Spring 2013-Natural Falls State Park

Natural Falls was on our list again this Spring because it is close to home and M had an Oklahoma History project  where she had to visit a certain number of landmarks in the state.  We chose this one so we could all have a good time.  No visit here is complete without a hike down to the falls.  It really is amazing that something this beautiful is hiding down in a ravine out on the Oklahoma prairie.

Our camping friends joined us this weekend and their daughter E did some rock climbing with the kids.  There is just something about a big rock that

is just irresistible to kids.  Logs over streams run a close second.  Nobody fell off into the stream this time, but we all had to remind M of the one she fell off of last year.

We had a small rain delay this trip, but it made for a wonderfully relaxing morning with our friends.  They have a large motor home so we hung out inside and visited while the kids watched a movie.  Once the clouds cleared, it was a spectacular spring day!

Fall Break 2012- Devil's Den Arkansas

Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas is by far our favorite place to camp.  It is a beautiful park in Spring and Fall and has enough trails and things to do that, no matter how many times you come here, there is still something new to see.

We don't sit still for long on our adventures.  There was lots of rock climbing this week and some beautiful fall foliage to see.  The temperature was perfect with a cool breeze and some sunshine.

One of our favorites at Devil's Den are the large crevices to explore.  The kids took their headlamps and searched away.  Both discovered it is chilly in there.

As always we had some good eats and a great campfire.  We also stumbled upon a fun fall celebration which happens this weekend in October every year.  Kids dressed up in Halloween costumes (we didn't know, so we weren't prepared) and went trick or treating throughout the park.  There were fun games and activities and lots of candy.

Another great campfire by G.  Unfortunately, this was our only fall campout, but we are looking forward to a fun Spring!

Dutch Oven Goulash

This recipe is so popular with my kids that we make it home sometimes on the stove top!  It is a kid pleaser.  We made it with the cub scouts and they really enjoyed it, too.

Warm your dutch oven over coals. 
Add 1 pound lean ground beef and brown.
Do not drain
Add 1 can corn- do not drain
1 can rotel or diced tomatoes- do not drain
1 package of taco seasoning
Stir together well.
Add 1 cup macaroni noodles
Add enough water to just cover the noodles.
Put the lid on and bring to a boil.  Use the -3, +3 equation for the hot coals. If you have a 12 inch pot, use 9 coals on the bottom and 15 on the top.  When noodles are done, you are ready to eat.  If it still seems a little wet, let it boil a little longer.
When you serve it, top with some cheddar cheese.
Yummy!

Dutch Oven Jambalaya

This is one of our camping favorites!  It makes a lot and is easy to expand if you have a few extra people show up.
Before I leave home, I will make my "mix" and keep it in a gallon size zip lock bag until we are ready to cook.

1-2 chicken breasts, boiled and chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into circles
2 cans diced tomatoes (I use Rotel for extra spice)- do not drain
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
2 T Cajun seasoning (I use Toni Cacheres)
1 can corn- do not drain

Put all of this in a 12 inch dutch oven. Add enough water to make it pretty soupy. 
Put 9 hot coals below and 15 hot coals on top.  Allow to boil.
Once it boils, put 1-2 cups (depending on how much liquid you have) of rice in and stir.  Put the lid back on and replace the coals.  Check after 15 minutes and stir to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom.

Serve with hot french bread!  Yummy!
Shrimp is a great addition if you have some.  I have also added chopped zucchini, squash and okra.  That is what is nice about jambalaya- you can add just about anything and it is delicious.

Notes:  When cooking with a dutch oven- if you always use the diameter of your oven and put -3 coals on the bottom and +3 coals on the top.  This will get a 350 degree oven.  You have to improvise some if it is really cold out. 
Example:  My dutch oven is 12 inches.  I will put 9 coals on the bottom and 15 coals on the top.  Use the -3, +3 ratio on any size oven.

Natural Falls State Park

 Natural Falls State Park is on the list of the top 10 most beautiful state parks in Oklahoma.  It did not disappoint. It is just an hours drive from Tulsa on the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line right off 412.  You would never know from the highway what a beautiful place is just around the bend.

We arrived around 2 on Friday afternoon.  G was out of school and anxious to get on our way.  M was in a band competition and wouldn't be done until late afternoon....So, G and I headed out just the two of us.

I was a little nervous about the two of us setting up camp alone, but G was quite the helper and we did it!  Within an hour or so our friends arrived and Paul and M got there about dinner time.  

(Yes, G's hat is made of duct tape- he is very proud of it)   

First thing Saturday morning we had homemade sticky buns that rose overnight in the dutch oven....a huge hit!  Cooked over the campfire.  Shortly after breakfast we headed out for a hike to the falls.  It is truly beautiful.  It is hard to believe just behind the campground in what they call a canyon (I would call it more of a crevice) is all of this.  The original Where the Red Fern Grows movie was filmed here many years ago.  There are beautiful mosses and ferns you would expect to find deep in the jungle, not in Oklahoma.  The waterfall has created a very unusual ecosystem that is unique to this area.

We had a fun surprise on Saturday morning.  The park was hosting their annual "Touch a Truck" event.  There were emergency vehicles from all of the local little town's fire, police and ambulance services.  Life Flight even landed their helicopter out in the field.  There were games and activities for the kids and free hot dogs (one of G's favorites) and snow cones.  The kids all really liked the wildlife that several state parks with nature centers brought.  This is an albino corn snake.   The chocolate skunk was the favorite.  There was also a hedgehog, a big ground hog, a flying squirrel and a variety of spiders.

One other highlight was the archery set up.  The Wildlife Department brought out their bows and arrows and showed the kids (and adults) how to use them and shoot. I think we even had a couple of bulls eyes for M and G. 
Our menu for the weekend included steaks with dutch oven potatoes with bacon and cheese (yummy!), dutch oven chocolate cake, dutch oven sticky buns, and jambalaya also in the dutch oven.  I bought a new dutch oven cook book in Arkansas a few weeks ago and had to give it a shot.  It was all really yummy!
We really enjoyed our stay here.  Definitely on a list of places to come back to.  The park was clean, quiet and not very crowded.

Withrow Springs State park

 Spring Break week in March....no more drought in Oklahoma.  I think we had around 7 inches of rain in 3 days.  All of us anxiously watching the weather as we had planned to go camping for a long weekend on Thursday.  Unfortunately with the rain, Thursday didn't happen, but we were able to go Friday.  It was 43 degrees and we had a few showers, but we were Arkansas bound.

I love Arkansas state parks.  They are all set up the same with a nice big tent pad, concrete RV pad and a large gravel area sectioned off for the campsite.  Since it had rained buckets
this last week, it was really nice to not have a muddy campsite.  They also have very nice bath houses with heat and air, hot water and very nice showers. 

It was a little chilly on Friday when we got there about lunch time.  We did some exploring, though after setting up camp.  We brought our bikes, so we hopped on and headed down the creek to see what we could see.  We found this pretty waterfall with lots of springs flowing from the hillside.  You cannot tell from this picture, but the dogwoods and red buds were all in full bloom.  It was beautiful!!

G's favorite spot is always by the campfire!  He makes it and keeps it going for us!  We were quite hungry after all that bike riding  so we came back and had some chalupas and chips and salsa.  I think we have only eaten inside the camper one other time, but it was just too cold to eat outside that night.   After dark, one of the naturalists took us on a nature hike to talk about animals that lurk around in the dark and how they "see".  It was fun "seeing" with our other senses in the dark.

 Friday night, some friends joined us and stayed the rest of the weekend.  Their daughter, E, went hiking with us to see this cool cave.  We hiked up and saw this view which was much more breath taking in person.  On the way, we encountered our first snake.  A large king snake, harmless, but rather lumpy...the mice must be tasty here.  M was a little freaked out, but we moved on.  It was sunny and an unbelievable 80 degrees on Saturday! 

The hiking was fun, but the kids were definitely won over by our friend's Winnebago.  Nothing like a big loaded bus to capture the kids attention!

We did get them back out to one of the smaller parts of the creek for a while.  Lots of little mini waterfalls and perfect wading water.  They threw lots of rocks and splashed around while we relaxed in the grass.  The butterflies were amazing!  I never could capture one in a picture because they never were still long enough.  There were huge ones, small ones and in every color- blue, yellow, white, black.

Saturday night was spectacular!  The temperature was perfect and not a cloud in the sky.  The moon was a very slim sliver so it was a perfect night for stargazing!  G brought his telescope and showed us Saturn's rings, Venus's moons and various other cool stuff in the sky.

We enjoyed an amazing campfire with our friends and dreaded having to pack up for reality the next day!  I really could have just stayed.  This is a beautiful park-one that we will definitely come back to.  It is amazing that the Ozark Mountains are just a 2 hour drive from home.  It seems like we are so far away in such a beautiful place.

The Girls

As we have been anxiously awaiting the warmer weather and preparing for spring camping, it is also time to prepare for Spring at home.  The gardens have all been prepped.  Cool weather seeds are planted and the chicken house is being built.  Yes, the chicken house.  These are three of our 6 six girls at just a few days old.  The breeder just sent me the pictures.  Shortly after Easter, 6 six week old Buff Orpington hens will be coming to live with us.  We cannot wait.  I am sure a new blog devoted to these funny little girls will be in order next. 

I will post pictures soon of the progress being made on their playhouse, but I couldn't resist sharing these cute things.

Sequoyah State Park for GII's Birthday

G's wish for his birthday this year- I want to go camping and have birthday dinner at the campout.  So away we went.  Nothing like trying to predict weather in late-February.  It was warm and pleasant all week, then  rained off and on and temperatures hovered in the low 50's all day Saturday.  Only a slight bummer.   We arrived in time for dinner on Friday night  about the same time Grandaddy got there.  We got set up, had some burgers and got tucked in to bed.                

It rained much of the night, but cleared out in the morning.  We had pancakes and sausage and enjoyed the campfire.  We did some exploring and bike riding until C and C and kids arrived.  It was lots of fun having the cousins around.  We took them down to the fossil trail and hunted for fossils.  We also visited one of our favorite nature centers.  The kids all enjoyed checking out all of the skulls, bones, scat, live snakes and other treasures.

I've included a couple pictures from our previous visit of the outside critters at the nature center.  It was raining this visit so we didn't get many outside pictures.  The coyote is a favorite since he lets the kids pet him.  The beaver also begs for food.  They also have an eagle, owl and two foxes.  All of the animals here have been rescued and for various reasons, cannot be put back in the wild.

Saturday night, the rain cleared long enough to make a really big fire.  We had some dutch oven jambalaya for birthday dinner followed by lots of smores.

You never can predict weather in Oklahoma...Sunday morning the sun was out and it warmed up into the mid 60's.  Oh well.  At least it was dry and warm for tear down.  Happy 10th birthday G!

Robbers Cave State Park

Robbers Cave in November is absolutely beautiful!  The leaves were in perfect color and the temperature was perfect in the 50's and 60's during the day.  We also loved how big the campsites were so we weren't just right on top of our neighbors.

Hiking is our favorite pass-time while camping and there was plenty of that here!  Even more fun are caves and giant rocks to climb! 

G is laying on Devil's Slide.  It is a giant rock that the kids climbed and then slid down like a slide.  You can see M in the background climbing through to see where this crevice goes.

The main cave has been filled in so you can't go far into it, but my spelunckers still enjoyed going in as far as they could.  There are stories about infamous bank robbers living in the rocks and caves and hiding their booty back in the early 1900's. 

 This fun crevice went all the way through and up to where the entrance to the cave is.  A little creepy crawling into the darkness, but the kids loved the adventure!

Our second favorite at big state parks are the nature centers.  Robbers Cave had a very cool one!  The rangers that worked in the center were very happy to answer lots of kid questions and happy to get some of their critters out to visit.  M loved the snake and the tree frog, well, he got a little excited while crawling all over G and had to go to the bathroom.  That was the highlight for G.

They had a huge rattlesnake that we watched for a while that was fed a mouse.  We saw the snake strike and watched as the mouse died, but didn't get to see the snake have dinner.  He did stretch his jaw and impressed us with how very big his mouth can get!

The colors and hilltop views were spectacular.  Pictures just don't do the beauty justice.  This was one of my favorite hiking places.  There was so much to see and different terrains.  We hiked through a riverbed, field, forrest, hidden ponds, hills and giant boulders. Definitely a place to visit again!

Halloween at Marval

A friend at work shared with me her family's  favorite camping destination- Marval.  It is a private RV resort near Gore, Ok.   It is beautiful here on the Illinois River.  The river runs right through the campground.  During the summer, the river is stocked with trout.  There are some pictures of some pretty impressive catches!  We didn't fish this time, but did some wading and rock throwing.

 We found this cool log on the side of the river that was perched on a rock to make a perfect seesaw.  We took our bikes and rode around the loop many times then made our way over to the craft building to be creative for a while.  They had lots of projects to make.  M made a pillow case and G did some sand art. Following that, we headed back outside for some mini golf.  G won, of course.

 

What we liked most about Marval is that it has a family theme each weekend.  It is different each week and the whole month of October is Halloween.  I wish I was able to take pictures in the dark with my camera.  People go all out for Halloween here.  Some set up haunted houses, big blow up yard decor, tree lights, you name it.  Our few lights and hanging spider were nothing to compete with the others.  I had no idea. Just after dinner the kids began to trick or treat.  The whole park was full of kids and families all dressed up for Halloween.  Once the candy was all handed out and the sun went down, the local Boy Scout troop put on a haunted trail in the woods.  The kids LOVED it!  Definitley a fun Halloween activity to do again next year! 

G was a Ghostbuster and M was Bones, from her favorite TV show, Bones.  Another fun weekend out in the great outdoors of Oklahoma.  We will definitely come back here again!

Coon Tales

 We had to take a little break from all of our camping fun to spend some time at the lake.  Starting in June, the temperatures stayed over 100 degrees.  Even with the air conditioner in my little pop-up, I'm just not that tough.  Weekends at the house on the lake, swimming and boating beat out camping.  Especially since there was a burn ban, too.  Who can camp without a fire?

Finally, the first weekend in October the weather looked good.  80's in the daytime and 50's at night.  Perfect.  On short notice, we decided to head back to Osage Hills State Park.  The last time we were here, it was only for an afternoon and there was much we didn't see.

Since our last adventure, we added this cool screen porch to the camper.  It seemed to be the perfect "kitchen".  My stove is inside, but I set up the cooler, the table with all the food on it and organized it all out there, freeing up some space inside.  It also was a great place to put the dog's kennel so she could sleep out there at night.

 

 We decided to take a hike around the lake.  There were some beautiful views from the top of several hills.  We had a picnic on our hike and then things got a little tricky.  It got hot and the trails are not hiked very often and not marked well.  A 1 mile hike turned into a very whiney 4 mile hike.  We did finally make it back to camp.  My kids thought it was intentional torture. 

 

 After dinner, some fun around the campfire and marshmallows it was time to go to bed.  The kids take turns each trip on who gets the pop-out bed and who gets the smaller one where the table is.  P and I get the King size pop-out bed on the other end.  I have a little trouble sleeping with all of the critter sounds outside so I use earplugs.  Because of this, I didn't initially hear all of the comotion until I started feeling the camper shaking from the kids bouncing around from window to window squeeling about the racoon that was in the screen porch.  I jumped up to see that what we thought was a secured screen porch had been breeched by a small racoon that after feasting on some of our delicacies, could not figure out how to get back out.  Our Golden Retreiver ( who isn't much of an outdoorsy kind of girl) didn't make a peep.  She was curled in a tight little ball in the back of her nylon zip up kennel.  She was terrified.  As was the racoon that kept climbing on her kennel then jumping onto the wall of the screen porch.  We had to get it out before it broke in to the kennel and hurt the dog and completely destroyed the new screens!

It was a completely redneck affair and I so wish I had my camera out from the start.  P was in the porch in a t-shirt and boxers trying to unzip the door and shoo the little coon with a broom.  Kids screaming all the while.  I'm sure by now the whole park was up.  We never saw it leave, but all was quiet.  We resecured the base, zipped up the door, moved all the food and the dog inside.  Back to bed.  M was completely freaked out and then yelled that it was still in there!  Looking out her window you could see that it hadn't left, but rather crawled up between the screen and the shade that was rolled down.  It was hanging very quietly trying to figure its next move I'm sure.

Something had to be done.  We went back out, unzipped the door and beat the sides of the porch until it finally let go and took off at a full run.  He didn't come back.  The next morning we were sharing our adventure with the park ranger who said the racoons are so smart (and have opposable thumbs) that they will actually drag off coolers into the woods to scavenge.  They also had a racoon UNZIP a tent the weekend before and stroll right in to check out the food inside.  Apparently the wife was not one bit happy....I wouldn't be either!  M now has a very unhealthy fear of our little ring tailed friends.

It was a long night.  Thankfully, followed by a beautiful fall morning with pancakes, sausage and biscuits over the campfire.