Oklahoma - Boiling Springs State Park

Got chilly last night.  Only 19F according to our thermometer.  A might nippy for sleeping in a tent but there was a man and his two sons doing just that.
 Just across the way from where we are camped is a very large tent and it even has an air conditioner in the side wall.  I don't know if this is for rent or if it belongs to only one individual.

We went for about a 3 mile walk to see the park. We were looking for the boiling springs and came upon it quite by accident.  We heard running water and went to investigate.  We ran into some fellow Canadians!



 spring produces 30 gallons per minure

 The springs aren't actually hot.  They were named Boiling Springs because they looked like water boiling in a pot.

This park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1940.

 We took the nature walk through the woods to see the North Canadian River.

It's size isn't very impressive but the water is clear.

There were several different looking trees along the walk and I had to take a picture of this one because of it's unusual bark.

October 28 - we moved on this morning planning on staying in another Oklahoma State Park but alas there was no one around so we carried on and are presently camped one mile from the Texas border at Texola, OK.



Oklahoma - Alabaster Caverns State Park

 As we neared our destination we came across the Cimarron River at Freedom, OK.

You can see from the pictures that this river has suffered because
of the drought.

We moved 68 miles down the road to Alabaster Caverns State Park.  This park is only 200 acres in size and there are only 10 campsites for rv’s and 13 sites for tents.  We are the only ones camping here.

We were lucky enough to pick a campsite and then take a tour with
two other people and the guide.  We had a leisurely pace going through the caverns. 
Alabaster Caverns is the largest gypsum cave in the world with guided tours.  There are five species of bats in the cavern and we saw some that were starting to hibernate.

selenite crystals

bat starting to hibernate



alabaster deposits



We found out from locals that the major crop in Oklahoma is winter wheat and most of it has been sown for this year.  The other crops, corn and sorghum grain are used for silage.

Oklahoma - Great Salt Plains and Sod House Museum

This morning, October 23^rd, saw us on the road to see the Great Salt Plains.

  Unfortunately because of the migration of cranes and other birds the salt plains are not accessible to drive on or to perchance dig for Selenite crystals.  These crystals are a variety of gypsum occurring in transparent crystals.  The crystals can only be found in the Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge. 

Clark was fortunate to talk to our next door camper and received some crystals from him.  It pays to be neighborly!

We continued on to see the Sod House Museum near Aline, OK. The present museum is built around the ‘soddy’, built in 1894.  It took about ½ acre of sod to complete the 12 x 24 two room house.  The most interesting part of seeing this sod house was the lady who gave us a narrated tour.  She related stories that have been compiled from family members who lived in the house.

The inside of the house was originally covered with two layers of newspapers.  Later the walls were plastered with local alkali clay and a wood floor put in.  The blue color of the walls came from adding bluing to the clay.  These improvements helped to keep out critters and insects.

The sheeting that hung over the bed came in handy when it rained as it kept the mud from falling on the bed.  The sheeting also could house a bull snake who would keep the rodent population at bay. 

On the outside of the house are mud dauber nests that house a type of wasp that ate spiders and other bugs.  So both snakes and mud daubers were tolerated because of their benefit to the homeowner.

Oklahoma

We have entered Oklahoma and headed to the Great Salt Plains State Park. 

walked the nature trail and came across an open air church

the upper section of water is where I saw the snake

The Great Salt Plains Lake is formed from damming the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.  The lake is no more than 4 feet deep at the deepest part and is 1/3 to ½ as salty as the ocean.

the lake is so low there is a lot of beach

view directly across the river from our campsite



this fox was after a blue heron but alas...



We did the auto tour of the Great Salt Plains Wildlife Refuge and unfortunately all of the marshes are dry because of this severe drought.

all the marshes are dry because of the severe drought