Sunday, son Logan and I ventured off into deep eastern Oklahoma to the JT Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve northeast of the town of Tahlequah.
It is a 17,000 acre former cattle ranch that the Nature Conservancy took over in 2000 and it is now the largest privately protected block of land in the Ozarks. It is almost a complete ecosystem of its own.
The Conservancy has reintroduced fire and is replacing the former bermuda meadows with tallgrass prairie to try and reestablish what the landscape looked like long ago. From the six mile drive across the property it looks like they are succeeding. The open meadows are very lush. The burned landscape really opens up the woods.
They reintroduced elk in the area in 2005. We got a glimpse of one through the trees but I did not get a decent photo of it. We also saw white tailed deer on our hike.
The only thing I wish is that they had more trails. We hiked two out of the three available and it was 2.3 miles. They packed a lot into that short distance with a variety of sights from ridge tops to creek bottoms, woods to savannas.
It was a good outing. We were the only ones there. The headquarters was closed but they had a great display on the area, the trails, where the trails were and how to get to them. The trails were spotless. No litter or vandalism or anything. Of course you really have to want to go there to get there. We drove across six miles of very bumpy and rocky road to get there.
Logan really liked the peacefulness of the site.
Check the link if you want to visit. They provide directions and all sorts of other information.
That last image could be in the dictionary right next to the word “gnarly”. Looks like a great road trip. Thanks for sharing your week-end with us.
Lovely place for a hike and wonderful photos ~ love macro floral shot and photos of Logan ~ getting to be a handsome young man ~
Happy Week to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Great quiet getaway! I should have included Nature Conservancy in my recent post talking about the ‘good guys’ …( organizations that are doing their best to save our planet)
Looks slighty dry there.
Coffee is on
What a lovely area for a walk!
Looks like this place was definitely worth the rough ride.
I love wooded areas and this looks like a beautiful one.
It looks so pleasant there. I had no idea that the Ozarks wen that far east. Goes to show how poor my geography is. 🙂
The View from the Top of the Ladder
Thanks so much for your kind comments on my blog. I really enjoy to come here and relax and see your photos and your area. It is hard to see the burn area but it is necessary to do it and then the meadow opens up.
I’m always happy to see land like this preserved and allowed to go back to nature. Everyone seems to be selling their land along the front range of Colorado for big bucks and then it is then developed with apartments or houses. It’s sad to see all the open space go away.
Love the gnarled tree in that last photo
Beautiful! I would love to hang out there. I like that gnarly tree.