Monday, June 19, 2000
Lafayette, CO - June 19
Since we wrote last, we have mainly pushed our way across the plains to Colorado. We did stay the extra day at Natural Falls SP and went on a gorgeous canoe trip for a half day on the scenic Illinois River. This is the premier scenic river of Eastern Oklahoma, and it really was lovely. We had some quick lessons in canoeing techniques and were able to maneuver our way along quite well, despite the fact that the river was WAY overused, and the majority of people were intoxicated.
Our next stop was Bartlesville, OK, near the northern border. It is a small town of just under 50,000 people, but it really has a lot to offer -- a symphony, ballet, choral group, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed office tower, and many interesting looking tourist attractions. By chance we were there for their annual OK Mozart Festival, a 10-day celebration of not only music, but a wide variety of entertainment, including trick yo-yo champions, quilts, and other arts and crafts. We were able to attend a chamber concert that evening but missed a lot of good entertainment -- including a lecture by Beverly Sills and a performance by Itzak Perlman. This is no small-town occasion!
Next we went to Great Salt Plains SP near Jet, OK, where we only spent one night. The major attraction here was digging for selenite crystals on the salt plains. These crystals were a special type that could be found nowhere else in the world. Due to 90+ heat and not knowing what we would do with them if we found them, we decided to pass on digging.
We then went north to Coldwater Lake near Coldwater, KS. This was a municipal park which boasted over 100 sites around the lake, but in truth over 90 of them were taken permanently by local residents and only a few were available for travelers. We spent an extra night here and looked around the town and local area. The first night was a little anxious as they had severe storms and there was some fear of tornados. Further north found us at Cedar Bluff SP near Ogallah, KS, just south of I70 between Hays and WaKeeney. Kansas, too, is doing right by their state parks. They had built a whole new loop suitable for large RVs and were in the process of upgrading even more. There were beautiful 150-foot high limestone bluffs topped with cedars that were quite lovely. We managed to drive to view them during a brief respite from the 40-50 mph winds that were buffeting the trailer.
We saw a couple of new interesting birds at these prairie places -- Northern Shrike, Common Nighthawk and Purple Finch. We also saw a lot of Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers along the drive.
From there it was just head west on I70 to Lafayette with a one-night stop at Marshall Ash RV Park & Conoco at Stratton, CO -- a very nice place as such places go.
Our next stop was Bartlesville, OK, near the northern border. It is a small town of just under 50,000 people, but it really has a lot to offer -- a symphony, ballet, choral group, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed office tower, and many interesting looking tourist attractions. By chance we were there for their annual OK Mozart Festival, a 10-day celebration of not only music, but a wide variety of entertainment, including trick yo-yo champions, quilts, and other arts and crafts. We were able to attend a chamber concert that evening but missed a lot of good entertainment -- including a lecture by Beverly Sills and a performance by Itzak Perlman. This is no small-town occasion!
Next we went to Great Salt Plains SP near Jet, OK, where we only spent one night. The major attraction here was digging for selenite crystals on the salt plains. These crystals were a special type that could be found nowhere else in the world. Due to 90+ heat and not knowing what we would do with them if we found them, we decided to pass on digging.
We then went north to Coldwater Lake near Coldwater, KS. This was a municipal park which boasted over 100 sites around the lake, but in truth over 90 of them were taken permanently by local residents and only a few were available for travelers. We spent an extra night here and looked around the town and local area. The first night was a little anxious as they had severe storms and there was some fear of tornados. Further north found us at Cedar Bluff SP near Ogallah, KS, just south of I70 between Hays and WaKeeney. Kansas, too, is doing right by their state parks. They had built a whole new loop suitable for large RVs and were in the process of upgrading even more. There were beautiful 150-foot high limestone bluffs topped with cedars that were quite lovely. We managed to drive to view them during a brief respite from the 40-50 mph winds that were buffeting the trailer.
We saw a couple of new interesting birds at these prairie places -- Northern Shrike, Common Nighthawk and Purple Finch. We also saw a lot of Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers along the drive.
From there it was just head west on I70 to Lafayette with a one-night stop at Marshall Ash RV Park & Conoco at Stratton, CO -- a very nice place as such places go.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 11:07 AM 
