In May we went from catching rainbow trout under rushing blue waterfalls in Oklahoma to following dinosaur tracks in the hot, dry desert of southeast Colorado!
After two peaceful weeks at Corney Lake, our next stop was another awesome free campsite: Blue River Public Fishing & Hunting Area in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. We were really looking forward to catching some trout, so when we found this "fisherman's paradise" along our route that was stocked with them, we had to check it out! They stock with trout and catfish seasonally, and you can catch bass and panfish there too. The river is a beautiful blue with waterfalls at every turn. There were lots of turtles basking on rocks in the water. The landscape is very pretty with rolling hills, wildflowers, big mossy boulders, and lots of cute little streams to explore. The property also runs alongside a cattle ranch and you can watch the cows munching on the other side of the fence when they're nearby.
The roads into the campground were mostly gravel and a bit rougher than we'd like, with weird inclines and awkward angles, but there were bigger rigs than ours there. There are group camping areas near the entrance which are basically just big gravel parking lots. Scattered along the other roads are single sites spaced out about 20 yards apart, most with trees in between, and a few small outhouses. During the week it was really quiet and we spent a lot of time walking the dogs down to the stream, nature watching, or fishing the calm blue water. Weekends were a different story. Almost every spot would be full. People still gave us our space, but the locals were all hanging out together and having loud parties. It was weird to watch people hug each other and go hang out at other campsites while we'd been trying so hard to stay isolated. It seemed like they either didn't know about current events or just didn't care. Luckily we didn't have to use the outhouses there so it didn't change much for us other than the noise. At camp we heard owls and other birds, coyotes, and ... loud neighbors. We even got chased down the road by another camper's dog, and heard from a local "you won't get no privacy here, be as loud as you want." Maybe another time it could have been fun to hang out and party with them, but during a pandemic this was obviously not our thing.
We spent our first week at Blue River parked along the river near the end of D1854 rd. The spot had a great view of the water and we were able to tie our kayak up on the bank instead of lugging it back and forth to camp.
We got to fish and kayak around in the clear water and Kyle caught a nice 16.5" rainbow trout that made a delicious dinner.
The gem of Blue River is Hughes Crossing: a long river crossing where you can stand and fish or drive/ride bikes across depending on water level.
There is also a huge walk-in fishing area that we explored but due to a recent storm the water was murky and we weren't able to see very much. The storm drastically changed the water level of the waterfall too, which went from a gently flowing clear blue to heavy rushing muddy brown for days.
May 14th was my 29th birthday! We drove out to Tishomingo NWR for some adventure. Part of the "Central Flyway" and a protected oasis for waterfowl since 1946, the Tishomingo NWR is a fantastic spot for bird-watching. We saw herons and egrets wading around and hunting for fish in the shallow water. We also saw old buildings submerged in water and some on land being taken over by nature.
There were a ton of neat driftwood pieces along the lake shore, and we also found really cool fish bones. Neither of us had ever seen anything like this! Apparently this nightmarish bone and all those teeth belonged to a Freshwater Drum / Sheepshead, a fish!
It'd been months since we'd eaten food from a restaurant, and on the way home Kyle got me take-out tamales for my birthday!!
When our two weeks at Blue River were up, we moved to Hal & Fern Cooper WMA near Woodward, OK. On our way there we drove through wheat fields and cattle farms that went on for miles. There were also giant windmills and oil pumps dotting the landscape.
During the drive we had another tire blowout, and had to stop at a tire shop to get our spare replaced. We also swapped out the last of the older tires too, for peace of mind.
As we drove in to Hal & Fern Cooper WMA, we passed over multiple cattle guards and got to say hi to some of the resident cows.
We also saw a roadrunner and a few scissor-tailed fly catchers! The area we picked to camp (N1980 Rd. / C1) was closest to the small creek where the cows could be found most afternoons.
Overall, it was better than we expected considering it's just a few flat grassy areas in the middle of a massive cattle pasture. Some may not be excited about being 40 minutes from anything and having cow patties as lawn ornaments, but we had so much privacy there and loved waking up to the sound of cows! I sometimes miss life on our little farm so it was comforting to hear the sound of hoof-beats nearby. We spent hours walking along the creek with the dogs, exploring and fishing.
Most of the plants around were not pet-friendly, and a lot of them had spines, but the salt cedar and sagebrush smelled amazing!
We checked out a few giant windmills along a nearby road, and got to see some oil pumpjacks up close!
We were the only humans around for most of the 10 days we were there. While on a sunset walk along one of the long dirt roads lined with spiny cacti and prickly poppies, we saw a truck driving toward us with an older couple in it. They stopped next to us and asked if we were lost. We'd walked a long ways from camp and I don't think many people camp there in the first place, so they were probably really surprised to see people randomly walking through their cattle field in the middle of nowhere. Kyle said, "Nope, just on a walk.". They guessed we were camping nearby and asked if we'd seen their cows that night. We said we hadn't, and they pulled away.
Besides that encounter, a few kids tent camped about 50 yards away for two nights, and two Forest Service officers came out to check on us about halfway through our stay. When approaching, Kyle reminded them to keep their distance and they kindly obliged, stopping about 10 feet back. They were friendly and helpful, suggesting some cool areas nearby to check out like Black Mesa. They checked that Kyle had an OK fishing license (you do have to have one to use this land. They're $60 for an annual or $30 for a 6 day) and reminded us of the 14 day stay policy. We thanked them and they headed back to their truck. After Blue River, being in the middle of nowhere with almost nobody around was refreshing.
There was a big storm during one of our last few days there, with hail and 60 mph wind gusts. We could see the lightning approaching in the distance as the storm rolled in. There isn't much we can do in a storm other than bring things inside so they don't blow away. We try not to park under any big tree limbs and use terrain to our advantage, finding natural wind blocks where possible. It can get loud and a little shaky, but so far (fingers crossed) it hasn't been worse than that. This was the first time we dealt with hail in the camper, but luckily they were small pieces and it didn't last long. The storm did make the roads very slick though, and we had to put off leaving for two days until they were dry enough again to be safe for the camper.
Once the roads were dry and safe, we headed West once more. The landscape was about to change big time. The panhandle of Oklahoma is flat, dry, and mostly cattle land. We could see forever in any direction. There were no more windmills, just a few little farmhouses like islands in an ocean of dust. We literally saw tumbleweeds roll across the road. We turned North, crossing into Colorado, and the flat plains changed to rocky hills with beautiful plateaus coming into view in the distance.
We read that the Native Americans here used the arroyos (steep-sided gullies formed by fast-flowing water) to trap herds of bison, and that some local arroyos still held graveyards of bison bones. It was very dry and dusty, and the only plants were scraggly looking bushes and cacti.
We were on our way to the Picketwire Canyonlands/Withers Canyon Trailhead area in the Comanche National Grasslands. The place is really out there - an hour from the nearest gas station.
So as you can imagine, after that long drive through nothing, when we saw that the five marked camping spots were blocked off and had "Day Use Only" signs (even though everything online said that dispersed camping was open), we were a little frustrated. Luckily, we'd scoped out the nearby roads and found an even better spot near the rim of the canyon just a few minutes away. The road along the rim was very dusty and curvy, with sharp rocks everywhere. We kicked up a big cloud behind us and our camper was coated in a thick layer of light-brown dust by the time we parked.
This spot was definitely different than anywhere we'd been before. It had real desert weather, with super low humidity and highs in the 90s/lows in the 50s. The animals were different too! We saw multiple pronghorn with big white butts prancing across the desert, a few turkey, a bunch of long-eared jackrabbits, a couple roadrunners, and a big coyote.
And, even in the harsh desert there were still soft delicate flowers.
The landscape there felt unforgiving. The hot sun bakes the rocks and by early afternoon the ground was too hot for the dogs. We had to be super careful about where we stepped too, since almost every plant there is some kind of spiny cacti. There wasn't any water for the dogs to play in or any way to cool down either. We even drove almost an hour to try to access the river, and had to turn around when we were only one minute away due to a private property sign.
So, for most of our stay there we hung out inside. In the heat of the afternoon, we'd go for a drive in the A/C to cool down.
During our down time inside we were able to catch the live stream of the launch of SpaceX/NASA's Crew Demo Mission!! We got to witness the launch abort test for this mission live a few months ago, and have been so excited for the US to be able to launch astronauts again, so we were both pumped when it all went nominally! Bob & Doug rode the Dragon up to the ISS and will be returning to Earth sometime around August 2nd!
So, you may be wondering, "If it's so hot and dry and uncomfortable out there, why would you choose to camp out in the desert?" or "When are you gonna get to the part about the dinosaur tracks?". Well, not only did we have a killer view of the valley camping on the rim of the canyon, we were also only a few miles from some really neat historical sites!
We left early one morning (6:30AM) carrying more water than we could drink, and climbed carefully down the canyon wall into the valley below. Driving an hour to the actual trail entrance would have avoided the climb down the rocks, but it added a few miles of hiking, so it was way easier for us to climb down. There were huge boulders along the canyon walls, many with interesting wind carvings.
Once we got to the bottom it was pretty flat and easy to walk. For most of the hike we followed a dirt path through the canyon that lead first to Delores Mission, then toward dinosaur prints!
Delores Mission: The remains of a stone/adobe Catholic church from the 1870s called Delores Mission. Next to the church were a few headstones, most of young children who died between 1895 & 1900.
History of Delores Mission: "After the territory south of the Arkansas River became part of the United States in 1846 (with the conclusion of the Mexican American War), many people from Mexico migrated north to settle. One immigrant group led by Damascio Lopez had 11 families and established the first permanent settlement in the canyonlands. Initially, this predominately Catholic community did not have a local church or priest to practice their religion. However in 1898, Damascio sold 0.11-acres of his land to the Denver Diocese for $1.00. The community then built a church called the Dolores Mission. Visiting the remains of the Mission and its cemetery provide a sense of the peaceful yet harsh conditions these early settlers endured."
Near the Mission we were also able to dip our toes in the cold water of the Purgatoire River where it runs through the valley, a literal oasis in the desert. There were tiny fish in the water nibbling at our feet.
The website for the Picketwire Canyonlands said there was also Native American rock art around, but we weren't able to find any on our hike.
"Native Americans thrived here for thousands of years: plentiful game, reliable water, diverse plant resources, and the semi-arid climate provided favorable living conditions for prehistoric peoples. These groups left behind many legacies; perhaps the most compelling is rock art— designs pecked or scratched into rock. Images of deer, elk, humans, and abstract designs adorn some canyon walls in Picket Wire. Dating between 375 to 4,500 years old, these images may have been created to ensure a successful hunt, or a year of plentiful food. Although the true meaning lies with the artists, these images inspire curiosity and awe."
We walked another hour along the flat, dusty road past Delores Mission to get to the "Largest Dinosaur Tracksite in North America".
We didn't see anyone on the long walk to the site, but when we arrived there were around 4 other people there checking out the tracks. I was not expecting the tracks to be so well preserved, or so numerous! We walked along the same paths as the dinosaurs did 150 million years ago, marveling at the size of the footprints and how deep the tracks went into the rock. It was really cool to picture the enormous creatures plodding along the bank so long ago.
Excerpt from a sign near the site: "During the Jurassic period, 150 million years ago, Southeastern Colorado’s climate was tropical and forests of tree ferns, ground ferns, pines and sequoia trees grew. At that time, the Purgatoire River Valley was part of an enormous shallow lake. On its muddy shoreline, dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus and Allosaurus roamed leaving their footprints behind. Today, the Comanche National Grassland is home to the largest dinosaur tracksite in North America with over 1,900 individual footprints making up over 130 track-ways. Little did these Jurassic creatures know the ruckus their muddy footprints would create 150 million years later!"
The Purgatorie River was a lot wider here than near the mission, with a few gentle waterfalls to enjoy while we sat on the bank eating lunch and resting for the journey back.
The desert was definitely a new and interesting experience for me. The crazy plants and wide-open landscapes were awesome but after only a few days of drying out in the dusty heat, I was ready to move on. We were also itching to finally get a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains, so we took a drive West toward where our next spot would be. The first snow-capped mountains came into view and even from so far away it was breathtaking. What a difference a few hours of driving can make. We woke up in the desert and saw snow that afternoon.
Along the way we stopped at "Cokedale", an old coal oven on the side of the road with huge hills of "slag" refuse.
We then drove on to Stonewall, aptly named for the giant rock face that looms over the city, formed by magma 35 million years ago.
Our final stop on our exploratory trip was Monument Park/North Lake SWA. The lake was gorgeous, crystal clear, and full of fish! On our way back to camp we even saw a bunch of thick, fuzzy mule deer and a herd of elk grazing in a meadow.
To leave the mountains we'd been so excited for and head back to the desert was hard, but we were so pumped for our next spot and the awesome adventures that the Rockies would bring!
