The Waters of Beavers Bend State Park

When we tell some people that we were raised in Beaver, Oklahoma, they smile and get a dreamy look in their eyes as they recall it. That's when we know they are probably recalling a different part of Oklahoma with a more famous area that has a similar name. Most people would assume that Beavers Bend State Park would be close to Beaver, Oklahoma. But in fact, they are polar opposites in most ways. The town of Beaver is in the northwest part of the state; while Beavers Bend Park is in the southeast. Beaver town is in the middle of flat plains where trees only grow beside creeks or houses; Beavers Bend Park is in the middle of the rolling hills where trees grow everywhere. The town of Beaver is dry and brown and suffering through a drought; while Beavers Bend is lush and green from too much rain. So even though we lived in Oklahoma all of our lives, we had never made the 8-hour drive from the town of Beaver to Beavers Bend State Park.

The state park is situated along the Mountain Fork River. In fact, our camping site has a great view of the river. That's a pretty nice spot to do some computer work.

We are surrounded by trees, and one of them has an interesting knot hole. Just like that knot hole indicates, we love our camp site!

We had been enjoying our views of the river, but we also took a tour to see the rest of Beavers Bend State Park. Plenty of people were fly-fishing in this section. But we noticed the best fisherman was the blue heron that is in the foreground.

We found out the corp of engineers was opening up the dam gates today to release more water from Broken Bow Lake. So the rangers were warning the fishermen, who quickly got out of the water when the sirens sounded. We took this picture before the gates opened, just to document what the usual 140 CFS (cubic foot per second) flow looked like. The water on the left is just a puddle, but the river is the ribbon on the far right.

We must be easily entertained, as we sat beside that bridge just to watch the water rise. The place we stood for the first picture was soon under water, but we shot this photo to compare the very same spot on the river now with the 800 CFS flow. The river was far wider, and those fishermen were very glad for the warning. The water now covered the entire picture, rather than just the narrow ribbon on the right.

While most of the state park is on the river, another section surrounds Broken Bow Lake. We stopped over the dam to see the opened gate that was responsible for that increased flow of water.

Broken Bow Lake has a lodge and more campgrounds in the section of the state park outside of Hotchatown, Oklahoma. It was a little drizzly, but we got in a hike close to the lodge where the dogwoods are blooming. We are so excited that the mosquitoes haven't gotten this far north, and we had a wonderfully-bugless hike today. The dogwoods are blooming in the mountains of eastern Oklahoma.

Just like most of the lakes we have been visiting, Broken Bow has flooded its normal shores this spring. We probably wouldn't have understood these yellow lines on the trees high above the water. But we have seen that the floating yellow pollen from the trees will leave that "chalk line" for some time.

Beavers Bend State Park is named for the winding Mountain Fork River that bends around the park. Even though the forecast called for more rain, we found a morning to put our kayak on the river. Because of that big bow in the river, we can float for a couple miles between two bridges that are only a half mile apart. So we dropped off the boat and got it ready, and left Denisa and the boat here at the put-in spot. She took a picture down the river, hoping those gray rain clouds wouldn't foil our plans today.

Meanwhile, Mark drove the car back to the take-out spot. He left the car there, and rode his bike the half-mile back to where Denisa and the boat were waiting. It was an easy self-shuttle opportunity because of the bend at Beavers Bend. We were soon on the water, enjoying an easy float and a little wildlife along the way. We saw red birds . . .

and blue birds.

The walls beside the water got steeper, and we even got a few rays of sunshine.

This section of the river can get very crowded in the summer, so the wildlife gets used to people. That's probably why this turtle let us get so close today.

In fact, he completely snubbed us and looked a little bored with just one boat on the water.

The red bud trees are getting close to the end of their blooming season, and the buds are covering the surface of the water in some places.

We saw a young eagle in the air, but couldn't get a good picture before he flew over the ridge. But this osprey was more cooperative. We first saw him on a branch beside the river.

It's hard to catch a photo when a bird decides to take off. In the silhouette against the gray sky, we could see those long talons that allow these birds to swoop into the water and bring out a fish.

It was a delightful float down the river. Even with that 800 CFS flow, we could paddle against the current to have longer on the river. Those gray clouds stayed with us the entire trip, but they didn't dump any rain on us.

We also saw some birds that we weren't familiar with. This curiously big-headed duck was cruising the river, and diving for food. We found out this is a hooded merganser.

We stretched our two-mile float out as long as possible before we finally got off the river where the car was waiting at the canoe rental place. That company will provide the boat and/or shuttle for customers without, but we had the water to ourselves today.

This is our last day at Beavers Bend State Park, and we'll be leaving soon. We've seen signs all over the park that say, "Don't leave your Mark on the park." So Denisa will be sure to take her Mark with her when she leaves.