Turner Falls

We didn't get to take our family vacation this summer, so we went for a day trip instead.  We don't usually head north to Oklahoma, but Cody suggested Turner Falls, so we went for the day.  It's about an hour and a half away, which is perfect for a day trip.  We got all packed and headed north.  Harper was super excited to go anywhere that involved swimming and playing outside.  

It was a perfect day.  We walked around first, saw the old castles and walked to the waterfall.  It was nice and pretty but that water was seriously frigid.  So after not wanting to swim right away, we decided to walk down the river that ran from the waterfall to the swimming hole.  It seemed like a good idea, stay cool and see fish, etc.  But we quickly realized that the rocks you had to walk on were extremely slippery and somewhat hard to manage.  The only time I tried walking with her I slipped and took us both down (yep, in clothes) and Cody was in charge from there on out.

After awhile, we took a drive to see the camping sites and look for the top of the caves.  We had lunch by the river and just rested for a bit.  We walked down the paths and were able to look down over the waterfalls.  And finally headed to the swimming hole.  She just played around in the shallow creek part where the other littler kids were playing.  But after awhile, she just decided it was too cold.  We got out and dried off and had a snow cone.  On our way home, we stopped and saw the Chickasha Cultural Center and it was a beautiful place to walk around and enjoy.  Plus, we got home in time for dinner and were happily unpacked and relaxing before the sun went down (which is so different from getting home at 10pm like usual).  

All in all, it was such a great day.  She remembers the waterfall and mostly falling in the water.  But she had a blast.  It is most likely way better for older kids, so maybe we will go when she is like 12.  But the idea of a day trip was actually the best thing for us and I loved spending the day just relaxing all together.  Here's to the end of summer!