Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Today was a time to leisurely explore the Chicksaw National Recreation Area, near Sulphur, Oklahoma.

The park had its beginnings in 1902 when the United States government purchased 640 acres from the Chickasaw Nation to protect the mineral and freshwater springs. Additional acreage was added until today the Chickasaw National Recreation Area has nearly 10,000 acres where visitors enjoy swimming, boating, hiking and cycling. As part of the Chickasaw tribe's arrangement with the U.S. government, the National Park Service does not charge an admission fee.

The "Little Niagara" falls is one of several waterfalls on the Travertine Creek

in the Platt District of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

The 2,300 acre Lake of the Arbuckles is a major attraction

in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

During one of our hikes we were amazed at the brillance

of the bloom of this Engelmann's Prickley Pear Cactus.

Can you find the butterfly on the Indian Blanket

flowers in the photo below?

This was the first time we had ever registered and paid

for a campsite using a totally automated kiosk.

Our campsite on the shore of the Lake of the Arbuckles

is a peaceful, beautiful, and restful location.

We recommend the Chickasaw National Recreation

area as a fascinating place for a visit.

We also recommend camping here as the campsites are well-maintained

and the shower houses are sturdy and clean.

Chickasaw Cultural Center

Today we visited the Chickasaw Cultural Center near Sulphur, Oklahoma.  It opened its doors in 2010  and celebrates the rich heritage of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. The Chickasaw are the 13th largest federally recognized tribe in the United States.

Greeting visitors to the Chickasaw Cultural Center is this larger than

life representation of the Chickasaw warrior.

Inside the Exhibit Center are numerous exhibits depicting the life of the Chickasaw people in their ancestral lands which were primarily in Mississippi (many near present-day Tupelo, MS).  The exhibits continue with the stories of the eviction of the Chickasaw peoples from their homeland by the U.S. government, and their forced relocation to their present land in Oklahoma in 1837.

In addition to the indoor exhibits there was a live demonstration of the Stomp Dance.

Several bus-loads of children and other visitors watched the Stomp Dance demonstration.

The Chickasaw Cultural Center has a large and well-designed campus on 109 acres of beautiful Chickasaw territory in southern Oklahoma.  The sprawling campus features state-of-the-art exhibits, outdoor gathering places, a theater, café, and lush trails and woods.

Visitors can also walk through a Traditional Village.

The reconstructed Chickasaw village includes the large council house, two winter houses to the left of the council house, a tiny food storage shed behind them, and a summer house to their left.  The protecting enclosure fence can be seen surrounding the village.  Not pictured, to the left of this scene, is the ceremonial mound which served as the base for the home of the tribal chief.

It was a delightful day for us, both interesting and informative.

TRAFFIC TORTOISE AND HARE

Aesop spun a fine fable when he told the tale of "The Tortoise and the Hare." You remember the story, don’t you?

(Just in case you don’t, here’s a brief review of the MarySue version: A rabbit (hare) once challenged a turtle (tortoise) to a race. He was sure he would easily win because of his superior speed. To his surprise, the turtle accepted his challenge.

Race day came and off they went. In no time, braggart bunny disappeared over the first hill before treadslow turtle had even begun the climb.

"This will be a romp for me," the rabbit thought. "I’ll just take a break and rest a bit." He sat down in a sweet smelling patch of clover, propped up his feet on a near-by log, closed his eyes and basked in the warm sunshine.

The turtle did not fret and he did not hurry. He just steadily plodded along the course. After a long time, he passed the clover patch where rabbit was resting. Actually he had fallen asleep so he did not see Mr. Turtle amble steadily past his resting place and on down the race course.
By-‘n-by, the rabbit awoke, stretched himself, and wondered how long he had been resting. "Ah, but it felt so good," he thought to himself as he trotted on down the race course.

"I wonder where that tardy turtle is by this time," he thought as he approached the finish line. He imagined that he heard some cheering up ahead. He glanced at the goal just as the turtle lumbered across it ahead of him.  The moral of this story you can figure out for yourself, I’m sure.)

The truth of this tiny tale was demonstrated for us in traffic on Interstate 35 a few days ago. Make no mistake about it, we are turtles when we travel and tow our house. We settle into a safe and comfortable speed – usually between 55 and 60 mph – and let the rabbits of the traffic world go by.

So, on that particular day as we were dawdling along, we were passed by (not one; not two) three huge semis, each carrying one blade of a wind turbine. Each truck was accompanied by two vehicles – one in front and one behind – bearing warning signs: "Caution! Wide Load!" This parade of nine vehicles swept past us like the proverbial hare, restrained only by the 75 mph speed limit. "Wow!" we said to each other as they flashed by.

Within ten miles, however, we passed them as all nine vehicles were stopped together on the shoulder of the highway. Was there a mechanical problem? Driver fatigue? Required safety check? Potty stop for one and all?   Penance for an addiction to speed?

We’ll never know, but this "rabbit- and turtle-type" race with them occurred twice more before we parted ways. We wondered who reached their destination first: we 55 mph tortoises or those 75 mph stop and go hares?

Lewisville Lake

Tonight we are camping at the Lake Park Campground which is operated by the City of Lewisville, Texas, as a part of their large city park on the shores of Lewisville Lake.  Looking from our RV the lake is visible just beyond the row of trees.

We walked nearly an hour enjoying the various views of the lake.

Ducks swim peacefully in the foreground while families enjoy a  picnic or just visiting in the park.

Looking across the 28,980 acre lake at the Dallas, Texas, skyline.

Lewisville Lake has 187 miles of shoreline offering

many opportunities for recreation.

Camping at Waco Lake

We spent the last two nights camping at Reynolds Creek Park -- a U. S. Army

Corps of  Engineers Campground on the shores of Waco Lake at Waco, Texas.

We always enjoy looking out the window and seeing a lake.

Shortly after we arrived and set up the campsite I found this

stick insect (aka "walking stick")

enjoying the sunshine on the side of our RV.

On our walks we found quite a variety of interesting wildflowers --

some of which we cannot yet name.

We enjoyed this patch of Mexican Hat flowers.

 The lavender blooms in the background are Canadian Thistles.

For senior citizens the cost of camping at a Corps of Engineers park is great.

Simply present a "Golden Age Passport" card (oops I am showing my age)

which is now called the America the Beautiful pass and get 50% off the

regular fee.  We paid $10.00 per night for those two nights.

(There are some benefits for which I happily pay Federal taxes.)

EARLY MOTHER'S DAY FLOWERS

Daffodils, cherry blossoms and tulips are scarce in central Texas. So, instead of "tiptoeing thru the tulips" for enjoying early Mother’s Day flowers, we went "waltzing thru the wildflowers!" May seems to be central Texas’ month to change the colors of the landscape. Wildflowers of various types and colors burst forth in a dazzling show across the usual tan, green and brown hues.

McKinney Falls State Park is just southeast of Austin, Texas. We’ve spent our two days there hiking and drinking in the beauty of the wildflowers.

Vistas like this greeted us nearly every place we turned our eyes. Some of the blooms we could readily identify.

Indian Blankets (or Gilardia)

Texas Prickly Pear Cactus Bloom

Black-eyed Susans

Canada Thistle 

Others were new to us. We bought "A Field Guide to Texas Wildflowers," hoping it would help us identify others.

Prickly Poppy

Star Thistle

Buffalo Gourd Bloom

Dayflower

Winecup Poppy Mallow

Mealy Sage

But, for most of the colorful blooms, we had to be content to enjoy their beauty as strangers, not knowing their names. Yellow seemed to be the wildflower fashion color this season.

But white, pink, and lavender and purple of various shades were also popular colors.

We also enjoyed hiking to the waterfalls that give the park its name.

The Upper Falls on Onion Creek.

The Lower Falls where Onion Creek is joined by Williamson Creek.

The turtles, too, were enjoying the sunshine on their "tanning logs."

Tomorrow, we’re off to Waco, Texas. I hope there are more Mother’s Day flowers up there!

Choke Canyon State Park

After having stayed in one place far too long, we finally hit the road again this morning, leaving the Rio Grande River Valley of South Texas and heading northward.  Our first overnight is at Choke Canyon State Park near Three Rivers, Texas.

We drove right on past several commercial campgrounds and added a few extra miles to go out of our way in order to stay overnight at the state park.  The view from the back window of our RV shows why the extra miles were worth it.

After dinner we walked for about an hour amid the sounds of many birds.   We observed how different the trees and folliage is here compared with the Rio Grande Valley.   A Turkey Vulture saw my camera and decided to show off a little.

Not to be outdone, a deer also did some posing for the camera ... all the while enjoying some delicious green leaves for dinner.

We discovered a picnic shelter which had been taken over by Cliff Swallows.   Using mud they built their nests on the ceiling of the picnic shelter.  Unfortunately, these cute little birds leave a terrible mess on the picnic tables below them.

As we walked back to our RV site, we found this rabbit just begging to have his photo taken.