We all form mental images of places we have never visited. The image many people have of Oklahoma is of flat grassland. I never had a chance to form that particular image myself since the first part of the state I ever saw, at age 10, was the southeast and then for a number of years I lived in northwest Arkansas, “next door” to Green Country so my primary image of Oklahoma has always been mainly hills and forests. However, until recently I was a little vague about the western half of the state.
Because photos of the mountains are the scenes that most often prompt exclamations of surprise from non-residents I will start this series with Talimena Scenic Drive. At 54 miles long it is approximately half the length of Virginia’s famous Skyline Drive but, in my opinion, Talimena makes up for it by being twice as beautiful. It runs from Talihina, Oklahoma to Mena, Arkansas and gets its name from those two small towns. There are no stores or restaurants on the drive itself but there are sufficient rest stops, one or two picnic areas, and many overlooks where you can park and get out and admire the scenery and take pictures.
In the first one you can see part of the highway. It is two lanes the whole way. Elevation on the highest points is (if I remember correctly) approximately 2000 to 2500 feet.
These were all taken in September 2007. I am quite impatient to go there again sometime when the sky is mostly clear. In case you missed it, here is another photo that I posted a couple of weeks ago.
UPDATE:
Thanks for the links from Bates Line and Bounded Rationality
August 11th, 2009 - 4:06 am
Living a long way away (Dorset, in England) I have never formed a proper idea of what Oklahoma might be like and the musical is probably the main introduction many of us have to it (even to the name).
So your images are all the more powerful - and the road snaking into the distance reminds me of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland - though the landscape along the parts I used to be familiar with is bleaker and less wooded.
The clouds and the brooding light give your photos a dramatic feel - but it will be interesting, too, to see the same places when the sun is shining.