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| Eastern Oklahoma Adventure Tour |
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Eastern Oklahoma Adventure Tour
7 days & 6 nights in Eastern Oklahoma
Day 1 & 2
Lake Murray is Oklahoma's oldest and largest state park and offers and resort accommodations. Activities include boat rentals, horseback riding, an 18-hole golf course, miniature golf, bike trails, swimming pool & beach, scuba diving outfitter, hayrides, and hiking. Visit the nature center housed in Tucker Tower, a castle-like structure perched atop a point much like a lighthouse. See the 90-million year-old -meteorite, the reconstructed skull and fossilized bones of a mastodon found in the area, fossils, fish and wildlife, and rock specimens. Drive to the famous McGehee's Catfish Restaurant, which overlooks the Red River, and then visit the Chickasaw Touso Ishto Gaming Center, home to high-stakes bingo. Travel to Tishomingo, the historic capital of the Chickasaw Nation. Stop at the first Chickasaw Council House (1856), a log-structure that now serves as a Chickasaw historical museum. Next, travel to the Old Chickasaw Capitol (c. 1898), a Victorian-Gothic style granite building erected as the Nation’s 3rd Capitol. Join the wildlife enthusiasts that flock to the 16,464-acre Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, home to 250 species of birds and mammals and tour the Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery, one of the world's largest warm-water hatcheries.
Day 3 & 4
The Arbuckle Mountains are home to Turner Falls, a 77-ft. waterfall that creates a swimming pool at the bottom. Find a scenic campsite or picnic spot and explore a natural cave in the surrounding park. Travel to Sulphur and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Little Niagara with its crystal waters and tumbling falls, is one of the state's most beautiful spots where you can study wildlife exhibits, hike nature trails or try a ranger-guided program at the Travertine Nature Center. Head for Robbers Cave State Park in the scenic San Bois Mountains. This park was a notorious former hideout for outlaws. Bandits such as Frank and Jesse James, and Belle Starr made the cave a rendezvous point between raids. The cave itself lies hidden in a formation of sandstone hills and cliffs from 300 to 1500 feet in height. A fresh water spring flows through it, providing water and a natural stone corral at the base of the cliff held the outlaw’s horses. A hidden exit allowed them to escape unnoticed. Today, Robbers Cave offers visitors three lakes for fishing and boating, numerous trails for hiking and horseback riding, sandstone cliffs for climbing and repelling, a swimming pool and beach, a nature center with naturalist programs and exhibits, canoeing, paddleboats, miniature golf and a full service restaurant. Accommodations at the park include the Belle Starr Lodge.
Day 5 & 6
Muskogee is the home of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum, which is housed in a restored Indian Agency building. It documents the cultures of the tribes who were exiled to Oklahoma from the southeastern U.S. More Indian artifacts are on display at the Ataloa Lodge Museum on the Bacone College campus. Nearby, Fort Gibson was the first army post in the Indian Territory and was in operation from 1824 – 1890. Exhibits and living history programs relate to the settlement of the Indian Territory and the development of the fort through its 70 years of occupation. Explore eighty acres of grounds with 29 historic buildings and numerous archaeological ruins. Fort Gibson National Cemetery was established as a national cemetery in 1861, and is the burial place for veterans from the War of 1812 to the Persian Gulf War. Journey to Tahlequah, which was the end of the Trail of Tears for the eastern Cherokees and has been the capital of the Cherokee Nation since 1841. At the Cherokee Heritage Center, explore the Cherokee National Museum featuring the Trail of Tears exhibit, museum shop, an Indian arts and crafts supply shop, guided tours, living history villages, heritage farms and summer performances of the Trail of Tears drama. Downtown Tahlequah is home to the Cherokee National Capitol Building, which served as the meeting place for the Cherokee government since 1870. Also downtown is the Cherokee National Prison, erected in 1874. Numerous Cherokee art galleries are downtown and notice the street signs which are written in the Cherokee language. Noted for its beauty, the Illinois River is nestled in the heart of the Oklahoma Ozarks with their ever changing oak-hickory forest. The crystal clear water rippling over flint rock down the river creates the perfect float trip. Experienced canoeists, as well as the inexperienced, enjoy the river as it winds by high bluffs, rocky islands, river birch and giant sycamore trees. Overnight in Muskogee or at the Fin & Feather Resort.
(4-02-04)
