Boredom makes folks do funny things. Some drink, some take up interior decorating and some will actually read books for entertainment. There are a few other things to do, but not many.

This is how I wound up at Turner Falls Park.

February is normally a strange time to go hiking, but not in Oklahoma.

I decided I had to take advantage of the 74-degree weekend and go outside. Unfortunately, I was not the only one with this brilliant idea.

Turner Falls Park, as it turns out, is beautiful.

I had been to the Sulphur area dozens of times, but I had never seen this side of Oklahoma. Aside from all the dormant trees, it looked like paradise.

High hills and granite cliffs bank the hiking trails on both sides. At times, I felt like I was trekking through Middle Earth. Just when I started to feel complete oneness with nature, my gaze would stumble onto a group of giggling people with their phones on selfie sticks.

I was able to ignore it for short bursts. If I held my hand up in just the right way, I was able to see a majestic waterfall without noticing the skinny man posing with the selfie stick right in front of it.

As I wandered around, I spotted a squirrel. I carefully took out my bag of Cheez-Its and fed them to the majestic critter. I tossed them far away at first, then closer and closer until he was taking them right out of my hand. I did this in the middle of a crowd. Nobody noticed. They were taking selfies.

Another surprising element of Turner Falls is the trails.

These aren’t what I’d call handicap-accessible. Some of these areas were extremely hard to reach without snapping an ankle. None of the steep hills had hand rails. I loved that part. The harder the climb is, the fewer kids you’ll have to see at the top.

Aside from the crowds, Turner Falls is an awesome destination and a boredom annihilator.

One thing scares me, though. If it is this crowded in February, what is it like in June?

Rating: B

To contact Jake McMahon, email pioneervideo@occc.edu