Oklahoma State Parks: Spavinaw Dam & Creek

Where should we go?  It's Friday and Grant had the day off.  We could veg and "rest" but then we remembered we have four kids who wake up between 6-6:35 AM regardless of the day.  I tried to make a rule once that they had to stay in their rooms until 7am but that was just torture and Luke wasn't having it.  One of the crew (Jack) even brags he gets up before the sun!

This day we had a plan and we were mostly packed the night before which made jumping in the car so easy!!!  I had read that this is one of Oklahoma's least visited parks but I'm not sure why.  It is just beautiful and not too far from Tulsa.

The water runs clear from the dam and is quite shallow which is perfect for our kids and their ages.  

The Spavinaw dam was actually built around 1922 and is the main supply water for all of Tulsa.  The view from the top of the dam is beautiful but the holes in the railing sent my stress level sky high.

I know one if not two of my kids could easily find a way through those gaps. The other two given the right moment or inspiration would scale it.  And since a trip to the ER was not in the plans we headed back down to the creek area and suited up to swim, net fish, and search for seashells (they found some!).  All of this to the delight of my 5 and I got to capture it which fills my creative outlet to the fullest. 

 My family exploring God's creation tops my list of things to photograph these days. But first before we got all wet and distracted with "fun" I made them do a few posed pictures before we got off the dam. The boys weren't interested though...

The actual creek is a rock bottom creek and the water is fairly clear though warm in the summer.  The  water comes over the dam instead of from the bottom of the lake so it was quite warm. There were plenty of tiny fish and Savannah has become quite a pro at catching them.  She delights in filling the buckets of the others with multitude of fishes.  She clearly got this trait from her dad.

I think when we return next year I would bring some blow up rafts.  The current is decent but not strong enough to knock a toddler down and would be a great place for the kids to "raft".  

A short video of Jack because he won't always be little like this...

Leave a comment ON the blog about your favorite creek memory!