Turner Falls!

Today I went to Turner Falls which is located in Davis, Oklahoma about an hour east of Duncan. I went with my co-workers and we had such a blast! I came back with a nice little sunburn too. Splendid.


Turner Falls is the oldest park in Oklahoma. Many springs in the Arbuckle Mountains form Honey Creek which cascades down a 77 foot fall to a natural swimming pool. There is also another natural pool which features a slide and diving board. In between the pools and beyond, water rushes downstream and over rocks. Turner Falls sits on approximately 1500 acres which includes the campsites, picnic areas, caves, and nature trails as well.

http://www.turnerfallspark.com


The website doesn't say anything about it, but there's also an old castle built on the side of the mountain next to the water. A former professor at the University of Oklahoma built the castle in the 1930's and it is now owned by the city of Davis, OK as they also own and operate Turner Falls where the castle is located. Unfortunately, the city hasn't perserved any of the castle and it is deteriorating. There is also graffiti inside the castle. Such a shame that it hasn't been kept up over the years. There are also stories of it being haunted. Exciting! I love haunted places and I believe in spirits! I just love learning more about the history of old places and their stories. You can see more stairs towards the top left of the photo. Those stairs lead up to the stables of the castle.


That's just a little information and history about Turner Falls. It's a natural beautiful place.

There's also a place called Arbuckle Wilderness nearby. They have some fun rides like go karts and bumper cars among a few others, but the main attraction is the "wilderness!" It's basically a safari where they have exotic animals such as giraffes, rhinos, tigers, etc. and you can safari in your own car or in their safari buses. They also sell buckets of food which you can feed to some of the animals! I haven't been there in ages either! Oh my! We all decided we're going there next time.

www.arbucklewilderness.com

I remember going there as a child with my family. We always had so much fun. I can't believe I went so long without visiting!

We got there around noon and headed straight to the picnic area to cook out some declicious hamburgers and hot dogs. After eating, we went straight into the water! It was so stinking hot! We walked all around Turner Falls to all the different "swimming holes" and to the falls! So much fun! Warning, even though it's August and not quite 100 degrees outside, the water is still chilly! But once you get in and swim around a bit and stay in the sun, you're golden. In the water, there are rocks, some huge, some just little pebbles. Well the huge rocks are covered with moss from all the years of the water and it's so hard not to fall when you're walking on them! Oh my gosh! I fell right into this poor lady's lap! We just had a good laugh about it though. But hey, I'm the girl who can trip over her own two feet walking down a straight, dry sidwalk so it was only a matter of time until I fell!
That's pretty much how we spent our day. In the water. My upper body is burned, but my legs are still white as a ghost. lol Maybe I should think about hitting some tanning beds to even myself out? Oh well.

After playing in the water all day, everyone decided to hit up Pizza Hut for dinner. No where nice since we were all wet and nasty looking. I decided just to head on home and have dinner with my family instead. So I don't know what kind of trouble they all got into at dinner! There's no telling with those people I work with! ha! Love you guys!

So, maybe my day wasn't super exciting, but it was definitely fun. If you've never been and you're in the area, you should definitely go! Oh, and don't forget to call me so I can tag along! :)

XOXO~T