One winter weekend...

On a lovely Oklahoma winter weekend, we took advantage of the 70 degree sunshine to visit a nearby State Park. We had to prove to ourselves that there was more to Oklahoma than soccer fields, school, church and shopping. We chose Red Rock Canyon State Park because it wasn't far and it sounded promising, though small.

We drove through flat, scrub-like countryside surrounded by red dirt, then followed a road down into a canyon. The red sandstone walls glowed warmly in the sunlight. Where weather had worn the stone, outcroppings stood out from the canyon walls like natural sculptures. They were just asking to be climbed. All four of us swarmed up the rocks, finding grooves scrapped in the rock from the hundreds of hands and feet that climbed before us. I really wanted to climb on top of the main outcrop. I wormed my way to within feet of the top. Then I looked down at my children and thought, “I could fall and then they would be motherless.” Sigh. I never used to worry about such things.

There was a small fishing lake on the opposite side of the road. Sunlight glinted on the green water, though not on the red canyon wall behind it. There was a well-placed tree in front, so up the children climbed for a photo shoot (they know what is required of them, having two camera-loving parents, though they don’t always smile as we’d like).

The first trail led us on grass-lined, leaf-muffled paths by a spring-fed creek. We saw a couple of small, walled-in ponds and then climbed up onto the top of the ridge. We wished we had our picnic. It reminded me of Son’gani Point on Zomba, without the breathtaking drop-off. There were flows and wrinkles of lichen- and algae-covered rock spreading out in all directions. Most children would have a ball exploring and leaping around.

Our children were hungry and our picnic was in the car. So, with much theatrics and complaining, we returned to the car and drove down to one of the picnic sites. It was pleasant enough, given the temperature. However, I’m sure it is much prettier in spring, when there are leaves on the trees. As it was, we stared at the dead-looking brush and trees and wished for a little of the lush Antiguan green.

Before we left, we explored one of the other trails. It wasn’t as pretty as the first, but it was longer and there were more trails that we (the parents) are eager to explore further. Again, I think this area will improve in March or April when the leaves return.

In summer, the pool opens, so we might return to camp, hike and swim. We just don’t know how hot it will be – if the trees and canyon walls protect it a little from the normal Oklahoma 100+ degree temperatures, or if we’ll just roast and wish we were back in the air conditioning.