Edmond Farmers Market

I was visiting my friends in Edmond on Friday and decided that Saturday morning I wanted to visit the Farmers Market. A friend at Oklahoma Christian had told me about the market when I was in school, but alas I never went! Now, I wish I would have!



The market is open from 9-1 on Saturdays, be sure and check the schedule http://edmondok.com/parks/fmp/events before you go, sometimes they have crafts which could be just as exciting! Everything was Oklahoma grown and very reasonably priced! I have to add, I purchased some wine, Peach and Strawberry, while I was there and man oh man were they good! Sadly, the peach fell off the counter and broke but I did get a taste first! The strawberry was amazing and I will be going back for more!





The market is just north of 2nd street off boulevard, so take boulevard north into edmond off 235 until you hit second street, go north past the light and take the first left to park. The market is just on the east side of the tracks! A lovely little find I wish I would have found sooner!

Showman's Rest

The Showman's Rest is located in Hugo, it is an awesome cemetery to visit! This is a special part of the cemetery that has been blocked off for those who have worked with the circus.






Many of the headstones are made to represent what that person did in the tent, or what they meant to the other workers. The cemetery itself is located next to the Hugo elementary school and is about 3 hours off I35 or 2 hours southeast of Ada.

Hugo

I don't really know how to describe Hugo other than eclectic! This was a neat little town with lots of history! Hugo has 5 circus' that winter there so to say the least a lot of the town is wrapped up in the circus, however it wasn't as big of a deal as I expected it to be! I had lunch at the Harvey House Restaurant inside of the old train depot and it was a good price and good food. The depot was also a museum, however I didn't go in simple because of time, but I heard very good things!




We went in hopes of seeing an elephant or two and an elephant we did find after much hunting! The Endangered Ark Foundation just so happened to have one of their "little" friends outside where we could see! I had my friend Lisa and her 3 year old with us and the 3 year old loved seeing the elephant while Lisa and I were more excited about all of the circus signs and old circus trailers that littered some of the grounds.






Never the less this was a really neat trip. I would highly suggest Hugo, but as a group! The Chamber offers group tours that last 2 days and include all sorts of behind the scenes activities including shooting a historic canon!

Hugo is located down in Southeastern Oklahoma near Robbers Cave which is also well worth a visit!

Pauls Valley 4th of July

Pauls Valley's 4th of July festival is peraonlly one of my favorite holiday activities to attend! I always look forward to the 4th of July and getting to celebrate at Thompson with the entire community!






Not only does Pauls Valley have the largest manual firework show from Oklahoma City to Dallas, but they also host the National Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest! Festivities start around 4 pm with the seed contest starting around 4:30. There are bouncy machines for the kids as well as lots of food and drinks all hosted by the Kiwanas club. The fireworks started around 9:45 and last until after 10:30 or so. A great show or fireworks and fun for the entire family!

Lost Lake Wichita Mountains

Lost Lake is out in the heart of the Wichita Mountains. Its a clear lake that offers not only beautiful scenery but also fun fishing!




Built in 1915, Lost Lake offers majority bluegill, largemouth and redear for the fisherman. Enjoy lost lake for a nice hike too! Straight off the highway, just follow the signs!

Little Flock Cemetery

Sorry for so many cemeteries back to back but they are all interesting! Little Flock is a special cemetery in that it holds something that I had never seen before, a glass casket! An unmarked grave of a baby lays in the back of the Little Flock cemetery and holds the remains of what was once someone's precious baby. This cemetery was found by mistake but nevertheless an interesting find. Not much can be seen today, however I spoke with the post master at a local post office and she said her husband used to roam that area hunting and he would never forget seeing the small child. Today one can hardly make out bones but it is an interesting find! Apparently this was common, however, this is the first time I have ever seen a cemetery plot covered with glass!




The Little Flock Cemetery is located just south of Foster, take highway 29 and turn south on Hwy 76 towards Purnell. There are 3 sets of bridges about 3 miles south of 29, just over the bridge take the first left possible. The cemetery is about 4-5 miles east off this road. There is a white sign by the highway and a pull in to park, but the gate is locked so you must walk about 1/4th of a mile up a gravel road.

Tidwell Cemetery

The Tidwell Cemetery is located close to Doyle which is between Marlow and Elmore City. This is a neat old cemetery that has stones dating back to the late 1800's. The cemetery is a bit overgrown and in desperate need of a clean up, but it is a wonderful little find! I would highly suggest tennis shoes or boots and blue jeans to go in there because it is over grown and who knows whats in that Oklahoma grass!






It is off the main path, so I would suggest putting the destination into a GPS to find it, it is about 3 miles off the main highway. Travel on Highway 29 just before the Doyle water tower turn north on Poteet Road. The road will turn east, follow it 2-3 miles and it should be on your right or the south side of the road. The sign is visible from the dirt road, but the cemetery its self sits about 1/4th a mile off the road on private land. You can drive over the cattle guard and up a ways until you spot the cemetery then there is a flat place to park while you visit the cemetery.

Whitebead Cemetery

Everyone who knows me knows I have a love of history and old things! One day I put those two together and found an old cemetery! I was hooked! Ever since I have been to cemeteries all over the world to see how each culture deals with death and how the dead are remembered. There is a lot to learn from the etchings of the past.






The Whitebead Cemetery has graves from the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is located off exit 74 on I35. Head west on Kimberlin road and it is about a mile off the interstate, turn north and it is half a mile on your right. A very beautiful old cemetery with lots of old headstones and many stories to tell.

Driving

I went out for a drive a few weeks ago. I wondered around from Rosedale to Purcell and beyond. Here are a few of my findings! An intresting named street because I was indeed out in the middle of nowhere. This road is about 15 miles east of Lexington and 2 miles south.





The spider, for those of you not from the south, is a tarantula. While it does indeed look large and scary (because it is!) it does bite but generally not humans. Matter of fact tarantulas are a common house and classroom pet!

Oh the interesting things one can find wondering around!

Arbuckle Lake

Arbuckle Lake is located just east of I35 outside of Davis and Sulphur. It is a beautiful lake that that provides clean clear water for fisherman and swimmers. I went to camp on this lake many times and always enjoyed it for fishing, canoeing, row boats and paddle boats. I was fishing here a few weeks ago and couldn't bait my line fast enough as I kept reeling in large catfish!




Settled in the heart of the Arbuckle mountains the Arbuckle Lake is a perfect get away for couples, friends and families! There are lots of cabins surrounding the lake with trails for hiking and biking for the adventurous ones!

Washita River

With all of the recent rains I guess it helped wash out the river beds! This is the clearest and cleanest I have ever seen the Washita River here in Pauls Valley! This is also a great fishing spot if you enjoy river fishing! While I have never fished here myself, I see folks fishing all the time! I also hear this is a great spot for Noodling (which Pauls Valley will host the Noodling Festival at the end of the month so be sure and check it out!).







http://www.okienoodling.com/
http://www.paulsvalley.com/noodling.html

The Washita River is also a fun river for floating and canoeing for the experienced outdoorsmen!

Rooster Day in Broken Arrow

Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the annual Rooster Day Parade. This was exciting 1st because I had never been before and 2nd because my nephew was marching in the drum-line for his school (which he also made Pride as a freshman for next year!!!).

Okay so back to Rooster Day- Rooster Day is the oldest festival in Oklahoma and was started in the 1930's. Farmers could bring their excess roosters down on this one day and get paid to, well, dump them. Eggs were a main source of income and therefore too many roosters meant fertilized eggs, which meant eggs not for sell or trade. So, on this special day each year a "festival" would be held and competitions such as loudest, fattest, prettiest, ect. would be picked out and then the rest.... disposed of.

Each year something different was added to draw more people and today it is a huge festival that people come from all over to see! It was defiantly worth the trip and I hope to make it back next year for more of the festivities!








It is a great Broken Arrow tradition that was enjoyable to attend. While I just attended the parade, the festival lasts three days with all kinds of booths and activities for people of all ages.

Thunder In The Valley

Thunder In The Valley is an annual Bull Riding contest at the end of Brickfest each year that is hosted by the Pauls Valley Rotary. Of course there is nothing like a rodeo anyways, but Bull Riding is even better! My Canadian friend Andrea came down for Brickfest and was looking forward to the bull riding and she wasn't let down! It was an eventful evening that started at 5 pm with Muttin Bustin, kids riding sheep! We went on out to watch the kiddos give it a go, and it was totally worth it! It only took an hour for all 40 kids to give it a go, so we had an hour and enjoyed the weather while we waited. We started a few minutes past 7 and and had 3 hours full of entertainment!

Pauls Valley is exit 72 off I35. To reach the rodeo arena and fair grounds head east from the highway through down and follow the signs to the park. The arena is located behind the baseball fields at the back of the park or far north end.

Byars

Byars is a little dot in the road town with a population around 280- the entire town is only a mile and half long so don't go to fast or you'll pass it all together! I found this place a few years ago when I was out driving around with my friend Lisa. It is a really neat old one way bridge that has some amazing architecture and view!









Byars can be reached by taking highway 59 off I35. To reach the bridge take exit 86 from I35 towards Wayne. Go about 19 Miles East on 59 through Rosedale and you will come into Byars. There will be a line of old buildings (pictured above) and you will turn left (north) and follow this road. It will make 2 hard turns, first to the right then to the left, keep following the main road and you will drive right onto the bridge! Be sure to look ahead and make sure no one is coming! There are places on each side to pull over and park if you want to walk out on the bridge, it is also a great 4-wheeling spot if you like that! Just watching the river there were lots of big fish that kept surfacing just under the bridge if you enjoy river fishing too!

Enjoy Byars! Just another one of Oklahoma's little secrets!

Pauls Valley Brickfest

Pauls Valley hosted their annual Brickfest this weekend. It is always held on the first weekend in May. All kinds of activities for the entire family including face painting, hot wheels double dog dare derby, pie eating contest, music, old fashion and all kinds of booths and food! Thunder in the Valley brings Brickfest to an end but that will be a separate post!








Pauls Valley offers a variety of activities for the family- the old fashion train depot is great for kids to explore and parents can enjoy the historical museum. The Action Figure Museum just a block away is great for kids of all ages!