Always Want To Go

Our adventure is in full swing now – next stop Oklahoma! We spent two nights at our Boondockers Welcome location near Lincoln, Arkansas, with the roaring campfire. Now we’ve headed south a bit to Wister State Park on Lake Wister and near Wister, Oklahoma.

My Mom’s family was from this part of Oklahoma, and I have great memories of summer vacation visits here.

Lake Wister State Park

25567 US-270
Wister, OK 74966
(918) 655-7212

We had difficulty online making an RV campsite reservation for the dates we wanted to stay. We finally obtained a reservation at the Wards Landing Campground), not my first choice, but a pretty pull-through spot in the trees.

Wister State Park has excellent facilities, including bathrooms with showers, picnic tables, group picnic shelters, lighted and unlighted boat ramps, and a swimming beach. The park has playgrounds, a miniature golf course, and hiking trails.

We stayed at Wister for four nights! We woke up one morning to a flat tire on the RV, and while Good Sam did come and replace our flat with the spare tire, we had to get the flat tire repaired at a local tire shop, which required another overnight stay. Plans! Who needs plans?

Aren’t campfires the best?

We met and visited with several fellow campers in our small park area. One young lady, in particular, was fascinating. She was tent camping all alone except for her little dog, even though the weather turned rather cold after her first night there.

She was having a great time hiking, enjoying nature, and on to Tennessee, I believe, when she left Wister. It was her first solo camping experience and the first time she set up a tent! We spent an enjoyable evening at our campfire with neighbors camping near us.

They have traveled extensively worldwide and had terrific travel stories to share. We continue to meet just beautiful people everywhere we go. I am sure we’ll eventually cross paths with some “characters” as time passes, but so far, so good.

We thought this RV fireplace was silly, but we quickly found out that it puts out a lot of heat and is very cozy in front of our recliner chairs.

I am delighted I managed to cook almost all of our meals in the RV. I am becoming very familiar with our Instant Pot (soups, casseroles, and pasta), the Blackstone Grill (burgers, chops, steaks, stir-fries, and breakfasts), and my trusty stovetop skillet.

So far, I have only used our oven to make toast. I expect I’ll get around to baking one day soon.

THE magnificent Blackstone!

We always enjoy having early morning coffee. We replaced the broken four-cup coffeemaker with a Keurig coffeemaker that works perfectly for us. It has a very slim design and fits perfectly in our cabinet. We have to use our space very wisely, of course.

As I mentioned, my Mom’s family was from this area, and we spent a few hours searching out family cemeteries. We were able to locate both of my maternal grandparents’ graves in different cemeteries. We also discovered the gravesites of other family members.

Southern Belle Restaurant

821 Hwy 59 N
Heavener, OK 74937

As we drove around one day, we happened to the Southern Belle restaurant in nearby Heavener. This restaurant caught our attention because it is a 1905 railcar that has been restored and is now a great little restaurant serving home-cooking comfort food.

The Southern Belle is most famous for its fried chicken, but all of the food we saw served looked very good. This was a truly unique dining experience, and recommend you stop by for a meal if you are in this area. Be sure to ask for Heather, our lovely young waitress.

I had chicken fried steak, and Steve chose chicken livers! That’s what he likes. We each took a slice of pie back to the RV with us to have later – all good!

Heavener Runestone Park

18365 Runestone Rd
Heavener, OK 74937
Open seven days a week, 8 am – 8 pm

Probably the last thing you would expect to find in southeastern Oklahoma is a Viking Runestone, right? Yet, the Heavener Runestone Park, opened in 1970, has an enormous stone on display in a glass (or plexiglass?) enclosed area carved with what some believe to be Viking runes.

Runes are the letters of the runic alphabet used as a writing system by Germanic people in the 1st or 2nd Century AD. It is rumored the Runestone was discovered in the 1830s by Choctaw hunting in the area. Still, it was officially discovered in the 1920s.

It has been claimed that the runes are documentation of Viking exploration in southeastern Oklahoma around 1000 AD. Others believe the runes were carved as late as the 1700s. Still, another story is that this is a 19^th-century artifact made by a Scandinavian immigrant.

Two other supposed runestones were discovered in this area. Most likely, however, these two are of Native American origin and not runestones. You should take a look for yourself to decide. Regardless of the actual story, this is a beautiful park to visit.

You will also find an interpretive center, educational information, and a nifty gift shop.

Peter Conser House

47114 Conser Creek Rd
Heavener, Oklahoma 74937
(918) 653-2493

We had never heard of Peter Conser but followed a sign along the highway directing us to his house near Heavener, Oklahoma. His house, on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1894 and was Peter Conser’s house until he died in 1934. The family cemetery is in front of the house.

Peter Conser served as a deputy sheriff, sheriff, and leader of the Choctaw Lighthorsemen. These individuals were highly revered and elected their nation’s ultimate law enforcement authority. Peter Conser was also a senator in the Choctaw Legislature.

His home was restored to show how life was in the Choctaw Nation before Oklahoma became a state. Another surprise historical bit of information! The house was closed with the front door boarded up, perhaps due to COVID, but we could walk around the property.

Seven days so far!

Time was truly flying. We could not believe we’d already been “on the road” for seven days by the time we left Lake Wister! We were adjusting to the RV life quite well. Tank and Lilly, our dog children, were settling into their new life of always being leashed and walked.

The house was closed with the front door boarded up, perhaps due to COVID, but we could walk around the property. However, I am not a fan of taking them out first thing on cold dark mornings. Steve took on a whole lot more than his share of this duty, bless him.

The house was closed with the front door boarded up, but we could walk around the property. Since we had extra time as we waited on the tire repair, we took care of all our laundry and picked up a few items at the Dollar Store.

We would spend another night in Oklahoma, but that was a bit down the road. Come along on our adventure to see where we go next.