2013 M&M Grabow Family Christmas!!!!!!

I know people are very curious about what is going on since we didn't approve staying at Falls Creek again during last years meeting.

The reason we decided to consider other locations was primarily because they went up on their insurance cost to $10 a day vs. $4 a night which is what we originally paid. This ended up costing us more than double. The year before they had charged $6 a day. I did get a little bit of a price break for 2012 after talking to administration but was told that it was a 1 time deal. Paying per day is obviously more than paying per night and the per night price just seemed like an impossibility.

I have been checking into several different options trying to find something we could use. If anyone has any suggestions now would be the time to send them to me for research because I would like to lockdown a location. I have already contacted a LOT of places so I listed them below, if you have a suggestion not on the list, let me know:

Arrowhead State Park (Camp Harbin)
Black Mesa State Park & Nature Preserve
Boiling Springs State Park (2 camps)
Beavers Bend Resort Park (2 camps)
Camp Egan
Lake Eufaula State Park
Lake Murray State Park (3 camps)
Mount Sequoyah Camp
Osage Hills State Park
Red Rock Canyon State Park
Robbers Cave State Park (2 camps)
Roman Nose Resort Park
Sequoyah State Park
Lake Wister State Park
Western Hills Guest Ranch

First, I reviewed all of our previous locations:
**Mt. Sequoyah no longer has a house for us and nothing else practical for a family.
**Western Hills didn't have anything practical for us as we are too large to fit where we did before, the lodge is pricey and all meals would be catered.
**Roman Nose had no availability and there were still concerns about no AC in the cabins and convenience from lodging to dining hall
**Camp Egen has a new home that would be great for us, we can no longer fit where we stayed before. It is a bit pricey and 1 meal would be catered but even though it is more that we've paid the last few years it is comparable to what Falls Creek would be with the new prices they went up to last year. The appx price chart is below:


With all that being said, David and Kelli suggested checking out Robbers Cave State Park. They have 2 group camps and after visiting with them the layout was very promising and the location seemed like a lot of fun. The problem was that because they are primarily original buildings they are listed in the National Registry of Historic Sites and so they can not put in AC, this includes the kitchen and dining hall having no AC which really would not work for us at all.

This led me to checking other OK State Parks with group camps. I wanted to find out if any of them might be arranged a little more conveniently and what fun amenities there might be. I called every single one and ended up discarding all of them due to either not being available, having no AC or being too rustic with no practical bathroom facilities.

I really had no other ideas at this point and knew I would be asking the rest of you for ideas so I decided to go ahead and put a tentative hold on the Clinton Cabin at Falls Creek so we would at least have a place to go before things booked up.

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS! I spoke to Falls Creeks office to check into the hotel rooms they have near the office for anyone who doesnt want to stay in the house bunks and found out that they are AVAILABLE! The group who has rented them the last few years isnt coming so at this point those are open for anyone who wants to spend a little more for that comfort/privacy. The most expensive is $32 per night so it is reasonable.

The even BETTER news is that the board of directors met after receiving many complaints from the churches owning the cabins about the exorbitant cost of the insurance and the new rate is $5/NIGHT! That is great for us.

I would suggest that we go here again. We have stayed here 2 years in a row and last year we had trouble with part of the AC but they did come fix it. They have a great kitchen and have 5 private apartments which is VERY rare after calling and checking at what seems like a million different locations. If anyone has another idea, I would be glad to check into other options but I have nothing left up MY sleeve. I've exhausted every option I could find so let me know what y'all want to do! Thanks, Val :)