Day
10 - Saturday 19th September 2015
Written by Kev
Sally
(Susan’s sister), Shelly and Gabi are driving down from
Muskogee to day and spending the night with us. The main reason
for this is to watch Oklahoma University v Tulsa on TV. Tam and I
are going kayaking first, so we get up at 7.30am for breakfast of
scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and freshly ground coffee. The rest
of the group arise and start their breakfast as Tam and I leave
the cabin at 8.35am to drive to Wild Goose Canoeing.
I underestimate the time it takes as it’s out in the country
a little way and we get slightly lost before arriving at 9.15am.
We were supposed to be there at 9.00am, but they are fine about
it and we soon set off with Greg (the owner of the business) to
drive to the start of our 5-mile kayaking trip. With this company
they drive you to your start point, then you kayak back to where
you left your car.
Greg is very
pleasant company on our short journey and tells us about some of
the history of the area. He also tells us that he’s just
bought into a craft beer brewing company not far from our log
cabin and they sell Beaver’s Bend Craft Beer at The Grateful
Head restaurant and bar. We’ll have to look out for that if
we go in there again.
Greg drops us (and our kayak) off and we enter the water to start
our 5-mile journey. There are one or two patches where there are
some gentle rapids and we run aground on rocks in a couple of
places, but a bit of pushing with the paddles and wiggling in the
boat sets us free.
It’s
wonderfully peaceful. For the entire 5 miles we don’t see a
single other boat apart from 2 guys out doing a spot of fishing.
We paddle gently along and see many different sorts of birds
along with hundreds of turtles sunning themselves on rocks and
branches sticking out of the water. I think this is one of the
highlights of the whole trip for Tam.
Back at Wild Goose Canoeing we chat to the staff for a while (everybody in this part of the world wants to talk to you when you have a British accent) and then drive back to Broken Bow to pick up some bread and milk. We also try to get some wine for Deb and Matt at a couple of liquor stores. Deb is very particular about her wine and they only have big brand name wines in these places, so we decide to stop at Girls Gone Wine and see what that’s like. This place is run by 3 ladies who own a vineyard and make their own wines. There is a large gift shop and a tasting room where Tam and I sample a couple of the products. They may not be the height of quality, but they taste pretty good to us, so we buy a couple of bottles and return to the cabin.
Sally, Shelly
and Gabi have already arrived and are busy watching the game on
TV. Tam and I shower and change and then join them all. The
ladies have brought with them an amazing array of game food.
There are all sorts of crisps and such to eat along with a wide
variety of dips. There are also some lovely small rolls filled
with ham and cheese and topped with herbs. These are served warm
and are delicious.
Shelly has brought a sort of cheese dip in a heated football that
adds to the fun.
We watch the
game, which is close at one point until Oklahoma University
stretch away to win quite comfortably in the end.
We all go and sit on the porch to chat and enjoy beer, wine and
margaritas. After a while it gets a little warm, so we return
inside where a number of silly games are tried to various levels
of success, but much hilarity anyway.
It’s now
getting towards evening and I go out to light the fire and
arrange the chairs around it.
We sit around the campfire and enjoy the warm night. Susan and
Gabi collect the dry pine needles that are scattered all over the
ground to throw on the fire occasionally to provide our own small
firework display as they spark in the flames. We are simple folk
with simple needs. The ladies decide to have a go at s'mores,
mostly successfully.
Tam and Gabi
decide to take a dip in the hot tub and me, Shelly and Susan join
them, although our commitment to the task is not as great as we
only sit on the edge and dip our toes in.
Back inside the cabin we finish the evening off watching another
college football game while continuing to snack on the remaining
food. Susan and Shelly do a stellar job of cleaning up the
kitchen and dining area while the rest of us lazy devils relax on
the sofas.
We all start to feel a bit sleepy and I slip off to bed at 11.00pm.