If you live in Louisiana (especially in the north or west), keep reading because these state parks are a perfect weekend getaway for you!
Now that Eric and I have three-day weekends twice a month, we can explore hiking options a little further out. The ideal driving distance is no more than 6hrs, something we can do on a Thursday night after work. This gives us two full days of adventure and enough time to leisurely return on Sunday. We already have at least one favorite (see Texas Hiking Weekend Getaway), but recently we added a new state to our list: OKLAHOMA!
We stumbled over this rock while hiking in Oklahoma. Perfect shape, don’t you think?
I’ll confess, I had some preconceived notions about the state. After all, I grew up memorizing the lyrics to the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. I visualized flat, dry land with cowboys and Indians. I did NOT expect pristine mountain waterways, lush forests, and a town called Hochatown packed full of women driving BMWs touring wineries and distilleries. My personal favorite was the hot pink Girls Gone Wine shuttle bus…
Hochatown is just a short stretch of rural highway on the Southeastern border of Oklahoma. It’s just a blip on the map, but it packs in some great eating options and activities in just a few miles of road. What draws the tourists here isn’t the food & beverage scene, however, it’s Beaver’s Bend State Park. This park has EVERYTHING, including plenty of hiking along diverse terrain. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…
IF YOU GO…
Stay @ Cabins 36-39 in Beaver’s Bend State Park (beautifully situated directly on the river) OR choose from the many options available on AirBnB (we found a cozy cottage in Hochatown).
I’ll conclude this post with photos from Cossatot, along the Harris Creek Trail & a portion between Cossatot Falls & Sandbar Bridge. The Harris Creek Trail is now one of my favorite hikes in Arkansas. Hope you enjoy…
Yes sir, I can assure you it is a weed free room. ~ Hotel Desk Clerk
That conversation is essentially how a recent hiking trip began. Eric and I had a quick getaway in Arkansas and Oklahoma last weekend, and it was full of surprises!
Our adventures began in a Texarkana hotel, where upon entering the lobby we saw a middle-aged woman in knee high black boots and a red lace teddy. For those unfamiliar with lingerie terminology, this is it:
She was having a relaxed argument with the desk clerk, saying “we weren’t smokin’ anything. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Eric and I were frozen in front of the door like deer in the headlights. Another clerk motioned us to approach the desk, so we sidled up next to the red Bathsheba. As she argued her case, we checked in and Eric couldn’t help himself — he cheekily asked the clerk if it was a “weed free” room and the clerk responded stiffly (but with an appreciative twinkle in his eye) that yes it was. As we approached the elevator, we could smell the “medicinal” haze and it only became stronger in the elevator. The doubts were definitely creeping in about those high Booking.com ratings and reviews. Our room was on the top floor, quiet and haze free. The bathroom, however, smelled like mildew and the shower had about 10″ of mildew all along the bottom walls with poorly caulked cracks all over the shower floor. Eric wanted to find another hotel but it was 10:00 at night, the room was very clean (except for the mildewed shower), and the drama downstairs had escalated because there were now police cars in the parking lot. Plus, we were hiking the next day and didn’t need to shower. So we stayed.
To the hotel’s credit, they WERE undergoing a remodel and were open about that. But I do feel betrayed that a hotel with an 8.7 rating in Booking.com could put people in a room with showers that nasty. Apparently the ratings were high because the staff and breakfast were so wonderful. I can attest to the wonderful staff, but I’ll be honest — I couldn’t stomach eating anything after having seen the condition of that shower.
We went hiking that day and completely forgot about the hotel, until later that night. In our clean, cozy Oklahoma cabin as I was getting dressed for dinner, I realized…
I LEFT MY BOOTS AT THE WEED HOTEL!!!
And not just any boots, my FAVORITE waterproof leather Merrell boots that I bought in Santa Fe! I tried calling the hotel several times and couldn’t even get an operator to pick up. I emailed, no response. A full 48 hrs later I was able to get someone to answer the phone and they did have my boots. So yes, we re-visited that hotel on our way home. Yippee!
I had my regular dose of reality check this month. While hooked up to an IV feeding the magic drug that prevents me from deteriorating, I chatted with a fellow arthritis patient. Ms. S is 75, has had RA since she was 35, lives alone, mows her own 2-acre lot and takes care of her house. She does all of this, despite the fact that her hands are bent beyond recognition and she is quite obviously in pain on a daily basis. I never heard her complain once during our morning infusion, even after the nurse had to stick her three times.
I’m sure throughout our lives we have all met people like this. People who have had it rough and yet never seem to whine or play the victim. People who never take for granted their independence, and in fact fight tooth and nail to keep it. When I asked Miss S why she never remarried after losing her husband to cancer, she said “Why on Earth would I do that? What man could possibly keep up with me?”
I admire Ms. S and all the others who share that same determination. The disease does not define her. It is part of her daily life but it is not part of her daily thoughts or focus. This is one of the reasons that I rarely write about having rheumatoid arthritis. I realized early on with the diagnosis that I could easily fall into a victim mentality if I let myself focus on being sick. I could convince myself that I was unique, that I had special needs, that I could make excuses. But I was lucky, because during my infusions I have met many people like Ms. S who remind me of the type of person I want to be.
