold the Honobia Bigfoot Festival every year in the woods about 30 miles away from Big Cedar. It's part family carnival, part Very Serious seminar with panels of professors and bigfoot experts. There's even a genuine bigfoot hunt. If you spot something hairy, bipedal, and barefoot, grab your camera. It may not be a local, but a marvel of science!

[2009 Honobia Bigfoot Festival]

Science also astounds on the Indian Nations Trail at Hochatown State Park a few miles South on 259. The Ouachitas are an ancient mountain range worn to blunted hills, leaving a sparkling plethora of geological curiousities not found on the Ozark Plateau. The forest is littered with quartz, and visitors are welcome to pocket a grip of crystals for personal use. In one short hike, your chakra can be completely realigned.



The whole drive down Oklahoma 259 is great for harmonizing your bio-energies. It's a lightly populated area with minimal traffic and human encroachment, a rare pleasure given the attraction. The driving challenges wither in places, but there's constant rolling greenery to satisfy your metaphysical side.



The Ouachitas slide into the Red River flatlands near Broken Bow, where the End of Trail Motel marks an appropriate terminus. The mid-century neon sign is super cool, a real roadside treasure. History value? The name and figure are based on a 1915 James Earle Fraser sculpture, End of the Trail, capturing the sorrow of dislocated Native American culture. On the upshot, air conditioning and free HBO!


Oklahoma 259: for Americans of distinction

The tattoo on my chest reads "Ozark 4 Life," but this week I proudly boast, "Ich bin ein Ouachitabahner."

Traffic: I could spend Thirteen Days here
Driving challenge: mild to superb
Purty mouth: watch out for anyone named Harry
Ouachitabahn rating: Ask not what your Ozarkbahn can do for you, but what you can do for your Ozarkbahn