25 September 2014 - Start Texas

We headed further south today moving through the wonderful countryside of Oklahoma. Both Ronda and I love this area.  It is green and open, with rolling hills, pastoral farms and, right now, warm temperatures.  We did pull off to view Turner Falls, the highest falls in Oklahoma. It tumbles down limestone cliffs into a large pool, a natural place for swimming.  We expected more, but it was a lovely spot.

 This place became the first state park in Oklahoma and has been a gathering spot for the residents for a long time.  There are old cabins along the river and one man even built his "dream castle" on the hillside overlooking the stream.  It is of stone and has battlements and a tower, looking like a small version of European strongholds. Sadly, it has fallen into disuse and disrepair.  But, it was interesting.

 We dropped into the Red River Valley and just before crossing the river into Texas, we took a side trip to Murray Lake, in the heart of the Red River Valley.  It is a man-made lake covering a large area. Unfortunately, the dry seasons have depleted the water and the level has dropped substantially.  We went to the lodge and walked out onto the dock, which is now sitting almost 20 feet above the water to take a picture with Freddy the Falcon.  The dock was rickety and it somewhat intimidated Mom.  She had to hold on to me to make it out. We looked into the water and could see walleye fish swimming around.  On the way out, we passed a lovely picnic area called Pecan Grove. We pulled in and found it was indeed a beautiful grove of pecan trees with picnic tables.  We picked a couple of the low hanging nuts for our own curiosity.  They are still in the husks and have a wonderful, fragrant woody smell. We plan to bring a couple home for kids to see because the IQ demands it!  You can see how attractive the place is to have a picnic.

The day was moving along so we hurried back to the freeway, crossed the Red River and headed toward Dallas.  The closer we got, the heavier the traffic became.  In spots everything clogged with construction and narrow lanes.  Nevertheless, we soldiered on but made a decision that we needed to visit the Dallas Arboretum, which was featuring their Autumn Festival with pumpkins galore.  We made it there with about 1.25 hours to go before they closed.  It was indeed worth the traffic aggravation and the effort to visit this gorgeous spot.

 When we walked in the entrance was a pile of multicolored pumpkins and gourds and squash.  I did not know there were so many varieties.  The fall colors were astounding. We asked where they go so many different types and they told us they are grown in western Texas.  They must haul in truckloads to decorate the arboretum.  All the pathways are lined with pumpkins and squash and one area is especially decorated for kids and adults alike.  We were enthralled!

Look at the piles of different squash and pumpkins.  One of the workers said she had counted the varieties listed and had come up with 49 of them.  Children were rushing about laughing and squealing, climbing on pumpkins and touching the different shapes and textures.  I had no idea there were so many.  They even had Cinderella's coach with a big pumpkin on top and life-size horses made of stalks and wheat, etc.  The had made a number of pumpkin and squash houses representing several children's stories about pumpkins. Some we had never heard of and they were fascinating.

 

We saw lots of squirrels, most at least twice as big as the ones we see in our backyard in Utah.  I snapped a picture of one that had purloined a small pumpkin from the display, literally rolling it under a bench and then fiddling with it until it could bite into it enough to carry it away as it scampered over the larger squash and into the bushes and up a tree.

Ronda looked lovely as a scarecrow among the stalks of corn and we had a great time in this fabulous Autumn display.  It was a great visit and a nice break from the drive.