It's time for another AMOK Motoring Adventure. This time to Mena, over to Queen Wilhelmina and on to the Talimena Scenic Drive!

Our Adventure date is Saturday, September 29th. We'll meet in Mena for the start of our ride at 10am. We will be meeting up in LR and riding over together. Time and where to meet for departure is being worked on at this time.

Here's the plan: (as written by our Mena AMOK MINI)
Meet at Wendy’s/Exxon around 10:00 a m and travel up Hwy 88 west, which turns into the Talimena Scenic drive. There are 22 vistas but we will only see 11 because the other 11 are on the way to Talihina Oklahoma. The vistas provide many photo opts so bring you cameras.

Once reaching the top of the mountain, there is a miniature train to ride if you are interested, cost $3.50/person. The train is one of my favorite childhood memories and I highly recommend it. Lunch will be at the lodge atop the mountain before traveling into Oklahoma on Oklahoma hwy 1. We will return to Mena on hwy 270/59 for dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, Papa Pablanos and then to my house for desert(my house is just up the road from Papa’s).
Please visit these web sites, www.queenwilhelmina.com and www.talimenascenicdrive.com.


Thanks to our Mena MINI member for hosting this ride! This is going to be a great fun ride. The Talimena Scenic Drive is one of the top roads in the state, according to books and many others. T

he Duc will be going if anyone else is interested. It will be trailered down there. If others are interested in doing the bike thing, but have no way to trailer it let me know. Depending on how many bikes end up going will determine if we can trailer it. If it's too many we may just all ride.

 

Free Spirit,

Can you also get some accomodation info for the trip? You have probably already thought of this but I just had to get my two cents in.

This really sounds interesting to me because I have never been to Mena in my life even though I have been living in Arkansas for over 37 years.

Look forward to getting the updates.

 

If y'all are looking for places to stay overnight in the Mena area, will be hard to find a better place than right where you're headed - Queen Wilhelmina Lodge. It's been rebuilt within the last decade or so, I believe (it seems to have a habit of burning down every 2-3 decades) - state park lodge (think Petit Jean Lodge but better - maybe not quite as grand as new Mt. Magazine Lodge). Check out the lodge at the link above and recent reviews at Tripadvisor.com.

Man, I'm so jealous of the thought of this drive that I'm thinking of going on SSI or collecting unemployment just to be able to make it (work will interfere again). For those traveling from central AR west to Mena, MapQuest defaults to directing route on Hwy 270 all the way to Y City, then 71 south into Mena. However, on a recent work trip there, a knowing local told me to turn off 270 at Pencil Bluff, taking Hwy 88 west (Oden, Pine Ridge, Yocana, Ink) all the way into Mena - it was a more enjoyable (and timesaving) route over a lesser hwy.

 

I just found out I am going to be in Fayetteville that weekend. For some reason I thought the drive was on a weekend the Hogs weren't playing. Sorry, but I am a die hard fan and will unfortunately have to miss this ride.

I guess I will never see Mena.

 

Count me and the gsxr out - we will be rooting for the hogs that weekend. But I just have to share...was my birthday last week and I got some new things for Stella. She is looking sharp!

 

Saturday, September 29th, we are meeting up at the KMart parking lot on Rodney Parham and heading out at 8 am sharp. We’ll have a door prize at 7:50. This is going to be a really good run across Queen Wilhelmina and the Talimena Skyway. There is a train ride that cost only a few dollars atop Queen Wilhelmina. This ride will be one of the prettiest with some of the best views for the state. It is a highly ranked scenic drive so don't forget your cameras! There will be stops for photo opps.

This will certainly be one of the best AMOK Motoring Adventures

 

hey everyone. It looks like the Duc and Free Spirit won't be able to make it on this one. We had a really bad, bad week last week in more ways than one and it has affected what we can do for awhile. It was just one thing after another.:impatient We were both REALLY looking forward to this ride.

I'm sure everyone will have a good time. Post plenty of pics!

 

Hey Everyone,
I really hope you can make this run - I know that I am the sponsor of it but it will really be worth the trip .. If you can't make it, maybe we can try it again. They have programs up there at Christmas but the train won't be open and you wouldn't want to ride it in December anyway! I have lived here all my life and still find it breath taking everytime I cross the mountain. Oh yeah, my husband ran over a huge rattle snake up there Monday. So there is plenty of wild life to see also!
Hope to see you Saturday.

 

LMK if you plan on going this Saturday.

This is going to be a great ride. It will be beautiful!

Hey skagg42 good to read ya on here!

 

Question? Was anyone able to go on this ride? If the crowd was light, we most certainly need to take this trip on another weekend soon. I really wish I could have gone. Let's start discussing if this ride can be rescheduled. I know even if it was a good turnout, a lot more MINIs would have liked to go.

 

We hated we had to miss this drive but we had already planned on doing the Big Dam Bridge Bicycle Ride that day. I would love to go on the drive another time.

 

I agree rgp2, we should see about rescheduling this ride. Only a few MINIs were able to attend. They went up the mountain, rode the train, and ran the Talimena Scenic Drive. I really thought more would come out for that drive considering the Talimena is one of the best rated scenic roads in AR. Due to unforseen incidents I was not able to go either.

Maybe a rescedule in the spring when everything starts to get green again?

 

I will be there whenever we reschedule.

I am really glad some Minis showed up. From the message board, it looked like a wash.