According to reports from The Oklahoman, the U.S. House approved a bill on Monday, March 31 that will allow the Indian Nations Council of Boy Scouts to buy more land from the Ouchita National Forest. This is exciting! Not only will the land go to a great cause, but the Boy Scouts are well known for maintaining integrity of land and educating others on how to do it.

Below is the full article that appeared in The Oklahoman on Tuesday, April 1, 2008.

The Oklahoman
http://www.newsok.com
By Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a bill Monday that would allow the federal government to sell land in the Ouachita National Forest for a Boy Scout camp.

The bill, approved by a vote of 370 to 2, would require the Indian Nations Council of Boy Scouts of America to pay fair market value for 140 acres of U.S. Forest Service land adjacent to the existing Camp Tom Hale.

The council has set aside $400,000 for the purchase, officials have said. The Senate must still approve the legislation. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, authored the House bill.

The eastern Oklahoma Scout camp was established with 480 acres of Ouachita National Forest land purchased in 1963. But demand by summer campers has exceeded the available space, and campers have to be turned away each summer.

The expansion would allow for an additional 180 campers each week.

“The House passage is great news for Scouts across the central United States,” Boren said.

It’s been a while since I’ve made any entries here. Well that will soon change with Oklahoma’s amazing spring time upon us. There’s no telling what this season will bring – well maybe Gary England and Travis Meyer, Oklahoma’s top meteorologists, can tell us. I hear the words “Let’s go to Val on the Getner” in our future.

While time has gotten the best of me these last several months, it made me think about other folks who may want to contribute about Oklahoma’s greatness. Feel free to drop a comment, suggestion or idea. I’d love to hear what you have to say. Where are you camping, hiking, bounding, or climbing next? My apologies in advance for the comment authorization feature. I’ve had a spamming issue and this helps cut down on the clutter.

One last thing… Be Outside!

Holy freakin’ cow! This park is unbelievable and well worth the drive to the tip of the panhandle. You can’t imagine just how beautiful this place is and it’s just over the line of two eco-regions.

The park is about 10 mintues from Kenton, Okla., which is the farthest west town in Oklahoma (you have to stop in at the Kenton Merchantile, now that’s Oklahoma).  The drive from Oklahoma City took about 5.5 hours, which was well worth it because of the scenenic views all the way up there.

We camped out Saturday night and geared up to trek the 4.2 mile hike to Black Mesa Sunday morning. During the hike we got to see the great landscape of the Southwesatern Tableland ecoregion. To see the white line of rock sandwiched between the tan stone really makes you stop and marvel. Once we reached the highest point of the mesa, which is marked by a granite monolith, we signed the geocache book, had lunch, made a phone call (yip, cell service at the highest and equally as remote point of Oklahoma), and drank in the sights.

Points of Interest:

1. Black Mesa is the highest elevation of Oklahoma (4,973 feet above sea level)
2. Three corners. Ask the park ranger how to get there. You can be in three states at once.
3. 5 state weekend. You can drive through Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Texas in one trip.

Some tips for Black Mesa State Park:

1. The park is not marked the absolute best so from Boise City follow signs to Lake Carl Etling.
2. This park may not be the best during the dead of summer unless you’re used to lots of sun with little shade (at least on the Mesa)
3. Take a drive and visit the other states. You’re too close not to.

Check out the park at http://www.touroklahoma.com/detail.asp?id=1%2B5U%2B3584.

We officially got things rolling with Arrowhead State Park. It was good to get away from the city for a while and enjoy the southeastern part of Oklahoma. I ended up enjoying it so much that I fell asleep reading and got a wicked sunburn. Just goes to show you that life slows down to enjoy the scenery.

Points of Interest:

1. amazing sunset!
2. arrowhead-inspired architecture on the facilities
3. located on a peninsula of Lake Eufaula

Quick Trivia: We could have flown to this park. It has a runway next to the golf course - sweet!

Check out the park for yourself at http://www.touroklahoma.com/detail.asp?id=1%2B5U%2B3580

Oklahoma has to be the greatest state in the union. Part of what makes it the greatest is the amount of outdoor activity. Even though the major cities like Oklahoma City and Tulsa and booming and bussling, there has always been a great resource just a short car ride away – the Oklahoma State Parks system!

We decided that it would be fun to spend some time in each state park and then blog about the points of interest that might not be published, the camping experiences how long it might take you to get there (in terms of bags of sunflower seeds), and I’m sure we’ll add stuff that will help you experience the parks that much more.

Currently with 50 parks and 12 different ecoregions, Oklahoma blows the leaves off just about any competition out there.

Quick Trivia: Do you know the only other state with 12 ecoregions besides Oklahoma?