Slow and Steady – Boiling Springs State Park, OK 5/27

It’s hot. At 7 pm it’s 90 degrees, humid and I’m loving it! After the cooler dry air in the last couple of western states this finally feels like summer. Wispy cotton balls from the cottonwood trees are floating in the air, the birds and insects sound like a chorus competing for air time, and it smells like fresh grass after a rain storm. Occasionally, you can hear a whistle from a distant train as it rumbles by. (Can you tell I spent 13 years of my childhood in the East Coast and mid-west? I’ll be looking fireflies next). We had a pretty uneventful day driving thru the plains of New Mexico and the panhandle of Oklahoma. We drove past miles of young, green wheat fields about 2ft high, and wildflowers of all colors scattered through out the plains. We even saw some antelope! Originally we were planning on staying at Beaver Dunes State Park, but knowing the long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow, and the fact that ATV’s are welcome on the dunes until 11pm at night, we decided to venture on to the next State Park, Boiling Springs. Contrary to its name, the springs here are cold, but only appear to be boiling as they bubble up in the sand. We have a secluded camping spot tucked away in a mixed hardwood and evergreen forest. When we arrived at the park we went for a bike ride hoping to explore the various trails and also see the Canadian River. Many parts of the park, especially the woods are submerged in water. This park reminds me more of a bayou in Louisiana than an oasis in the northwestern area of Oklahoma!. On almost every trail we had to turn back because at some point it was either submerged under water by at least a foot or too muddy to go on. After speaking to some folks we discovered there was a huge storm here yesterday, apparently raining by as much as 2 inches in an hour and a half! Considering we only saw blue skies during the day we were surprised and grateful that we missed it. We did manage to spot a very cute tortoise on one of the trails. We thought he captured the tone of the day perfectly – slow and steady – and therefore he has the honor of being the pic of the day. Our big decision of the night was to barbecue chicken or eat the leftover pizza. The pizza won out, which allowed us to hop on our bikes and go for another ride later in the evening, about a little before 9. We picked a higher ground bike trail and were pleasantly surprised when we came upon on old CCC shelter. It was three sided, made out of huge granite slabs and had a giant fireplace in the back wall. So cool and reminiscent of a bygone era. Tomorrow we have another long drive with our destination being Lake Wedington in the Arkansas Ozarks. We do have one side-trip planned, a visit to the Blue Bell Creamery in Broken Arrow. We are planning on meeting up with my friend Terri and her husband, Terry, to hang out for the long Memorial Day weekend.