First, and completely by accident, we stopped here in Heavener…
Heavener Runestone Park & Historic Site… supposedly Vikings (yes, Vikings) somehow made their way to this spot in Oklahoma, set up camp and carved letters and words into the side of a giant rock. You have to climb down a man made staircase to get to the building encasing the rock. You can see the building in the picture below, right by Rob’s head.
Now, here is a picture of the carvings. The stone is encased in glass, so it’s kind of hard to see. Look above my copyright…
Some experts believe that the inscription on the stone could be interpreted to read “Glomesdal” or “Valley of Glome.” Glome, they theorized, was a viking explorer who claimed the little ravine as his own centuries ago.
Here’s a close up…
Whether or not these were actually carved by Vikings is highly debated.
In addition to the runestone itself, the park features nature trails, a paved sidewalk that leads down through the ravine to a shelter protecting the carving, picnic areas and beautiful wet weather waterfalls.
This is Emerald Vista… the picture just doesn’t do it justice.
There are more than 20 designated stops along the bypass where you can stop your vehicle, get out and enjoy the vista views… like this…
This is the Panoramic Vista. It was super gorgeous!
And…
obviously super windy!
For more on the bypass, click HERE.
