The Mary K. Oxley Nature Center has some beautiful trails.
It is located in Mohawk park next to the zoo.
They do get very messy if it has been raining a lot and some even disappear all together so it is best to go when it has been dry.
With the abundance of water you get to see a lot of wildlife.
Some I prefer seeing from a distance.
They have lookouts to view birds from and a pretty nice nature center.
Last week I went with my family to the Grand Canyon!
Nick and I have both been before but this was my boys 1st time!
We hiked down into the canyon a ways.
My oldest took our pic for us while we were taking a break.
I handed off the camera many times and asked my husband to take shots with me in them.
It is important that I have proof I was there!
Plus I know it will be fun to look back on later.
Second hike in.
I held my youngest little man’s hand a lot.
It was really not as scary as I thought it would be though.
That did not stop me from dreaming all night about steep drop off’s…
He brings out my mature side…
Pueblo in Arizona.
What can I say, sometimes I have something better to look at than the camera.
Red Rocks in Arizona!
This was an unexpected surprise, so beautiful!
Painted Desert.
Sandia Mountains at sunset!
Getting to hike on a snow covered mountain was another wonderful surprise!
These boys were so excited!
My oldest kept saying, “you found it!!!!”.
My happy place.
Some fun before we headed back home!
Make sure you get in the shot this holiday season!
Take a deep breath and hand over that camera!
If you are not happy with your weight here are a few tips.
-have them take it from above (low adds on pounds)
-angle yourself (you do not want to be the broadest to the camera, make your husband stand straight on so he looks bigger! he he he).
Check out Emily at the Anderson Crew for more inspiration about getting in the shot.
On our way to Beavers Bend State Park we stopped at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge and Heavener Runestone State Park.
The picture above was taken at Heavener.
It was POURING so we did not stay there very long.
We just walked down to see the runestone and then slipped and slid our way back up.
By the time we arrived at Beavers Bend State Park the rain had stopped!
Even though they had their big festival going on we had our choice of campsites because of the rain.
We chose a campsite right on the river between Grapevine and Hickory campsites.
I am not sure which one it was since it was in the middle of them both.
You could not park down at these sites but the parking was close by.
No one else was camping anywhere near us!
The boys loved the really nice playground they had at the park.
Of course!
We travel hours away from home to a brand new park and all they care about is the playground…
The deer were EVERYWHERE!
They seemed like they were used to people being around also.
They would just ignore you as you took as many pictures as you wanted.
The view from the Cedar Bluff Nature Trail.
It connects to their big trail the David L. Boren (26miles) but we did not go very far on it.
We had our dog and my husband was worried about the rocky terrain hurting her paws.
Next we took the Pine Ridge Nature Trail to the Heritage Center.
They have a museum there and an old log cabin so be sure to check it out if you go.
As we got closer to the Center there were signs with information about the animals and trees we were seeing.
It was a very kid friendly trail.
The fall colors were really pretty.
I love rain soaked leaves!
Over all it was a really nice park.
Since the Ouachita National Forest is on the way we tend to just go there instead.
I was told by many people that I needed to make the trip to Beavers Bend and I am happy I did.
That being said, we will probably continue going to Ouachita.
I love the Mountain terrain and it is a little bit closer.