Lake Murray State Park, OK

JoAnn and I did a quick trip to Lake Murray State Park in Oklahoma to visit the lake and areas of interest. Lake Murray is Oklahoma's first and largest state park with 12, 500 acres of land. The park provides camping, hiking, and boating for visitors. 

The first item of interest was a nearby chapel with beautiful stained glass windows. Here is a photo looking toward the front of the chapel.

This is a closeup of the front stained glass window. Note the open Bible on the stone shelf below the window. 

The Bible was open to Proverbs. It looked fairly weather beaten and old.

We next visited the lake itself. Here is JoAnn standing next to a pier.

Another perspective of the lake: a marina with Tucker Tower in the background. The tower contains a nature center and viewing deck. 

Here is JoAnn sitting at one of the park picnic benches viewing the lake. It was a fun time and a quick trip.

Cooper Lake State Park, TX

JoAnn and I drove to Cooper Lake State Park in Northeast Texas for a day outing. The lake has docks and piers for fishing and sightseeing. The park also has campsites for tents and house trailers. The elevation of the lake is 450 ft above sea level. 

This is a photo of Cooper lake. We arrived just at the right time to see hundreds of water fowl and several pelicans in the water. 

The sky was really quite pretty and the temperatures in the 60's with low humidity. Unfortunately, the trails were muddy due to heavy rainfall earlier in the week. 






The pelicans are the white birds among the other water fowl on the lake. 

View of the water fowl from another vantage point. 

Here is the shoreline of the lake. The trip was actually quite fun with excellent weather. Due to heavy rainfall, the lake is quite full.

Sunset Cove. The pier is a good place to view most of the lake.

Sign at Sunset Cove. Note the trail map and descriptions of the area.

Talimena National Scenic Byway

We made a one-day trip to the Talimena Scenic Byway that is a 50 mile stretch of road between Talihena, OK and Mena, AR. The road essentially runs across a east-west mountain ridge. The fall colors are typically quite beautiful in the area. Along the way to the byway, we stopped at Sardis Lake in Oklahoma.

Here is JoAnn at the spill way looking across the lake.

We have arrived at the western side of the byway and here's JoAnn at the welcoming sign that greets visitors. 

This is a panorama taken from the top of the mountain ridge along which the byway runs. There are many observation points along the road all of which provide various views of the surrounding countryside and forest. 

While we were at another viewpoint, this hang glider drifted by. This viewpoint had several dozen visitors most of whom were busy taking photos of the glider. 

This is a panorama telephoto of some of the farm land in one of the valleys below us and gives some impression of how high we are above the plain. We enjoyed the drive very much.

Valley of Fire/Skywalk at Grand Canyon West Rim

During the first week in September Joann, her daughter Janet and friend Dwayne, and Tom visited Las Vegas. During the stay we went to the Valley of Fire State Park and walked the Skywalk at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.Here is JoAnn at the visitor entrance to the Valley of Fire.

Here we all are on the Skywalk. It rises 4000 ft above the Colorado River and provides a very scenic view of the West Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. The Skywalk is a horseshoe shaped bridge with a glass floor that projects 70ft over the West Rim. 

We have moved past the Skywalk to Guano Point at the Grand Canyon. This is a view of the Colorado River from the observation point. For more photos and info about this trip visit our website:
 https://tjimages.smugmug.com/Vacation/Sept-2015-Grand-Canyon-West/

Out of Town Friends Out For Dinner

Ed has his niece's husband (Rick) and his daughter (Melody) visiting with him and we went out to dinner at our local Italian restaurant. Here is (l-r) Ed, Melody, Rick, JoAnn, and Nora (ex part owner). 

Italian Dinner

One of our favorite Italian restaurants came under new ownership and was closed for about a month and just recently reopened. JoAnn and I had dinner at the restaurant with friends. Left-to-right: Nora (previous part owner), JoAnn, Ed (95 years old), and Windel. The food is terrific! 

Dinosaur Valley State Park

JoAnn and I visited Dinosaur Valley State Park outside of Glenrose, TX. The park is noted for having several areas where tracks of the Apatosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex can be found in the Paluxy River.

Look closely at the submerged portion of the white rock along the river bank. A 3-toed foot print is visible underneath the water.

Caprock Canyons State Park

The park has hiking trails, mountain biking, and horse trails. Lots of things to see including this herd of bison that is allowed to roam the park and is under protection.

Part of the rock formations within the park. Some of these formations date back 280 - 250 Million years ago. 

Santa Fe, NM

JoAnn and I met with our good friends Robert and LuJean in Santa Fe, NM. We visited several art galleries and also explored the Bandalero National Monument. Here is a photo of our hotel, note the motif of the building which fits into the surrounding environment very well.

After seeing several art galleries, we went out to the Bandalero National Monument. Here is a overlook of the road out the monument (must look closely to see it).

Once at the visitor center, we took a short walk to a view point of Native American Indian dwellings in the side of a rock formation.

 The trip was excellent and we really had a good time.

Mineral Wells State Park

JoAnn and I took an afternoon trip to a nearby State Park known as Mineral Wells which is west of Fort Worth. The park contains Lake Mineral Wells as shown in the photo to the left and offers camping, hiking, biking, and horse trails to the enthusiast.

Here is JoAnn at one of the local stops around the lake showing off one of our favorite beverages we carried on the trip.

Here is a panorama of the lake taken from the dam.

Close up of some of the flowers blooming around the lake.

Snow? Here?

It snowed and the whole area came to an abrupt slowdown. Not used to this kind of stuff.

In many parts of the country, this little amount of snow would be only a minor inconvenience. But not for us, it has stopped traffic and caused major accidents.

Ed's 95th Birthday

Ed is the gentleman in the middle. This is Valentine's Day and it's also his 95th birthday. We're having a party with about 30 people and having cake and food.







We've also invited a photographer from the local newspaper to take photos of Ed and the cake. That was a complete surprise to him.

A City Park Outing

JoAnn and I went to a nearby city park for a short walk and found 100's of people also had the same idea. Luckily, we found a parking space and was able to do a quick walk for a bit. 

Small Pond Lake - Copper Breaks

Here is the Small Pond at Copper Breaks. The lake is much fuller than my previous visit last summer.

Big Pond Boat Dock

Here's JoAnn at the boat dock on Big Pond lake in Copper Breaks. It's a very windy day!

Taking A Break From the Cold Weather

JoAnn and I went up to Copper Breaks State Park for a picnic and to do some sightseeing. Here is JoAnn eating a DQ hamburger and french fries. Temps were in the high 60's with clear skies.