And if you live in Oklahoma, you know that mid-June through mid-September it gets tropical hot and humid, needing anything Mother Nature can offer to alleviate that purgatorial penance.
I'll have to research the bio-mechanisms one of these days, but when you go from 100+ F heat index, into a freezing cold Spring in the 50's F, it lowers your body temperature, reduces stress hormone levels, and calms the sympathetic nervous system. Two days later, my muscular and nervous systems are still in a mellowed state.
Go east of Tulsa to Locust Grove, hang a left north to Salinas, look for the Harper's grocery store on the highway, then hang a right and follow a winding country round through the hills a few miles until you see the "Blue Hole" sign on your right marking the turnoff. It's a Spring that comes out of the hills, crossing private land, turned into a family park for swimming, fishing, picnicking, BBQing, and camping. They also have a nice concession stand where Wanda still sits in the shade greeting customers, the owner of the park. She is a retired widow, I would guess in her 80's.
$10 entry per car.
We got there about 4 pm, staid til 9 pm closing time. I have to mention they were very busy with a large crowd, so it took some exploring to find the right spot to set up and get to work grilling the ribs I had marinated days before, and smoked the night before. Set up a new tent designed as a mobile toilet/changing room (I do not recommend using their restrooms), lit up the charcoal chimney, grilled the ribs, jalapeno poppers, an onion, and a mixed berry cobbler using left over coals. All the while, we took periodic dips in the icy waters, while chatting with locals admiring my award-winning ribs and pop up bathroom.
I do recommend though, if you should venture to this little slice of heaven, that you go either in the morning or evening, and perhaps on a Sunday after Mass, in order to avoid the hotter temps, and the crowds that do seem to be growing year after year since we started going there in 2014. Bring a table in case all the tables are taken, and find a quiet, shady spot.
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If your nervous system gets hyper-stimulated by the artificial 8-5 grind of the modern age, the best escape in my opinion is into Reality. And what is more Real than the Great Outdoors, yes sir.