The Illinois River

Posted by Nick Tankersley

on July 14, 2008M at 5:37 pm

I have lived in Oklahoma for eight years and I just now floated the famed Illinois River near Tahelquah.

Good times, sure. But, it’s not the kind of float in which peace and quiet is awarded. In fact, it’s quite the opposite and I can see now why some Oklahoma officials wished to ban alcohol on portions of the river.

No matter how much you would like to think people are intelligent enough to NOT drink too much beer while on a river that is four feet higher than normal, there is no sense in that sort of faith.

Countless times we watched people dump their rafts over, spilling coolers and beer cans into the swfit current. At least twice we had to swim out and save stranded swimmers, some of which had no business being on such a quick current.

But I will digress. I had a blast, no doubt. For the socialites out there that enjoy the outdoors and summertime backyard parties, the Illinois is for you. I can finally scratch the experience off my list as a sort of Oklahoma pasttime.

The Illinois River is great, but the next time I go for a float, it will be where a little peace and quiet flows with the current.

From the river my buddy and I headed out to Lake Tenkiller, to a secret spot my friends and I have been camping at for years. I won’t reveal that location other than to say it is on the east side of the lake near Cookson. Good luck finding it.

But this spot is the best spot for watching the sun fall on the lake. We camped right on the water and for the second trip in a row, we watched a lightning storm roll in on us from across the lake. That is a beautiful experience.

What was perhaps best was waking up at 9:45 a.m. in a tent and not being sweaty. The cloud cover and cool air off the lake allowed me to sleep like a baby.

Tenkiller is about as Heavenly a place as Oklahoma knows, so all in all, it was a great weekend for being outside.

-Augie Frost

Where to go: We used the Diamonhead Resort for our raft outfitting. They also rent canoes and kayaks, but the river level dictates what sort of boat you can rent. The river was at 7 and 1/2 feet Saturday and I have to say, it was moving. At 9 feet, no floats are permitted. There are also campgrounds on the premises at Daimondhead and it appeared as though there was going to be a pretty wild party that night, if you’re into that kind of thing. There are several other outfitters in the area and most will offer anything from a 6 mile float trip to a 25+ trip.

http://www.diamondheadresort.us/

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