The Beauty of Nature

This weeks field trip was to the Mary Kay Oxley Center. Its located in Mohawk Park about one mile past the Tulsa Zoo. This is not my first trip out there but as I pulled into the parking lot I started to wonder "just who is Mary K. Oxley?" When we got back home I did some research and heres what I found. John Thurman Oxley worked in the petroleum industry and in 1935 married Mary K.Yetter.  He loved to be outdoors and played professional Polo even winning Englands Gold Cup and was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame. In the 1970's he and his wife established the nature center. The nature center is 804 acres of beautiful outdoors and marks the area where the couple would ride their horses in the 1930's during their courtship. (http://www.oxleynaturecenter.org)

We started by visiting the interpretive building which features hands on exhibits, a small library and a wildlife viewing area. There is staff available to talk to about the current conditions of the trails and they can answer any questions you have. We went inside and its really nice. They have remodeled it a bit and it was really neat to see. One really nice feature was the water fountain. It had a feature to fill up your water bottle without having to tilt it sideways and it was cold.

We were then ready to set out on the trail. We chose to take the Red Fox Trail. The Red Fox Trail is only 0.3 mile so I figured we could make that in no time. It was beautiful. We saw lots of old fallen trees, a lizard looking thing (I didn't get a real good look at it as it scurried away) and butterflies. They were so pretty. It was little muddy in places but it was very peaceful and quiet. We got done and although I would have liked to have done more my back was killing me from wearing Emma in the back-pack. After we walked the trail we came back to the observation deck and had a small snack. Just then I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the playground we had passed on the way. Of course they said yes so off we went.

All in all it was a good trip. It wasn't incredibly hot (although I don't shy away from heat) and the kids seems to enjoy it. I want to go back and wander over to the lake and the other observation tower. I think this would be a great teaching tool for anyone whose interested in nature. If nothing else its a great place to just take in the beauty of Oklahoma. And if your anything like my husband its a great place to get some exercise. I highly recommend that everyone visit at least once.