Oklahoma - Day 27 - to Woodward & Boiling Springs State Park

Boiling Springs State Park, Woodward
Thursday, 27 August 2020

today's route

We had a very short drive today, Alabaster Caverns State Park being only about 30 miles from Boiling Springs State Park.  So I didn't try to rush out of this morning's campground and didn't speed on our way to the second.

Driving south on State Hwy. 50 from Alabaster Caverns, we passed plenty of farms and hay and cows.

Mooreland, pop. about 1,200, was founded in 1901 as "Moreland" and petitioned for a US post office.  Somewhere along the way, a typo occurred and Moreland became Mooreland.  The residents were glad to get the post office and didn't try to complicate matters by changing the name.

Mooreland says it's the home of the 2004 Miss Oklahoma.  I can state from personal experience that it's also the home of a whole lot of railroad traffic.  The state highway runs through the middle of town and, of course, crosses the railroad tracks.  When I got there, the warning arms were down and the signal was dinging like crazy.  Aside from those clues, a train was stopped on the track, blocking all the crossings in town.  And it stayed stopped.

And it continued to stay stopped.  Finally, after I'd been waiting for maybe 15 minutes (and I don't know how long the folks ahead of me had been waiting), a train came speeding through on the other track.  I thought, fine, now we'll get to go, but nope.  I waited still another 10 or 15 minutes and the dogs were getting restless.  They couldn't understand why we were stopped but I wasn't doing anything.  Specifically, they thought I should be taking them for a walk.

So when nothing happened and nothing continued to happen, I got really tired of hearing that continual ding-ding-dinging without getting any apparent benefit from it and pulled out of line and drove off on a side road to find a place to park.  You know how it is when you switch lines because you think another one is moving faster and then the first one gets unclogged and off everybody goes except you.  And sure enough, I'd barely gotten parked when a second train came speeding through and then FINALLY that stopped train moved and the dinging stopped and all the traffic moved again.  But in the meantime, the dogs got a short walk and I worked off some frustration.

As we drove down the road and turned west on US 412, I saw 2 more trains come along that track in the opposite direction from the 2 earlier.  It's a busy train track around there.

We passed up the turn to the state park and went on into Woodward to the grocery store there.  I know it looks like I spend all my time stopping at grocery stores, but the ones I found here in OK just didn't have the selection I would have expected.  Odd, really.  It's not like there aren't any people in OK or that the ones here don't eat.  Anyway, the one in Woodward wasn't any better than the others.

Woodward, established in 1887, has about 12,000 residents, which I'd think would have been enough to get a decent grocery store.  Oh well.  What they do have is a church called Ignite Church.  Their sign posted the "Experience Times" instead of times for church services.  I'm guessing that's what they substitute for because these "experience times" were at the usual church service times.  Sorry, but I already lived through the '60s and '70s and, while they were fun, I don't feel the need to do it again.

Boiling Springs State Park
At the park office, I got some basic information about the background of the place.

What I was most interested in, though, was this business of boiling springs.

Geology

Watch the spring "boil."  Actually, the boiling these days happens
where it bubbles up from the ground.  It used to be a strong enough flow
that it would boil on the surface too.  Well, we all get a little weaker with time.

The Old Pump House

the CCC-built pump house

detail of the hinges - some of those
CCC boys did some really nice work

These exhibits are right behind the park office.  There's a paved path leading down to the level below the office, where I took that photo of the spring. 

From these exhibits, the path leads into the woods on a walking trail.  The dogs would have been happy to go farther, but I was boiling hot - it being the hottest time of the day - and I was ready to get to our campsite and call it a day.

It turned out that even though it was a Thursday, there were only 2 or 3 other campers - with no dogs or kids.  So I'd say we got really lucky.