2016 Christmas In Tulsa

We traveled to Tulsa to see JoAnn's daughter Janet for Christmas. We had a great time!

Here is Janet's living room. It hides all the chaos going on with several kids and adults doing their thing. As part of the trip JoAnn, Tom, Janet and Duane went to see Rogue One in 3D. What a blast! 

Duane taking JoAnn for a ride on the Harley

Here's Janet and JoAnn at the theater

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park

Bob Sandlin State Park is about 640 acres on the north shore of Lake Bob Sandlin in Titus County, Texas. The area was acquired in 1979 and opened in 1987. JoAnn and I took a trip out to the park during late November and found the lake and trees quite beautiful. The leaves had turned due to fall weather.

Here is JoAnn at the park entrance

Lake Bob Sandlin.JoAnn is viewing the lake near one of many piers that
stretch out into the lake

Pier. There were several visitors both sightseeing and camping this day but
we didn't consider the park to be crowded at all

View of the shoreline from the Pier

A nearby pond

JoAnn demonstrating how tall the trees are at the lake

Partial panorama of the lake

Example of a typical road in the park.

Pan of the shoreline next to the Pier

Pan of shoreline next to walk

Daingerfield State Park

Daingerfield State Park is southwest of Texarkana and is a 506 acre recreational area deeded in 1935 by private owners. It was opened to the public in 1938. This area was the center of the iron industry in Texas. Development of the 80 acre lake included an open beach area, a landscaped peninsula, and the site's hilly terrain. The park has a swimming barge and piers. The lake is also known for fishing. Small boats can be rented or visitors can bring their own boat.

Here is JoAnn at a park sign within the park itself. We're near the visitor's center. This was the sign built by the CCC that once marked the original entrance to the park.

This is a small panorama at one end of the lake. The area has extensive hiking trails around the lake which go through a dense forest of very tall trees.

JoAnn sitting on a log at the Dogwood Camping area. A portion of a trail that runs around the south side of the lake can be seen next to her. She's looking out at the lake. The weather is beautiful with temps in the low 80's and very low humidity.

If you look closely, the swimming barge can be seen in the distance toward the right between the opening of the trees. The lake is roughly 300 ft above sea level. One of the trails on the northwest side of the lake goes up to about 500 ft above sea level and offers a view of the Piney Hills.

Panorama of the landscaped beach near the visitor's center. Note the swimming barge. JoAnn and I are sitting on a park bench looking out across the lake.

JoAnn is on the pier. The lake is quite pretty due to the landscaping methods used during it's early development.

Rental boats. While we were on the pier, two men had brought their own boat and were fishing in this area. Two large geese wandered around a bit on the grassy lawn visible in the right side of the photo. There wasn't a sound to be heard except for the light breeze in the area.

A large panorama of the lake from the pier. We had a mild wind which made the experience even better (slightly cooler temps).The beach area (other side of the trees on the left) is landscaped and has picnic tables and benches.

Here are the picnic tables on the landscaped area. A visitor can bring their pre-prepared food or cook it in one of the stoves next to the table.

Here is one of the benches along the shoreline. It was a wonderful experience to sit and just let the world go by for a while. This will be a grand memory for us.

Copper Breaks State Park

JoAnn and I needed a break so we revisited Copper Breaks State Park. The weather was ideal. Bright and sunny, low humidity, and blue skies. There was a bit of wind which was a bother sometimes but it was an enjoyable trip.

Big Pond Lake is popular with boaters and folks wanting to walk on the shoreline.

The water level is very high this year. In years past, this area would be completely dry and the boat dock would have been useless. 

Little Pond Lake is an interesting little lake in an out of the way place in the park.

Grand Canyon South Rim

During the last week of May 2016, we took a trip to Sedona for the purpose of taking a tour of the Grand Canyon South rim. The trip was wonderful and we had good weather. Additional photos of the complete trip can be found here

Here we are at the entrance to the park

A view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

View of the Colorado River as seen from the South Rim

We also climbed to the top of the Desert Watchtower. The view was impressive.