December 29, 2011

December 29, 2011

We are on our way back to Tucson. The Midwest is having an unseasonal warm spell. We take advantage of it and visit Chickasaw National Recreation Area in south central Oklahoma. Our first stop is at the Travertine Nature Center to watch the short movie and peruse some exhibits. Aimee is glued to a tank of apparently amorous swimming turtles. The focus of the park was 33 natural springs that became popular years ago for their apparent therapeutic waters. To protect them, the local Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians sold the property to the Federal government who turned this nature reserve into Platt National Park in 1906. Since then, the appeal of water springs has waned and drought has dried up most of the springs. The springs were combined with an adjacent lake and demoted now to just a recreation area.

From the nature center we take a very pleasant stroll along Travertine Creek to two of the remaining springs. They are barely flowing. No problem, it is warm and sunny. After taking a quick drive around another part of the park, we head out and spend the night in Tucumcari, NM.