Weekend Getaway

What an amazing and fantastic weekend.  You might be thinking, "Didn't she just get back from a vacation to New Mexico last month?" and the answer would be, "Yes, yes I did." J and I had a Groupon to use and it was close to expiring.  So we decided to head up to my second home and land of the Oklahoma Sooners. Boomer!

This, was of course, after I showed him around Sulphur and where I work.  We spent some time in Chickasaw National Recreation Area driving through one of the state's "Fall Foliage Drives." You better hurry if you want to see it since the fall is falling rapidly.  There are lots of deer that frequent the park, but for once I saw a buck! I kept telling J "Look it's a buck, I cannot believe I'm seeing a buck!" I'm sure he was like "Really?"  I have been through that park hundreds of times and have never laid eyes upon one.  So of course I took a picture.

Don't forget while you are in the park to stop by the Travertine Nature Center and see the displays.  They also have a seven minute video that talks about the area around the park.  

Saturday just also happened to be National Bison Day.  Luck would have it, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area has a Bison Viewpoint and they were out front and center that morning.  Usually they are back somewhere in their area and you cannot see them.

Once we finished up there, we headed towards Norman.  Man was that exciting.  It's shameful being an alumni and rarely (because of schedules) being in the land I have come to love.  Since it was a home game and not a chance of finding any parking space anywhere in Norman then we decided to head up to Oklahoma City and knock out the museum.

Now this is not just any museum, this museum is full of Chihuly Glass.  You're probably thinking what? Well let me tell you about Dale Chihuly.  This guy is one of the most amazing artists to ever create something magnificent.  You will not find anything like it.  His glass is all over the U.S. So that kind of makes this museum extra special.  My favorite piece of glass is the three-floor high tower, completely made of glass.

Pretty cool huh? You're welcome.

After we finished getting our Chihuly fix, we went over to Bricktown because J wanted to go to Toby Keith's I Love this Bar.  So that's where we went.  We were not going to get anything big since we had, prior too the museum, been to Buffalo Wild Wings.

We really were only going in for dessert.  Then J decided he really wanted to try the fried bologna sandwich.  So we decided to share that and some sauteed mushrooms...so good, wheel me out and dump me on the sidewalk good.  They do not have the pies listed on their menu, so be sure to ask your waitress if you ever find yourself there.

You cannot go to Norman and not make a stop at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art that is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.  We had planned to make a specific stop because of the Immortals exhibition they have going on through early December.  This exhibition is Roman busts from the Musei Capitolini in Rome.  I am all over these kinds of exhibitions like bee on a flower.  You should really take advantage of these types of exhibitions, because believe me they are not easy to undertake.  Plus, you have a chance to see something from another country that you may never have a change to go and physically see.

Last, and certainly not least, tacos.  Oh yes my friends, tacos.  You definitely have not been through Norman thoroughly until you have stopped for lunch or dinner at Tarahumara's Mexican Cafe and Cantina.  This place is the bomb.  The service you cannot beat and the portions, well you can eat on them for days.  J even was quoted as saying this was the best Mexican food he had ever had in Oklahoma.  That is saying something since he was raised in New Mexico and that food is on a whole different level.  

So go people, get out there and have some tacos from Tarahumara's and see the art available in Norman and Oklahoma City.  You won't regret it.

Unpacking to Pack

I'm not a good unpack-er.  I actually leave bags packed for way to long after returning from a trip.  It's just that man, New Mexico was great and I cannot make myself unpack my bag.  Fate would have it that I need to un-pack since I have to re-pack today to spend the weekend with J in my favorite place on Earth and no, it's not Disneyland.  

Norman, the land of Boomer Sooner, best friends and a big chunk of my life.

You go through the process of well what am I going to wear? What's the weather going to be like? As J would say, "You better bring a jacket, you're always cold."  Well it's hard when you are not the human heater like he is (not that I'm going to complain in a couple of months!)

This weekend is going to be filled with everything I love and it's pretty amazing.

See you soon Norman!

Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad, New Mexico

Ok, so time for Round 2 of 2 on my New Mexico Posts (since we were only there a few days).  The day after we ventured through the Living Desert State Park and after a fabulous night out and stay in Carlsbad we drove to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  What a hyperventilating good time!

The drive just getting up to the top to go down to the bottom is amazing.  You're driving through these gorgeous canyons and you sit and think "Wow, this is amazing."  Let me tell you though, the wind up there, man, hold onto your hats! I had actually thought of bringing an umbrella and trying the whole Mary Poppins routine, but I really did not want to add a trip to the ER to my memories of New Mexico.

Once you get inside the visitor's center and pay the admission, you will walk through the building and read the displays and all the educational facts.  Oh, and my suggestion to you, rent the audio equipment.  It's $5.00 per person and worth the rental.  Along the whole route to get to the caverns an through the caverns, there are numbers posted that you enter into the device and then listen as it talks about the area you are at.  Some of them earned a giggle, or should I say laugh?

Then finally....

I promise once you get down into the whole, it won't smell so bad.  I mean what can you expect when 300,000 bats fly out of there every night for months.  Be sure you have a good jacket on when you get ready to descend down into the cavern since it runs consistently in the 50-something degree range.  You can also have water, but nothing flavored.

This was my favorite of the rock formations.  Appropriately named "Whale Mouth," it really does look like the inside of one.  At times it was hard to take pictures because it gets pretty dark down there and flash can, well let's just say it, be a bother.  At least to me.

Water plays a key part in the formation of all the stalactites inside the caverns.  Educational Fact: it takes about 2 months for one drop, yes just one drop, of rain water to make it all the way down to the caverns.  But what can you expect when you are 750 feet below the ground.  

There was so much variation in the different formations and it was absolutely amazing to just be inside of there and look at this wonder.  I can also get how claustrophobic people would have a difficult time inside of here.  It's not necessarily that you are in close quarters (there was maybe one small space you walked through).  I think it is more of a "I'm 750 feet below the dirt and rocks" kind of issues.

It takes about an hour and a half (depending on how fast you walk) to get all the way to the bottom if you choose to enter through the natural entrance (def suggest doing this).  You can, though, take the elevator down and just tour what they call the "Big Room."  The big room will take you another hour and a half to walk through.

Once you are finished you can make your way towards the elevators, if you don't want to stop and eat at the cafe down at the bottom.  The elevator will take you up the 750 feet in about a minute. Yes people, 1 minute.  The whole time we were inside, J kept saying "Babe, look out the window." Fat chance! I do not like elevators, let alone one  that is moving that fast.

Last but not least, be sure to get your Carlsbad Caverns National Park stamp in the bookstore before you leave.  That way you can show off the fancy stamp when you get home.

I wish that my Grandma was still alive so we could talk about Carlsbad.  She went there herself when she was a kid with my Great Grandparents and Great Aunt.  It would have been interesting to see how much it had changed from her visit to mine.

New Mexico, you were amazing and fabulous.  Cannot wait to come enjoy your great state again.

The Living Desert State Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico

So J and I have become quite the traveling couple.  We've only been dating 3 months and already we are like the coolest couple ever (sorry everyone!)  Right when we first started dating...I'd say first month-ish...he was like "Hey, want to go to New Mexico in October?" I said...well what did you think I said "No?"... my next words were "When do we leave?"  I had never been there and I have developed a serious case of the "travels" in the last couple of years, so why not?

One of my favorite place that we stopped was The Living Desert State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  People, this place was amazing (the no humidity did not hurt a thing one bit).

The whole parking lot was almost a tourist stop in itself.  I sure hope the landscaper gave himself a big ol' pat on the back because that was one BIG job.  It was like being 5 at Christmas time and chomping at the bit to get into those presents.

The whole 2-ish mile walk was easy and the weather was fantastic.  So we spent the next couple of hours walking around the park looking at all the plants, trees and the occasional animal.

Their displays were on point also.  You couldn't help but to stop and smell the roses...er..I mean stop and read the boards.  Oh and a good tip is if you have a sneezing fit, don't move! There is a change you sneeze the wrong way and get a painful introduction to the many cactus plants throughout the walk.

There are several different areas with changes in vegetation, all marked with signs about the environment you are viewing.  This one was my favorite.

So not like I was carrying a pen and paper while I was exploring, I was on vacation people! But this was one of my favorite plants in the whole park.  There is a beauty here, but it is not like the Redwoods in California or any other place one thinks of when someone talks about the land.  It was unique.

The walks included several stops because I cannot help myself when coming across a gorgeous part of a sidewalk.  Now you have to remember that you are over 3,000 ft above sea level here, so when you get on a high-point, you can see forever...so cool.

This place will definitely go on the list of awesome and amazing adventures.

New Mexico really is the Land of Enchantment.