Lake Murray State Park After Action Report

Cabins are nice for being nearly 100 years old.

• When I asked about an exhibit of not visible ornate box turtles the otherwise very competent interpreter said, They're in a tupor so they're kind of hiding out under the leaves.. Animals may be go into torpor or may be in a torpid state but tupor?
  
  
  

  

  Honk!

  
  

  

  See, its an egg made of birds...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Not as out of place as he seems- grizzlies did live in Oklahoma in olden times.

  
  

  

  The nature center was built in 2013

• The wind atop Tucker Tower was awe inspiring. It was literally breathtaking, as in when you faced the wind just right it could be hard to breathe. Really- I may be over exaggerating but I kind of think if it were a little more powerful it would have been dangerous.

  

  View from Tucker Tower. Here is where I'll ride out the impending apocalypse.

  
  

  

  The cool thing about the 30s was everybody got to look like gangsters

  
  

  

  A nice detail to a doorway was this stone awning

  
  
  
• There is a campground in the park called Ski Jump. I couldn't get an answer for why it is so named.
• Lake Murray Meteorite was found during the construction of the lake. Although it has been sawed in half it weighed 600 pounds when first found. It is composed of iron and nickel.
• Sometime in the long ago past I recall reading that the CCC planted millions of trees and thought that figure heart warming. An exhibit at the park put the number at 3 billion. Whoa.
• You cannot believe how clear the water is in the lake.
  
• They rent boats and personal watercraft there. If you don't know this already, here is your unsolicited life lesson for the day: Be very careful about renting a watercraft of any type- anywhere. Some very shady people are attracted to that business (or become shady at some point).
• The cabins have everything you could possibly need- yep including cable. Groupon has a half off deal until I think March.
• Prairie Kitchen is really phoning it in these days.
  
• I  saw a bald eagle in the the wild there for the first time in my life.  As we approached Tucker Tower some random guy asked us, What are you looking for? Of course my mind went for the metaphysical and I was preparing smart Alec responses like, world peace, my inner center, true love, nirvana... when he said, The bald eagle is over here, I can show you. 
• All kidding aside, I knew it would be cool to see a wild bald eagle. I had no idea it would basically be in my top 10 list of amazing things I've experienced.
• America We Stand As One. Murica!