Rock Climbing the Great Plains

The Great Plains region of North America is generally defined as the sweeping region of steppe and flatland covered with tall and short prairie grasses.  It ranges from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountain foothills, and from the Mexican border north into the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.   It has been the broad expanse of land where  massive herds of bison ranged, where Native Americans hunted and where pioneer families eventually came to settle.    The lands of western Oklahoma lie within the Great Plains borders.

 

Therefore, heading south from Roosevelt on U.S. Highway 183 it comes as no surprise for travelers to see the sign signaling an exit for Oklahoma's "Great Plains State Park."

Although I doubt my family would have taken this detour on our trip south from Sentinel  I did take a few minutes to explore this park on the internet.   The park apparently offers many great opportunities for exploration, camping and outdoor activities.  It has accumulated many positive reviews from visitors.   I found it curious, however,  to learn that despite its name it is not a park where one goes to enjoy the plains' vast prairie grasses.   Instead, Oklahoma's Great Plains State Park offers camping, mountain biking and rock climbing in the "rough rocky terrain" of the Wichita foothills as well as water skiing and fishing on a large man-made lake!

Great Plains State Park, Oklahoma

 It looks like a wonderful place to visit but I must say I am more than a little confused about its name.