Category Archives: Parks

My Family, Parks

Touring a Dam and a clear, cold creek.

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I am on a mission to visit all of the State Parks in Oklahoma.

This past weekend we went to Grand Lake to visit some of the parks over there and tour the Pensacola Dam.

They give tours all summer from 9-4. So much information!

I learned a lot from the tour!

You do go where the turbines are running so it can get very loud. Our tour guide was excellent.

Such a wealth of knowledge.

Afterwards we drove around trying to find this old state park called Little Blue State Park.

We had been told it had a great wading creek that was ice cold and clear but it was hard to find the entrance.

The road is across from Disney State Park that takes you to this little park.

So pretty and worth the search.
It is not very deep at all and very rocky.

I would definitely recommend water shoes of some sort.

There were a lot of crawdads and minnows.

It reminded me of the creek we used to play in as kids.

There was a slightly deeper area but it was pretty crowded so we did not stay over there. If you want deeper water to swim in Grand Lake State Park has a swimming area nearby. We went because this kid is about to have a birthday and I wanted to go somewhere the weekend before!

Last day of being 11!

I will have a twelve year old tomorrow!

Camping, Parks

Great Salt Plains Trip ~Oklahoma

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We camped at the Great Salt Plains State Park and then went on a crazy long drive through some beautiful country.

Watching the sunset at the Great Salt Plains Wildlife Refuge was on my “bucket list” or it would be if I had written one.
Camping with our 5 kids can be rough but these views make it all worth it.

The next morning we headed west to the Alabaster Caverns State Park.

The drive was beautiful!

The park was very pretty also! I am not a fan of caves so we did not go on the tour but there was a cave you could go inside yourself. I know we followed the bear trail signs but I am not sure of the name of the trail. It went to Owl Cave though. My oldest four love caves.

Next stop was Boiling Springs State Park.

This park was a bit of a dissapointment.

The spring is interesting to read about and the history of the park is interesting but the spring itself was not very impressive.

I was hoping to go on the hike down to the river but it was closed.

If you are in the area it might be an interesting quick stop but I would not plan a trip just to go there.

We went from Boiling Springs all the way to Enid.

Usually we would have stopped at Gloss Mts. State Park because it is one of my favorites but the museum we were going to was going to close soon.

If you make this trip I would recommend stopping at Little Sahara State Park and Gloss Mts. State Park though.

So, something like this.

It would be a way to see a lot of interesting things in Oklahoma.

Our next stop was the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center.

It is a place I have wanted to go for several years.

And we have an Oklahoma Historical Society Membership right now so we can get in for free.

We got there in time to tour the outside village.

The guides were friendly and very knowledgeable about Oklahoma history.

It was a nice museum and I am glad that we went even though it made for a long drive.

We dug for crystals that evening!

Are trips are rarely relaxing.

The girls put up with my crazy picture taking more than the boys… The next morning we let the kids swim at the lake at the park and then went one more time to the crystal digging site.

It was not easy but it was beautiful.

Check out the video I made of our time there.

Camping, Hiking, Parks

Trail of Tears State Park ~Jackson, MO

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On our way home from Indiana, we stopped at the Trail of Tears State Park.

The big plus of the campground at the park is that it was right next to the Missippi River!

The downside was the train track that ran right next to it.

And the train that runs 24/7, it honks it’s horn as it’s going past also…

In the MIDDLE of the night.

Ouch. They did have nice bathrooms and a playground but they were not in the campground but a little ways away from it.

I believe there was a vault type toilet in the campground though.

The Missippi was incredable to see this close up.

It was like a living breathing thing.

So intense.Another bonus of this park was the Museum at the visitors center.

I have become fascinated with learning all I can about early Native American culture and sharing it with the kids.A deadly crossing happened near the park on the Missippi.A trail goes behind the nature center and I was excited to go on it but it ended up being a really narrow trail with a lot of bugs and poison ivy.This was the trail I was using to test out if we wanted to go on a longer hike while at the park and I decided not to.

It is hard to deal with narrow trails that have poison ivy with kids.

They are constantly brushing up against it!

We were pretty excited to be back at the start.

This park does have some pretty views of the Missippi though.This overlook was amazing also.I saw pictures like this when I was looking for places to stay and it convinced me to stop there.

So I was pretty determined to find this deck.

I would like to check out this park again when it is a bit colder so less bugs and maybe the trails are not as close.