June 22, 2017 Day
14
I woke up to rain on the mountain. I find it curious that how it rains is
different everywhere you go. In the dry
climates rain hits the Earth and dust billows up and it is soaked into the soil
immediately. In humid climates the rain
seems to become part of the air you breathe and in the mountains the rain
surrounds you and everything nearby and it is like you have become part of
it. It was in this rain that I made a
protein shake and took off for the interstate to give my vehicle and my nerves
a break from driving within the mountains.
My drive lasted approximately six hours and my destination
was the Great Salt Plains State Park in Oklahoma. The state of Oklahoma is quite unique and I
would come to find out later astoundingly beautiful. It is flat but yet not flat, hilly but yet
not that either, I guess the best description I can give it at this time would
be barren. It was mostly covered in
farmland and cows. The few towns I drove
through were not necessarily towns but mainly one street with buildings on
either side most of which looked to be vacant of life. Everyone I ran into wore large white cowboy
hats, jeans, and button up shirts. On the highway, the roads, although two lanes
were oddly wide and for the majority of the time I was the only vehicle in
site. Maybe it was the 98 degree weather
that kept everyone inside?
I made it to the state park around 15:00 to find it just as
desolate as everything else in this state.
After finding the hidden visitor center the gentleman there informed me
that most people go the salt flats.
Which get this is not even within the park but back where I came from 15
minutes away! I was not about to just
leave and not do something after I drove all the way out here. So I drove the 15 minutes back the way I came
to go see the salt flats and dig for crystals.
The salt flats were just like people described; looking at snow in a
desert. It had a different kind of
beauty about it one that I think is rarely seen or observed as being
beautiful. In a way it was like I was
transported to another planet and although the temperature now reached 100
degrees with the wind that came off the flat, barren landscape it was
refreshing and felt cooler than it actually was. I parked my vehicle and with my UdigIt shovel
I went a digging! It was interesting to
cut into the white crystal soil only to have the deep red be revealed. Finally, I found a little tidbit of crystal
which was good enough for me! Back at my camper I went to grab my keys and they
were scorching hot! I had to actually use my shirt to touch the keys.
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