Day 19 - ending near Octavia, OK - The Great Plains Trail - Sort Of

June 2, 2023

Day 19 - ending near Octavia, OK

Day 19 - Mena, AR to Octavia, OK

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Started writing report shortly after getting up at 4:49am. There's a good wifi signal here, which made posting so many pictures easier. Ate some Pop-Tarts for breakfast then packed up. All ready to go at 10:20am. Decided to stay and take advantage of the wifi to answer the backlog of comments I've been receiving for the journal. Thanks everyone!

My departure at 11:45am didn't give me much time to add miles before the noon report. It's a sad 1.8 miles. But it was another planned short day - 31 miles to Mountainside Campground and RV Park near Octavia, Oklahoma.

Continuing southwest on US-71, I arrived at the sign for Hatfield, Arkansas at 12:27pm, and was at Shelby's Cafe in town at 12:34pm. I was their only customer when I walked in, but later others arrived. I was told to grab a cup, get my drink, then sit down anywhere. My lunch was the Hamburger Steak Dinner with Dr Pepper. "Woo Pig Sooie" was a dessert listed on the menu. I had that also, which is a donut covered with apple [or strawberry] filling, surrounded with two scoops of ice cream. I told the waitress I'd never had anything like that before. She said, "Of course you haven't. I invented it."

Outside I filled my thermos with the leftover ice from my drink, then made my way west out of town at 1:47pm. Highway AR-286 was one option for getting to the campground, but my pre-planned route had me on a country road (Poke County Road 26) not shown on the state map. I didn't know if it was paved the whole way, but it sure started out nice.

At 2:20pm, the pavement ended. But it was a good gravel road, quite rideable. It was high up on a ridge which gave great views of the hills to the north. Looks like logging has been done along this road here and there. I came to one high spot that had a beautiful shaded area and a cooling breeze, which made the perfect place for a break.

The Oklahoma border was close. I had it marked on my GPS, but somehow missed it and didn't notice that until 3 miles after I was already in Oklahoma. So I don't know what time I crossed the state line.

At 3:30pm, I rounded a downhill bend. In front of me was the Low Water Bridge that I then remembered reading about. It's for crossing the Mountain Fork River, and is a local gathering place, I'd read.

More ups and downs as I continued west. At 5:07pm, I was back on pavement, just 6 minutes from highway OK-4 to Smithville, Oklahoma. In Smithville I turned right onto US-259. The speed limit for this highway is 65 mph, but it has a fair shoulder and there wasn't that much traffic.

At 6:00 p.m. I was passing CJ's Corner Store, and thought I should stop to at least get some Gatorade for tomorrow, if not also to eat something. The store has a full grill menu and places to sit, so I put in an order for a BBQ sandwich, then picked up other items to go along with my supper. This is an interesting store - very laid-back. I had to step around a snoozing dog that I almost didn't notice, laying in front of the door to the bathroom. I charged my cell phone some at the table I was sitting at, though since leaving the campground this morning, I have had no cell signal connection at all. I mentioned this to the workers at the store. They weren't surprised at all.

Back riding at 6:43pm. After a few miles, I turned left onto OK-144 for the 5 miles of riding left to get to the campground. Power poles all rigged up ready to be set lined the sides of the road. I missed riding over a dropped U-staple near one of the poles. I picked it up to keep others from having a flat, at least from this staple.

I arrived at the entrance to Mountainside Campground and RV Park at 7:30pm. I was reading information posted on the campground office door when a fellow pulled up in an ATV. The fellow was Ron, the owner of the place. He got me checked in. Just $15 a night for tent camping with electricity. Ron walked over with me to the area for tent camping. I'm usually limited to setting up my tent within 12 feet of the electrical box, since that's the length of my extension cord. But Ron freed me from that constraint tonight by providing a 100-foot extension cord so I could set up wherever I wanted. The facilities here are very nice and clean. There's a pavilion and deck where the bathrooms are, and even an ice chest. Ron offered me a popsicle for free out of the ice chest. What a treat!

When I asked Ron if there was a spot in the campground for getting a good sunset picture, he had me hop in his ATV and drove me to a spot, but the sun was already too low behind the trees there. Next he drove out of the campground and across the highway to a logging road. The gate was closed there. Otherwise, I would have been on top of a high bluff. That area had been logged four years earlier, and it was inspiring to see replacement trees already several feet high. Ron's Campground is most busy in the fall, when the place fills up with hunters. This forest area is one of the places they hunt in.

Ron dropped me off back at my campsite at 8:05pm. When I first arrived at the campground, I was really surprised to see my phone was now reporting a fair 5G signal. So I was able to write up and send off an email about my day and where I was.

Took a shower this evening then worked some on picture selection. The moon is almost full tonight. I played around some with my phone's camera. I was surprised to see the detail it could pick up of the moon when I zoomed way in.

What a great day today has been. I'm glad I took the slow, gravel road.

Jeff

Spent: $20.12 plus $4.88 (lunch) + $21.02 (supper items, Gatorade) + $15 (campsite) = $61.02