I would like to say I have been on the adventure of a lifetime and have sooooo many stories to tell, but in reality, I am just starting to begin a new adventure. In a life altering 8 months I have discovered what I really want to do, it still includes traveling, but now I have both a regular camera and a movie camera.
to learn about my new adventure, click here!
One of the first travel post i did was Arcadia State Park near Edmond. I didn't give it a good review as we went for about 1 hour in the heat of a summers day. I had a chance this weekend to revisit this area and spend some more time there, camping overnight with some friends.
The camping went fine, we got drunk around a fire and cooked marshmallows, but wisely, I went to bed around midnight so I could catch the early light. 6.30 am, i was up and ready.
I walked around the lake shore near our camp and while it was nice, it is not that photogenic.
the lake is a good size, and you can walk around a lot of it which is fun, but more fun for me was watching the fish feed right up against the shore
If your not ready for them when they take off, they can scare the ... out of you.
A lot of the shore is small inlets, with a lot of vultures hanging out in the trees, but i have yet to get a good picture of them- Tim, need your assistance on that maybe.
It was not all doom and gloom as i did have fun in a children's playground with the colors and I did fine a very rare PINK FISH
later
DT
Took a trip back to the Wichita reserve with the intention of exploring a lot more of the area just to the north of the reserve. I began with a short trip alongside Lake Lawtonka and into Medicine Park
where you need to get out and walk along the river path. There is plenty of waterfowl there, and even though I don't have a good camera for animal photography I managed to snap this one
After Medicine Park, I went up the top of Mt Scott. As you can see, it is daylight, about 8am, but when I saw Mt Scott it was covered with a dark cloud which then lead to some interesting shots. Again, I do not have the lenses to do a panoramic shoot justice so I didn't, I went small instead.
but not too small!
The cloud was giving me shade while lighting everywhere else.
Looking down on Lake Lawtonka
I feel a spent a couple of hours on the mountain top and could have stayed there all day, but I had to continue. Instead of going through the reserve, I turned towards Meers and followed scenic highway 115 north. SH115 goes out and around the mountains and with the side roads offers some interesting views of some familiar sights.
I spent the next two hours driving on dusty roads, exploring; and getting lost but finding myself again. The land North of the reserve is privately owned farms, so you need to be careful where you go but you can get a new idea of this area.
explore!!!
DT
I have been to the Turner Falls plenty of times, in the winter, in the summer, and now in the spring. The reason I went recently is, as all DT readers know, when it has rained go find a waterfall!!! I was not disappointed. After paying my $10.84, i parked the civic and began walking. My aim was to find a different photo that the stock straight on shot. Maybe a little close up action.
The water was flowing and the falls looked good and i spent a good hour walking around, snapping the falls from different angles, but then I decided to explore away from the main attraction. I followed a path that lead me to a small canyon.
After exploring below the falls, it was time to go and check out the source, the river above. The green river it turns out.
Further up, the river makes its way across a series of small dams, both man made and natural and there are trails and paths to keep you busy all day. Another gem in Oklahoma.
Photo rating: very high. There are so many thing here that you can go both large and grand or small and peaceful. A great place.
DT
Red Rock Canyon, sounds exciting, with visions of the mighty Grand Canyon, or at least a Utah sized hole in the ground. Well not quite. At about a mile in length, it doesn't take long to go end to end. And while it may not be a GRAND CANYON it is a canyon none the less.
And while others are bigger, you cannot camp or reppel down the sides as you can here. If the thought of bouncing your way down the cliff walls does not get you itching for excitment, there is also a pond for fishing and plenty of trails to explore.
This is a place to spend a day or many. It has plenty of campsites and cabins, has a pool and there is space to get out and explore.
Photo rating: High. The red rocks, the green trees, the water and the sky add up to some interesting opportunities. Overall, a cool place in the midday heat.
DT
Never heard of Crowder lake? me neither. But in my mission to visit all the state parks I especially look forward to the minor parks, the small parks that people don't drive for and hour to get to. So I set off, drove the hour along I-40 to Weatherford, turned onto a minor road and enjoyed the first "sight" of the trip. Now the wind turbines are not new anymore and in reality they are probably not a "sight" but when you are driving very close to these monsters they are pretty cool.
I appreciate wind power and can't wait to get the personalized version and so see these as a stepping stone. So, the road to Crowder goes past rows of the wind turbines and then heads south. I do my traveling mainly in my 1993 seafoam green honda civic because it is good on gas and has a tape deck still. The one thing it doesn't like is dirt roads and so when the road to Crowder became dirty, I has my doubts about this trip. As I was thinking about my alternatives, which takes me a little time, the road became tarmac again. Maybe this was a ploy to weed off the undesirables and in front of me was a hidden gem!! Onwards.
A mere 5 minutes later I see the sign "Crowder Lake state park" which appears to be owned by the Southwestern Oklahoma State University. I know I am not from here, but I'm pretty sure I-40 runs through the center of the state and so to be a South-Western would you be a little further SOUTH and WEST!!! But i tan-get.
I had reached my goal and my first sight was a little unexpected.
The child in me loves these things, the adult in me is scared of heights.I am glad to see high wire courses and hope all of you try these things. No one was there but I think I is operated by the mentioned university. So, I followed the road down to the lake parking area, 1 car only in a good sized area. I parked the civic, grabbed my camera, and went to see the Gem.
Crowder is a very small lake, and unfortunately you cannot walk around it as most of it looks to be surrounded by private land. There are picnic tables where you can have lunch, and you can canoe and row on the lake, which would take about 30 minutes to complete. A couple of reasons to come here are 1/ to get away from people, and 2/ to fish for it has been given the title of TROPHY BASS LAKE which sounds good! It is stocked with 6 types of fish and you can rent canoes to get the big ones. And if the fish aren't biting you can practise you rappelling and rope course skills.
Over all this would be a fun day stop if you were close. I am not a fisherman but i could see having fun on the rope activities with a group of friends. And it's FREE.
photo grade: the lake- low. There are some tree stumps in the water but they are just off the park land.
Photos of your friends on the rope activities are your best bet. Also, route 66 is just up the road and there are plenty of sights along the Mother road.
later. DT
A couple of years ago i went with some friends to Robbers Cave SP for the night. It basically ended up that we sat around a fire, got drunk and talked about politics. The next day it was misty and dull but we still got up and took some photos.
It was winter and we, Oklahoma , was still in a drought so we could walk across the dam, which we did.
The water was low and not flowing and overall it was not that impressive. And, we never made it to the Cave that the robbers stayed in. So, as a good Dusty Traveler does, I told myself I would go back and see what is was like in the spring.
and i did.
and the river was flowing, and the sun was out, and the dam was covered, and the cave was packed!! cool place. DT
Went to the Hot Rod show in OKC to photograph the cars with an eye for the artistic. So here are some and a small idea of what I was going for.
This a color shot although I'm thinking it might be a good cutout experiment. The flames are cool and there were a lot of cars with different types of flames; might become a separate post.
Close ups are something I need to work on, but following lines out of shot is cool.
Reflections are easy as the cars are so highly polished. the flames were a bonus.
The colors of this car got me. The black and orange together make a bold statement.
more later. DT
