Sara and I took a trip up to Oklahoma to do our first camping as a married couple. We took the 3.5 hour drive from Dallas up to the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma. While there are certainly places closer to Dallas to camp, this was one of the closest places with some elevation gain. We really miss the mountains.
We left Dallas after work Friday afternoon with hopes to make it to Cedar Lake Recreation Area. Light was running out on us and we decided to stop and set up camp at Sardis Lake...about 30 minutes from our original destination. We wanted to get camp set up before it got dark. This turned out to be great decision because we got to see an incredible sunset over the lake.
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| Sunset Night 1 |
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| Cooking in the dark. Chicken, green peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes in the cast iron. |
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| Breakfast. |
This trip turned into a culinary adventure just as much as it was a camping trip. We recently bought a new camp stove and I think we ate better camping than we would of at home. Friday night our original plan was to make kabobs. Since we didn't make it in time to get a fire going, we decided to cook all of the ingredient in our cast iron pan and it turned out great.
Saturday morning we woke up and cooked eggs and bacon. After closing down camp, we headed off for Cedar Lake Recreation Area...finally mountains. The Ouachitas reminded me a lot of East Tennessee. The mountains have a similar look and feel just not on the same scale. We drove for about 20 miles on the Talimena Scenic Byway which provided all kinds of great views to the valley below. We arrived at Cedar Lake and set up camp and ate lunch around 12:30. The recreation area surrounded Cedar Lake with many nice, secluded camp spots. I would say it was about half full while we were there so it was nice and quiet. There is a trail that surrounds the lake as well as trail access to Horsethief Springs Trail and the Ouachita Trail. After camp was set up, I took off for a couple hour long trail runs while Sara lounged in the hammock reading.
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| View of the Ouachita Mtns from the Talimena Scenic Byway. |
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| Camp day 2. |
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| Cedar Lake |
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| Sunset Night 2. |
Saturday night we got a less dramatic but equally as nice sunset. The weather the entire weekend was absolutely perfect. Highs around 75 during the days and lows around 50 at night with barely a cloud in the sky. Saturday night we ate brats and potatoes cooked over the campfire.
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| Dinner night 2. Brats and potatoes over the fire. |
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| Sunday morning breakfast. French toast and bacon. |
Sunday morning consisted of french toast and bacon. After breakfast Sara and I took the 3 mile hike around Cedar Lake before cleaning up camp and heading back to Dallas. All around an excellent weekend of camping. It was great to get back to the mountains again...
