FEBRUARY 2025 OUTING – WINE & CHEESE PARTY AND ARCTIC DIVE
Rescheduled March 15 ——– As of 3/14 there is still a burnban in effect at the park ———
It’s time for some wine, cheese, and cold-water diving. The Diving Rebels and the Scubadillo Dive club will be at the Marietta Landing campground in Lake Murray State Park (Oklahoma) on Saturday, March 15 for the traditional Wine & Cheese Party / Arctic Dive. We would like to invite any interested divers and non-divers to join us. Lake Murray State Park is located about 24 miles north of the Texas border just off I-35 and 7 miles northeast of Marietta, OK. This is an easy day trip – only 1:30 – 2:00 hours from DFW. A map of Lake Murray State Park with Marietta Landing campground noted is included below.
DIVING
Although there is no official dive time scheduled, there is an unofficial time dive of 11 AM there at the campground boat ramp area. Should you not be able to make that time, the lake is continually open for your diving pleasure on an ad hoc basis, so you can make your own arrangements as desired. It should go without saying that one needs to be prepared for cold water diving so bring the appropriate gear (thick wet suits or dry suits).
WINE AND CHEESE CONTEST
We will have our famous and traditional wine and cheese contest where we utilize a panel of just slightly less than sommelier-quality judges (if you don’t have an entry, you can be a judge) who will rate and award prizes for best red wine, best white wine, worst wine, and best cheese. The judging will begin about 3:30 PM. So, scour your wine cellar or favorite liquor store to bring your best/worst red and white wines that will be judged by an erudite panel of vintner wannabes who will closely taste and scrutinize the entries for bouquet, flavor, clarity, and all such hoity-toity wine things. We’ll award “winner” gift certificates for first prize for the best red and white wines. We’ll also award a “loser” gift certificate for the worst wine. After the wine contest, we’ll choose the best cheese, and the winner will also win a gift certificate (no entries for worst cheese, please!!). We need judges for both contests, so if you are not a contest participant or related to a contest participant and would like to judge, please let me know. Please bring your bottles uncorked to the judging site and place them in the provided labeled paper bags to maintain the “secrecy” of the process. After the conclusion of the contest, please feel free to incorporate the left-over wine and cheese into the forthcoming meal.
FOOD
The Diving Rebels plan to serve a meal at about 4:30 pm, consisting of a main dish of brisket, turkey, and sausage. We are asking that you bring a favorite side item of either a vegitable dish or desert and your own drink. We will also provide water and tea. To assist in meal planning and preparation, we’re asking attendees to purchase tickets. Through MArch 10, each ticket costs $10. After that date and at the event, each ticket costs $15. If you would like to attend and have not yet obtained your ticket, you can contact me, and I will reserve and mark a $10 ticket for you on assurance of surety of your first born that you will attend by contacting Steve at (214) 641-6013. I’ll hold your ticket if you can give me a firm commitment for attendance.
RAFFLE
After the meal, we will have our traditional raffle featuring all kinds of wonderful items. We ask if you have any good-as-new dive related items that could be used by anyone, that you consider donating these for this activity and allow someone else to experience the joy in the use of these items that you formerly experienced. For those of you who will be bidding, please bring cash.
BONFIRE ish
If you have some good quality firewood that is not infested with any insect pests or contaminated with any chemicals, please feel free to bring this along and we will see about creating a moderate campfire to create some warmth and a nice effect. Be sure to bring a comfortable chair for sitting around the fire and visiting at the end of the day. ****** Note: There may be a fire ban in place so check this site to see if it is lifted before you bring wood ******
LODGING
RV and tent camping is available at Marietta Landing campground. The campground was redesigned primarily for RV camping with an expansion of the paved areas and a reduction of open and uncovered areas. A map of the campground is provided below. The RV rates for each campsite range from about $32 – $40 per night. Each site can also accommodate up to two tents. The first tent reservation will be $32 and the second tent at the same site is $16. Each of these reservation rates also includes a day pass for that vehicle at no extra charge. If have made a reservation to spend the night in a tent, RV, cabin, or lodge, you will be provided with a day ticket for entrance to the park. If you are just there for the day, you will need to go on the park website (provided below), to purchase a $10 car pass or you can stop at the park headquarters and purchase a pass for $10/vehicle. So, you might carpool, if not spending the night.
The Diving Rebels have reserved three of these campsites – (to be determined) will be utilized exclusively for the outing operations area – food, contest, etc. Many sites are still available for camping BUT none are reserved for us, so if you want to camp, we urge you to reserve your spot ASAP. the date: March 15 and the park MARIETTA LANDING and CLICK SEARCH to see what is available, or you can call the park office at (580) 223-4044.
There may also be accommodation at the park lodge as well as cabins. Traditionally, for those spending the night at the park, we meet for breakfast at the beautifully refurbished lodge as the dining area provides an impressive overlook of the lake.
The park website is noted as follows. https://www.travelok.com/state-parks/lake-murray-state-park
Should there be a potential weather impact develop as we get closer to the event, we will update as necessary.
Please contact us with any questions, comments, or complaints. Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you that day.
Steve “Oggie” Ogden – Outing Coordinator
steveogdentx@gmail.com
214 641-6013
