Arkansas and oklahoma

[belle22]

Will be driving from Dallas to nashville would like to be able to do mark off Arkansas and Oklahoma off the states haven't been to list. We won't have much time to stop so the stops need to be something quick less than two hours. Any suggestions?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Arbuckle Wilderness in OK is fun (off I35).

 

[angeladcp]

If you are driving through North Little Rock the President Clinton Library is a really interesting place to go to. We've done that in a couple of hours.

 

[Narnia_girl]

If you will be through Oklahoma City the bombing memorial is beautiful. A nice, outdoor memorial that can take as long as you'd like.

 

[ktlm]

A friend of mine went to Arbuckle Wilderness recently and said it was awful-nothing like it used to be. Assuming the weather is nice, I would go to Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City and do the boat tour down the canal. If it is a meal time, there are lots of restaurants in that area too. If the weather is not great and you like Art, the Museum downtown is nice and does not take that much time- there is a great Chuihuly glass display. The OKC zoo is really nice, but you probably don't have time for that. The science museum is fun, and you could probably see quite a bit of it in 2 hours, but you might be cutting your time short there too. There is a natural history museum in Norman that would be just a few miles off I-35 if you don't care that you aren't actually stopping in OKC. It is a nice museum and you could see a lot of it in 2 hours- you could also see the University of Oklahoma campus too as it is right there.

http://www.bricktownokc.com/

http://www.bricktownwatertaxi.com/

http://www.okcmoa.com/

http://www.okczoo.com/

http://www.sciencemuseumok.org/

http://www.snomnh.ou.edu/

 

[Gumbo4x4]

A friend of mine went to Arbuckle Wilderness recently and said it was awful-nothing like it used to be. Assuming the weather is nice, I would go to Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City and do the boat tour down the canal. If it is a meal time, there are lots of restaurants in that area too. If the weather is not great and you like Art, the Museum downtown is nice and does not take that much time- there is a great Chuihuly glass display. The OKC zoo is really nice, but you probably don't have time for that. The science museum is fun, and you could probably see quite a bit of it in 2 hours, but you might be cutting your time short there too. There is a natural history museum in Norman that would be just a few miles off I-35 if you don't care that you aren't actually stopping in OKC. It is a nice museum and you could see a lot of it in 2 hours- you could also see the University of Oklahoma campus too as it is right there.

http://www.bricktownokc.com/

http://www.bricktownwatertaxi.com/

http://www.okcmoa.com/

http://www.okczoo.com/

http://www.sciencemuseumok.org/

http://www.snomnh.ou.edu/

That's a shame about Arbuckle. It HAS been many years since we've gone.

 

[ktlm]

That's a shame about Arbuckle. It HAS been many years since we've gone.

I was sorry to hear it too. We used to really enjoy it there. She said it is totally dilapidated and the only thing still open is the drive through itself. She said only one bathroom stall was operational, the rest were duct taped shut and looked like they had been that way for a while, and the one that was open had water on the floor. She said the drive through itself was okay and the animals did look healthy and taken care of and her kids did enjoy the drive through, but that she could not recommend the place anymore. Her DH had been really looking forward to it as he used to absolutely love the place, and he was really disappointed.

 

[2TxAgs]

The Talimena Scenic Byway from OK to AR is beautiful. The drive up from Dallas is not terribly exciting, but the scenery on the Byway and in Central Ark is pretty. Crater of Diamonds State Park is AR is the only place in the US where you can hunt for diamonds and keep what you find. It's really a big open field that is plowed over regularly and each year a couple folks find some good sized diamonds. I wouldn't stay more than 1-2 hrs. Hot Springs has the Mid America Science Museum which is totally cool. When are you traveling and how old are the kids?

 

[Pugsley]

This is so timely - DH and I were just talking last night about making a plan to see our remaining unvisited states. I have 8 left, including Oklahoma and Arkansas. I think the only one that's going to be difficult to check off the list is North Dakota.

 

[xlsm]

I live in Northwest Arkansas, which is amazing, but not on your route unless you go out of your way. However, if you end up ever driving through here, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a must visit. Echoing the above poster who mentioned the Clinton Library in Little Rock. It's pretty amazing. Arkansas as a whole is just gorgeous, really, with quite the varied landscape.

 

[ktlm]

I'm thinking about your drive. Is there a reason you are coming through Oklahoma? I think the shorter route between Dallas and Nashville is to go up I-30 which heads through Arkansas, but does not go through Oklahoma at all? There is a route to go up through Oklahoma City and then east on I-40 directly to Nashville, but I think that route is about 3 hours longer than going straight through Arkansas. If you are going the direct route, the only part of Oklahoma you even get close too is the very Southeast Corner which is a very rural area. There is Broken Bow lake and Beaver's Bend State Park, which I've heard is really pretty (never been there myself), but even that would be an hour off of your path to Nashville. I think you can go up that direction and then keep going north past the lake and take the Talimena scenic drive that a PP mentioned to cut back over to I-30, but I'm not sure how much time that would add to your drive- I think it would be a couple of hours longer. I've heard the Talimena drive is gorgeous in the fall when the colors are changing and I know people that make the 3 1/2 hour trek from OKC just to do that drive that time of year, but I'm not sure about other times of the year. Again, that is something else I've never done.

 

[belle22]

We are only going to OK to say we have been to the state.. so I need places to see on southeast online the state line.. Any places to stop?

 

[ktlm]

We are only going to OK to say we have been to the state.. so I need places to see on southeast online the state line.. Any places to stop?

I'm not from that area of Oklahoma and have only been to that most southeast county twice, but as far as I know the state line down there is pretty much totally rural. The Red River is there and I think maybe some very small lakes, but very very rural. Unless you wanted to take the scenic route I mentioned above and go further in, I'm not sure you are going to find much, if anything to see on the state line. I'm not even sure from I-30 that there is a road that even goes to the state line that is not going to take you quite a ways out of your way. Maybe someone that knows more about that area of the state can tell you more. The closest town is Idabel which has a population of about 7000, but even to go there is go to take you up a highway for a good 45 minutes or more off your path.