This being the 100th anniversary of Oklahoma Statehood has had me thinking a lot about this place I call home. When I was growing my family often took camping trips for weekend vacations, sometimes longer, and we had Sunday picnics quite often to city and state parks. Even after graduation and having my own family it was a tradition that carried on.
Having spent time in many parts of the state, camping, hiking, climbing and just plain old sight-seeing, one thing I've notice is how diverse the geography is. The way I describe it is that if you were to go up in a space ship and look down on Oklahoma you'd see that it's divided into two pretty distinct parts. The Eastern half of the state, where Tulsa is located, is the foothills of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains. It's green with heavy forests and has many creeks and the Arkansas River. About midway across the state, where Oklahoma City is located, it starts to become the edge of the Great Plains. Wide open spaces that ease on into the Texas panhandle. A few deviations are, that the Oklahoma panhandle appears to take on that Southwestern look of Colorado and New Mexico that it separates. There's even Little Sahara State Park in the Northwest quarter that could pass for the Africa's Sahara. There's Tall Grass Prairie Reserve up in Osage County. Toward the Southwest its more short grass prairie.
Also in the Southwest quarter, just North of Lawton and Fort Sill is the Wichita Mountains U.S. Wildlife Refuge. Scientists say it is the oldest mountain range in North America. Once bigger than the Rockies, it's only 30 miles or so long now and only one peak, Mount Scott, actually reaches mountain status. Its erosion speaks of its age. Today the Wichitas are a top regional spot for technical climbing or bouldering. Talimena Drive through the Ouachita Mountains of Southeastern Oklahoma are a national destination for foliage watchers. Bus tours from all over come every autumn.
Oklahoma boasts more man-made lakes than any other state in the Union. That reportedly adds up to more than a million surface-acres of water. Another way to put it: That's 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined. Whether canoeing the wild Illinois River in the Northeast, renting a houseboat on Lake Texhoma, fishing for trout on the Blue River, or water skiing or sailing, water sports are big here. Point is, Oklahoma is a beautiful place, and ought be a big consideration for vacationing or family reunions in this, its Centennial, year.