We pack up our site and hit the road to Osage Hills State Park which is not far from The Tall Grass Prairie owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy. Here they have bison with free range across the site. They are still fenced in at the property borders but otherwise travel across the landscape. We’ve been here in the past and look forward to exploring it more.
There are 20 RV sites with maybe half of them filled when we arrive. We’re here for three nights and we understand all the sites are filled for the weekend. This State Park is just over an hour from Tulsa and it’s an escape from being cooped up in the city.
The afternoon of our arrival we head out to the Tall Grass Prairie to view the Bison. We drive for a few miles and see none then some way off in the distance away from the road. Then we crest a hill and the view reminds us of Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park and the “Buffalo Jams.” Buffalo are next to the road and in the road. This happens a few more times and we enjoy our views.
On the way back to the State Park we stop in Pawhuska and pick up some barbeque takeout for dinner which we thoroughly enjoy back in our camper. One thing that is missing on this trip is eating out. With all the restaurants closed this is only the fourth time we’ve done take out. First time was the Adobe Deli, Deming, NM with Anna; a dinner and a lunch in Kanab, UT, and here.
Oklahoma is the only state that we know of that still has State Parks open for camping. You are required to make reservations online. Just showing up at the campground will not get to a site. It must be done online. When making the reservations there are 4 boxes that must be checked that you have read and understood the rules and requirements. One of them is to say you have read and understood “NOTICE OF MANDATORY QUARANTINE FOR CERTAIN PEOPLE TRAVELING TO OKLAHOMA FROM ANOTHER STATE, Executive Order 2020-13 ISSUED ON April 8 by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma. Wells read this on the website and checked the box. After our first night we notice a truck pull up to our campsite and stop, then continue on. We did not think anything of it. When we went outside taped on our door of our camper was the Notice of Mandatory Quarantine. They did not knock or say anything to us, just posted the notice. Are we quarantined? In rereading the Notice it is just informing us of the notice. The park employee put it on our door since we had out of state plates. They did not put it on anyone else’s door. We were profiled! We took the notice down and went about our day.
We first take a hike and again realize how poorly marked the trails are in all three of the state parks we’ve visited. Here they had signage at some of the trailheads with maps, but the signage was so badly weathered they were unreadable.
This afternoon is reserved for chores, laundry and groceries. We drive into Bartlesville and accomplish the tasks. The next day we do some longer hikes leaving enough time to find our way back incase we get misdirected due to the poor trail markings. We had a couple for really enjoyable hikes.
Another item missing on this trip are our interactions with other campers. Each socially distanced chat is short and sweet. Mark and Maggie walk by our campsite and we have a much longer and very enjoyable chat with them. They are from Tulsa and hope in a couple of years to do more longer trailer travels. They have a 50 year old restored vintage small trailer about the size or ours. We hope our paths cross in the future.
The next morning we pack up and head north. Our goal is to be close to Nebraska and Iowa yet still in Kansas. Iowa is one of the few states without a Stay at Home order but the Governor has closed all campgrounds. We hope to travel across Iowa to the Mississippi River since it is the only state west of the Mississippi and still in North America that we have yet to travel in with the trailer. Tomorrow we will see where we end up.
Seeing North America 