Friday at Brooken Cove

Lake Eufala, September 18

The park filled up today and that sucked royally. Trucks were parked in the grass, and even on the street, although there were two completely empty parking lots. Apparently Oklahoma people are too lazy to walk twenty feet to a parking space. It got noisy, too. I didn't care to sit outside and take my breakfast coffee because the two ladies at the site behind us were talking and I'd have to listen to every word. Now that the weather has cooled down (a tad--it's sweater weather in the mornings) our air conditioner fan is turning off, and every time it does I hear conversation outside. It's not super objectionable, and there's no loud music blaring, but still it's not the reason I leave my comfortable home and drive three hours.

We went fishing in the afternoon, but we weren't expecting to stay long. The batteries that run the trolling motor were lapsing. At first Ed suspected a single battery was at fault, but as the time went on he began to wonder if it was the charger. No way to know until we got them home and tested them, so we used it for a while and then gave up.  We had no luck fishing, anyway.The day started off calm but got windier and windier. But I did see Canada Geese, seven of them! Is it migration time yet, or did they stick here all summer?

I took Molly for a jog to the other campground, along the road and next to a lovely forest:

 

 

 

 

 

and gave her a chance to smell out the weird hills (molehills?) all over the place.

Then I spent the rest of the afternoon planning out our drive for the next day and learning about the area in which we would be traveling. Northeastern Oklahoma includes the edges and foothills of the Ozark Mountains that make up most of the northern half of Arkansas. Across the state line in Arkansas, this section of the Ozark Plateau is know as the Boston Mountains, and they are the highest and most rugged section of the Ozarks. If we'd gone camping in Devil's Den State Park, we'd have been right in the middle of them.

Geologically, the Boston plateau has capping rocks of Pennsylvanian age with the oldest rocks representing stream deposits flowing off the Ouachita Mountains into an ocean while the younger rocks are mostly deltaic. (formed by a river delta). The Ouachita Mountains run farther south, from the middle of Arkansas to MacAlester, Oklahoma. In Oklahoma these Pennsylvanian sandstones and shales are generally referred to as the Crookson Hills.

The Arkansas River borders the Ozark Plateau to the west, then turns east and slices a large valley across Arkansas to the Mississippi River.  The river valley separates the Ozarks from the Ouachitas,<quote> an area of folded ridges and valleys that is a geologist’s (and sightseer’s) paradise.  Clastic Paleozoic rocks predominant, (deposition in a shallow marine environment, the continental shelf), as opposed to limey rocks in the Ozark Mountains.  During most of the Paleozoic the area which is now the Ouachitas was a deep offshore abyssal plain, perhaps more than 3000 feet below sea level (Arkansas Geological Survey, 2012).  But then the “big bump” came along as South America was pushed “north” and collided with Laurentia.
https://csmsgeologypost.blogspot.com/2014/07/oklahoma-geology-east.html

The Canadian River, which flows pretty much all the way across Oklahoma from New Mexico and Colorado (and cuts through the Texas panhandle), joins the Arkansas River and continues East after a sad stop at the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir near the Arkansas border.

And that was where we'd be headed next day.

Thursday at Brooken Cove on Lake Eufala

(September 17)

We moved camp and dumped. It seemed to take a surprisingly long time--we weren't done until 11-ish. But it's true we cooked breakfast, did dishes, and tidied up the Mammoth interior before moving.

The new site sucks. I'd had to book two different sites because the first one, which was pretty much perfect, had been booked up for the weekends for pretty much forever. Now I know why.

After moving, the dogs and I took a walk around our new camping "loop". There was a road around the campsites and a chain-link fence between the road and the water. The bank looked like it was prone to caving in--big gray rocks had been piled up and held together with screen wire.  A little further along, past the rocks, we found a boat tie-up with a short sidewalk to it. And just past that was a muddy spot where the dogs and I waded out so they could get a drink and bath.

Wading in flip flops is never a great idea. I was soon stuck firm, and when I trid to pull up my feet the flip flops insisted on staying behind. They were likely to tear up if I forced them, so I leaned over and fished them out of the water, then tossed them up on the muddy shore. When Zack and Molly finished their swims we went back to camp.

...where I immediately noticed I'd lost my reading glasses. I went with Molly, walking quickly, to retrace my steps. I was just giving up when I found them in the mud, right at the edge of the place I'd gotten stuck and leaned over. Woo-hoo!

After that bit of excitement, we loaded the dogs into the truck and went to check out four campgrounds on Lake Eufala. Although they were all on the same side of the same lake, our total drive was close to 2-1/2 hours. I'm guessing--I didn't time it.  It was about 50 minutes to the first, and from there 20 to the second/third, then 20 to the fourth and another 30 minutes back to our Mammoth home. Eufaula is a big lake.

Lake Eufaula State Park was the only one we really liked, and only a few of the campsites there were acceptable. In a couple of cases, I'd venture to say "vey acceptable." But the other campgrounds were either closed in winter (after October 31), too small, too hilly to get a decent sized RV into, or just plain old unappealing.

The last place we looked--Arrowhead State Park--had a brand new campsite that was gorgeous. Sites were a little too close together, but they were new, full hookup, and the grounds were groomed like a golf course. Only problem? There was no lake. What's the point of camping on a lake if you can't see the lake? Or at least least, walk a few yards to a spot where you can see it. These beautiful campsites were in a clearing in the middle of deep woods and the closest thing any of them had to a view was the next-door-neighbor's dirty underwear spread out on a lounge chair.

We'd rather camp in a run-down park with holes in the pavement and a shared water hookup-- so long as we have a beautiful view.

One thing we learned from a chatty, delightful lady working the gate to one of the Corp. of Engineers' campgrounds--all of the Corp. parks in Oklahoma have shared water hookups. It's expected that campers use a Y-splitter or even a three-way splitter, since in many cases it's three sites that share a water hookup. She told us that the only problems they've had is when people who didn't know they were sharing and accidentally turned off the water for everyone.

It was a good drive with little adventure, but I came away feeling slightly disappointed. I'd thought we'd find all kinds of great camping spots with rocky shores, towering pines, and scenic views. But...not so much.

Later I made the additional observations on the campground we were occupying, and they were all bad. Although it was only Thursday, it was starting to fill up. The people directly behind us (consider the lake as the front) had two tables set up outside and no fewer than 11 chairs around the tables. We thought we were in for trouble after dark, for sure.

But it turned out that the chairs were for three or four kids who needed to sit down and do their homework after school (or so I presumed.) And that's what they did. I'm curious to see if they leave again tomorrow or just hang out and play. I can think of worse places to be stuck during Covid-related school shutdowns.

I'm just speculating about all of this, of course. Who knows what they're up to. maybe I'll talk to the nice woman in charge tomorrow and see,
'
They also have a yappy little dog that they put outside in a cage. Luckiily Molly is ignoring it.  Later--at about 8:30--a big fifth wheel came backign into the spot right next to us. We still have our lake view, but the shortcut across the grass to our truck parking area is now blocked. Ed had an extension cord run across there to charge the boat, and they politely asked him to move it. Later, when they were done, they knocked on our door to tell us we could put it back. Very nice of them--probably hoping to get a boat of their own some day.

I tried to take Molly for a long, pre-supper walk and got about halfway to the other campground when I was passed by a truck going way too fast. He went down the road a little ways and then came back and passed me again. By then I was feeling totally paranoid--it was nearing sunset and there were absolutely no other cars on the road. When he passed me a third time, I had my phone up to my mouth pretending to talk and getting ready to speed dial Ed. Either that did the trick, or else he was simply lost and had no interest whatsoever in harassing me.  Soon I saw a bicyclist up ahead and shortly thereafter was passed by a maintenance man in a golf cart, so I felt reassured. But still, there will be no long, pleasant walks in the dark like the one we had the night before.

Day Two on Lake Eufala

 (Wednesday 16 September 2020)

Fishing on the first day was a bit of a bummer. The minnows were easily procured, although we had a peculiar choice between goldfish, bass or crappie. I thought commercial minnows were always "shiners", whatever that means, and definitely not goldfish which aren't even a native species.

Everything went fine as far as getting ready and  launching the boat. But there weren't any fish!

I caught one small crappie, probably under ten inches. We saw a lot of small fish but not really any big ones.  And we did a lot of searching around for structure, like submerged trees or old tree trunks, but didn't easily find it. The water was very shallow at first but in the old creek bed it went down to 51 feet, but even then it was very warm--eighty or more degrees.

A lot of gulls were finding fish. Or maybe not "a lot" but a handful. I probably saw about twenty in the two or three hours we were out. And a couple of cormorants. Interesting thing about cormorants and gulls--when the boat is motoring past them, cormorants fly away. But the gulls just stay put and let the boat go on by.

Over by the boat ramp there was a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron that seemed to stick together. Could I be wrong about the egret--could it be a a white morph of the Great Blue? No--the bird book doesn't think so. I think the two just liked to hang out together.

And I saw an odd cormorant swimming low in the water...could have been an Anhinga. But I'm not going to count it..that sort of thing can fool you if the water is choppy.

Eastern Kingbird by water's edge and I heard and saw a couple of warblers, but in fall, no telling what type of warblers they could be. Another time.

After the fishing I enjoyed a late lunch and walked the dogs. Sadly, the weather was hot enough that my walk--at the speed of elderly, arthritic Zack--was very unpleasant. There didn't seem to be a breath of air stirring.  While wandering around the campsites I tried to make note of any that we might like to try again. I found exactly one--plus, of course, the one we were in. Almost all of the campsites shared a water hookup in pairs, and some of them are a trio. The campground is so nearly empty that nobody is camped right next to anyone else, so the shared water hookup was not an issue. But down in the lower-numbered sites I saw what I'd been wondering about--a pair of camper sharing a single faucet with a splitter. So we'll bring a splitter in future just in case this sort of thing happens to us.

I was really confused, because I hadn't noticed anything on the web site about shared water hookups. Most likely they considered that water at the site is water even if it does have to be shared with the site next door. (Later: checked it. The reservations website doesn't mention it. Just says "water hookup.")

After our joint walk I did the dishes and took Molly on a solo, faster walk. A north wind had begun to blow, or should I say a brisk breeze, and it felt much better at first. But up the hill away from the water you could barely feel the breeze and it was miserable.

There were no birds to speak of, but I planned to take a long, morning bird walk on the morrow, taking along just one dog. (Or maybe none!) To see if I could do better.

Birds for the day: 7 Canada geese. Weird warblers. Scissortails. Mourning Doves. Blue jays. Carolina Wren. Bah.

Mammoth Tackles the Reality of Lake Eufala

 Brooken Cove COE Campground, Sep 15-20, 2020
 

                                   “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such 

                                            times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to 

                                                  decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

                                                                                                            -J.R.R. Tolkien

For hundreds of years, or at least, ever since Ed and I got married, we've been making a twice-annual trip up through Oklahoma. His parents live in the northwest corner of Arkansas and the quickest way to get to their house is to go north on US-75 which becomes US-69 and then runs into I-40 East bound. At Alma, Arkansas, we head directly north into the Ozark Mountains. We typically go to see them twice a year, sometimes more often and recently much less. (Corona virus)

And for all those years, we've been driving across Lake Eufala. Multiple times, because the road crosses it at two or three places. Each time we've wondered what it would be to camp and fish in such a big, beautiful lake. Therefore the purpose of this trip: to find out.

There was a hideous amount of road construction on US-69 north through Oklahoma. It seemed like more than half of the time we were squeezing along barrels or walls or inching through tiny lanes without any shoulder. It didn't seem to slow us down one bit, but then this was a Tuesday, in the afternoon between twelve and three.

For the most of the drive, I keep thinking of my lost girl. I'd taken this drive with her, many times as a family, but only once with just the two of us. She kept me entertained the whole way with music on her laptop and conversation, plus one serious discussion about the route. For fun I asked her which way to turn when we got to the highway 16 intersection. She was sure it was left; I knew it was right but let her stew over the decision for a while. Only when we got to St. Paul did she admit that I had been right, after all. I never got to make the trip with her driving, but that's no matter. There are enough sad memories in the one trip to last me the rest of my life.

Later, in the night, the grating of cicadas reminded me of home long ago and I wondered what my mom and dad would have thought of this place. I know they'd have loved it, and I equally know that Dad would have a line in the water as soon as we arrived, if his arthritis had permitted it. It would have been indescribably great to have them.

Anyway, back to the trip. You could easily tell when we weren't in Texas anymore--the trees became a whole lot bigger and the land around the lake was bumpy in the distance--not the ironing board flat of Texas lakes, but a suggestion of hills. We ended up a little north of the Ouachita Mountains around MacAlester, but we were far enough east to be within spitting range of the Ozarks. I think. (Will check it later)

We'd hardly been parked long enough to catch our breaths when a brilliant red bird hopped in and around the cottonwood (sycamore?) tree by our campsite. My reflex brain said cardinal and looked away, but my birdwatching brain looked back. It wasn't the tiniest little bit a cardinal--it was a Summer Tanager!!!  Haven't seen one of those in a long while.

There was an assortment of little birds by the water, and a trio of bluebirds appeared to be taking a bath--in the lake. That's a new one on me. One extremely annoying little sparrow-like bird totally eluded my eye. but those sightings showed me easily--it's a splendid place for birds!  I might finally see a Hairy Woodpecker. And maybe it's late enough in the year for a migrating warbler or two.

As to the campsite, I DEFINITELY need to write a review on campgroundreviews.com. The only one they had was very negative--they wrote of foot-high grasses, lack of signage and poorly marked campsites, and inconvenient water hookups.  Here's what I will say:

There are two camping areas--one great; one horrible. They're about a half mile apart on a public highway.
The first one, sites 1 through 62, is gorgeous. There are several loops, all cleared, mowed, and weeded under big, shady trees. Most sites have water views and some are right on the water. Plenty of space all around; extremely clean and tidy. There's even a volleyball net, small soccer field, and horseshoe pits. The boat ramp is small but adequate; courtesy dock close by. Bathrooms are old but clean. Very quiet and peaceful.
Some of the the asphalt is showing its age with breaks at the edges and a few scary dips like the one on the driveway to our site. But we took it slowly and had no problem. Sites are all different lengths and there isn't a huge amount of extra parking. Our site, and many others, was very unlevel front to back. We were able to level our 32-foot RV using a couple of chunks of 4x8 board we carry along, but without that we'd have been tilty.
Some sites have 30-amp and some 50; that and the site lengths are clearly stated on the reservation page.
A couple of sites have their own water hookup (ours did) but you might need a little extra hose, 15' for ours.  But most sites share water with one or two neighbors. Apparently that's normal in Oklahoma COE parks, so bring a splitter. The reservation page does not tell that.
The other camping area, sites 63 through 75, was newer--covered picnic tables, 50-amp, private water hookups--but it was boring and flat with only a few small trees. The RV sites were too close together and angled such that most had no view other than their neighbor's trailer. They did have covered picnic tables and most had their own water hookup. If you want a place to go have a party with twenty of your friends on a Friday night, you'll be happy here. Several people ignored all the empty, convenient parking spots and left their trucks on the road. Luckily no one was playing loud music except our immediate neighbors--it could have been worse. But it was still noisy and unpleasant.

 

Cure for the "very unlevel front to back" issue: 

Birding for the rest of the day turned up a decent list, but not as great as I'd hoped. I saw: Summer Tanager, White-breasted Nuthatch, Great Egret, Great Blue, Ring-billed gulls, Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed woodpecker, and Osprey.

Hooked on a series...and it's a long one

Smoky Mountain Tracks, Rapid Fire, and Gun Shy 

Raine Stockton dog mysteries #1-3

by Donna Ball

Everything you might want in a K-9 mystery and more. Edge of the seat action. Endearingly imperfect dogs. A mystery plot that is believable and twisty. Characters you actually care about. Humor.

A mystery this good it hurts to put down. From about page...oh...one, I was hooked and determined to get to the end. Missing children have a way of doing that, not to mention search and rescue dogs and their owners with a certain snappy attitude that you can't help but like. I'm looking forward to the rest of them.

I have only one quibble: some of them are kind of short. If they could only be three times as long!

Rogers & Hammerstein galore

Something Wonderful
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
by Todd S. Purdum

Split personality book. First half was really something wonderful--after a short biography of each man, it goes into fascinating detail about their first ventures and how groundbreaking the musical Oklahoma was for the time. After that they undertook one called Carousel, which apparently didn't stand the test of time in popular imagination because I'd never heard of it.

But the second half of the book lost its appeal--it seemed to just drone on and on with bare facts of their lives, interesting facts and interesting lives, but nothing to make a good reading experience.

However, it did inspire me to listen to the songs from some of their musicals I hadn't heard much from--Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, and the King And I. Must better music than I'd expected.

Audiobook good enough to make me jog farther

Treasure of Darkness

by S. W. Hubbard


For all her faults, Ms. Hubbard pulls me in on the first page and keeps me in anxious suspense throughout. I don't like the way her heroine endlessly repeats the obvious, agonizing over her every thought. But that gets better as the book goes on and toward the end, I was barely noticing it. but I do love her characterizations, her very real people with uniquely interesting perspectives, and her main character, an estate sale organizer. Her previous book, Another Man's Treasure is a treasure--read it.

She left a plot line hanging that's I'd really hoped to see wrapped up neatly, Possibly she's going to revisit it in the next book?  I sure hope so. I can't explain it here, but I will only say that it was so very true to life and so very infuriating, that I found myself listening to the narrative with clenched fists, boiling in rage. I don't like that feeling--

But it took a really good writer to make me have it.