Thanksgiving trip

 There was so many disappointments this year at Greenleaf state park cabins.  Cross-posted from FB...

Got there to be told that they have been cutting down trees. It was awful news to us...
Most of our favorite tree friends around the cabins are either gone, or about to be. No birds. No squirrels. No deer, anywhere near the cabins.
These were oaks, hundreds of years old, killed by the awful summers we have had the past two years.

We got to our cabin, and they had JUST finished cutting down the trees that stood right outside. My heart hurt.
There was also mud and sawdust on the walk way that we had to use to move all of our gear, etc., and fresh hydraulic fluid all over our parking spot from the leaking “cherry picker.”

We noticed that only a few of the cabins were occupied...it was like they told people that the tree cutting was going on, and gave them refunds? It was weird, because the cabins are usually pretty much full.

When we called on Tuesday to confirm that we could buy firewood at the park upon arrival Wednesday, they said yes.
However, they neglected to tell us that the little store was CLOSED this week!

They told us that when we got there, too.

When we told the girl that we needed them for firewood, she said "They're on a cruise.....But there's cut wood all over the park, you can take as much as you want."

This free firewood was all giant limbs and logs, and we had enough to do to not have to go find, and cut, fire wood! Besides, we didn't bring an axe or a chain saw!!

So, Dave had to go back to town to buy firewood.

It was wet, and would not burn.

They replaced the heater in the cabin with a mini-split system heat pump. It was wonderfully quiet, but it was also incapable of creating any actual heat in the cabin. It's better suited to cool the cabin in the summer.
They DID provide a space heater, but it was small, and did not do much.

SO, no fire + no actual heating unit + crappy space heater + 35 degrees at night = very cold in the cabin.

Thursday was the Thanksgiving holiday, and that morning, the light went out in the toilet/shower area. Of course, the office was closed, because it was Thanksgiving.
We had to use the shower and toilet by flashlight until Friday morning, when we were able to contact the office and tell them.

Starting at about 11 am on Thanksgiving, the residence that is near the cabins, where the family that runs the little store lives, became the site of a big party.
So, who was at the house, if they were supposed to be on a cruise?
There were loud voices, music blasting, cars coming and going.... this has NEVER happened before, in 12 years of going to this park.

It was like the parents went away and left the teenagers to their own devices. Except that these people were adults. The noise from the party didn't stop until well after dark. So there was no sitting outside in the warm sun to read. There was no wildlife around. It was extremely irritating.

Friday, we had workmen coming into the cabin, four different times, and they were unable to fix the bathroom light. They left us a camping lantern, which was much better than our flashlight stuck into a roll of toilet paper. But still.

Then, the tree crews showed up, with their chainsaws, and their loud equipment.

So, we escaped for a while, and went into Muskogee to visit the Five "Civilized" Tribes Museum. They always have such beautiful art on their top floor, and we had not gone for a few years.

Came back, and the "cherry picker" and work men had moved to a different part of the park. We could still hear the chainsaws, but they were further away.

The chainsaws were back Saturday morning, so we left before we had to.

We have had issues before, but this was, by far, our worst experience to date.

Traffic going and coming was fine, though, and there WERE good parts to our stay.

I cooked us a wonderful feast, and we had a GREAT fire on Friday, so I was finally able to burn all of that wood that we purchased, and the cabin was finally warm for our last night there.

The weather was grand, and there were so few people in the park that the walks we took were uninterrupted by others.

We are looking at a different park for next year, without the super cool cabins that are made of native stone, but hopefully with MUCH better management.

The park we are considering has cabins, but they are modern, and have no character at all. Hopefully, though, the overall experience will be so much better, that we won't miss the cabins we love so much at Greenleaf.

Hoping that everyone who reads this has a good week next week!