Chickasaw National Recreation Area Part Three

This little pool of water was downstream from Antelope Springs.

And just around the corner was Buffalo Springs.

This spring had a definitely sulphur smell to it.

I tried to get a picture of the water bubbles as they came up from the spring, but failed. It was very cool to see, though!

We followed the trail (and sometimes the creek) back to the Travertine Nature Center.

A little ways beyond the nature center was Little Niagara. Having seen the real Niagara Falls, this hardly warranted the name, even with the “little” qualifier!

I loved the way these leaves pooled along the side downstream from Little Niagara.

And then there was a second small falls.

All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend a November afternoon. I anticipate many more trips up to that area, as there is a lot more to see. More hiking trails, more lake parks, and several Indian cultural attractions.

The only downside to the day was our attempt to find supper at one of the several casinos on the way home. We chose to stop at the large casino on the state line (I won’t mention its name; we don’t intend to ever stop there again!), thinking the buffet there would be decent. The casino is touted as the world’s largest, and we got the grand tour by heading in the wrong direction upon entering. We were both amazed and dismayed at the number of people sitting in front of slot machines; I would be willing to bet we saw at least a thousand people there, if not more. By the time we found the buffet, had endured the noise of the casino floor, the cigarette smoke, and discovered the price of the buffet (it was seafood night), we decided to leave. We drove another 10 minutes into Texas, found a Cracker Barrel, and both had good meals, simple meals, for less than half the price we would have spent at the buffet. We were well pleased with ourselves.