Tag Archives: Oklahoma

History, Museums/Events, My Family

This is my normal and Pawnee Bill Ranch

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We went to the “Fall In Love with Pawnee Bill Ranch Festival” this year. They had a blacksmith work the event and he was amazing.

Several of my kids could have stayed and listened to him all day. He was a great teacher. Some of the things to do needed tickets but they had free activities also, including a wagon ride! The wagon ride took us right into the Bison and Longhorn herds! We had actually just dropped my husband off at the airport for a work trip and my mother in-law was with us.
I struggled with needing to have her come and needing extra help while Nick was gone but decided to accept it as what our family needs and that it is normal for us. Sometimes it is hard when you feel like your family is not “normal” but it is normal.

 

Just a different kind of normal 😉

I heard someone say that on instagram and latched onto it.

The last time he went was a bit of a disaster but this time went so much better. I am so thankful for lots of fun events and places to go like this one to help the days go fast! I had not been to the Pawnee Bill Ranch before, it was smaller than Woolaroc but still a fun stop and the fall event was a great distraction! The boys really embraced the “lookout” part of this tower 😉 I would really like to attend a Wild West Show at the ranch someday.

They hold it every spring and I think it would be so much fun!

    Do you feel like you are not “normal” sometimes also?

Know that you are not alone.

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.