Trip to Talihina, OK October 9-11, 2009

Jill and I traveled with brother Mike and wife Trina to Horse Heaven Ranch (HHR) [34^42'20.39"N; 95^2'11.80"W] near Talihina, OK.  This was a camping trip.  Jill and Trina slept in the living quarters of Mike's horse trailer while Mike and I slept in a tent.  Talihina (pop 1227) is in LeFlore County Oklahoma, in the Oachita Mountains and is not to be confused with the nearby Talimina Trail.  Access to Talihina is at the intersection of US Hwy 271 and Oklahoma Hwy 1.  Horse Heaven Ranch is outside Talihina at 37522 State Hwy 63, Talihina, OK 74571.  The crow-fly distance from our home in Ottawa County to Talihina is about 140 miles.  However, if the crow is walking along the highways in eastern Oklahoma, the distance is closer to 180 miles.

I brought my black APHA mare, Jasmine.  Jill brought her mule, Pete.  Mike and Trina brought two of their arabians, Rainey and Spirit which they switched from day to day.

The preceding five days had brought continuous rainfall.  We were hoping that the predicted break in the weather would come but although the rain held off, the clouds and dampness stayed with us.  Consequently, the ground was muddy with frequent large puddles on the trails and the streams were swollen.  We were about a week too early to catch the fall colors that light up this area in mid-October.

The trails were generally narrow and winding through the trees and the hills.  This region is heavily logged and we passed several areas that had recently been logged with shredded trees and branches littering a barren landscape.  Actually, the best riding was on the logging roads as most of the trails passed through numerous areas of rounded rocks about the size of footballs which I refer to as ankle-busters.

The management is friendly and helpful.  The campground is pleasant with level concrete pads for trailers although the pads may be a bit small for today's long-long trailers with living quarters.  Several lady riders brought in their rigs and were able to park them on the pads.  The campground provides a comfortable bathhouse with clean toilets and showers (plenty of hot water).

No trip to the Talihina area is complete without a visit to Pam's Hateful Hussy Diner in downtown Talihina.  The food is good and the prices are even better.