It all started Saturday after dusk. Highport shined as the star of the Lake Texoma firework’s highlight. Its show lasted about an hour. Highport did us Texomans right with the biggest and most impressive show. That same night, the City of Madill (we think it was Madill) put on a four-hour show across the river from Highport. This Laketexoma.com writer cannot attest to all the fireworks shows that she could not see from the western shores of Lake Texoma on its Texas shores. She can testimony that it was the most powerful and brightest colorthon ever on Lake Texoma in many years!
The Independence Day fireworks went on for four days and five nights in 2023 on Lake Texoma. Besides the sponsored fireworks shows, Texomans spent big bucks on fireworks. Texomans set their bought and paid for supremely expensive fireworks off on beaches over every shore on Lake Texoma. We wish we could find out how much the fireworks vendors raked in because it was wild how much money Texoma civilians invested in personal fireworks—for five nights!
The most important and frequent words I heard from Texomans on the beach was, “To heck with the economy, we deserve this!” There were huge American flags, Texas flags, U.S. Military flags, and Confederate flags flying on every vehicle; hung up like hammocks between trees, and at every picnic table. It was wave after wave of families bringing down their huge boxes of expensive fireworks to the shores all over the lake. Some of these Texomans and others spent thousands of dollars on fireworks.
The Western Lake Texoma Timeline of the 2023 Independence Day Celebration on One of Texas’ Lake Texoma Shore
Saturday, July 1, was the kicker-offer with the Lowe’s Highport show, and the show did not quit with the professionals. The locals just kept on going after that like the Energizer Bunny!
Sunday, July 2, the show went on for hours after dusk, and the far Lake Texoma shores that we could see were as active with fireworks as the fireworks on our beaches. It was a sight to behold. We did not know it was going to get even more exciting, but it did. We were yee-hawing and yoo-hooing all night long.
The fireworks kept a coming on our beach and all around the shores that we could see. Though this whole season of the 2023 Fourth of July, we saw no rioting, no fighting, and where we were, no drunk-driving fools. For the last two days at this point, we had seen the most responsible behavior around the shores of Texoma. We had a hard time believing it could get even better, but it did!
On Sunday, this huge entourage of a family pulled up in pickup trucks, four wheelers, golf carts, and with their kids on mini bikes and mini four wheelers. There must have been 30 people in that family. First thing, they all parked, rounded up their older kids, and separated the younger kids back. The adults wore glow rings around their necks, arms, and waists as they set out their monstrous fireworks boxes. Their show surely had to have cost $4 or $5 K. They shot off the big guns.
Then! They brought in the older kids up to set off smaller fireworks, and then let the little kids throw ground fireworks. It was an amazing family to watch through the whole process. It was professional. After that, the daddy honcho of this family came and talked to us awhile at our table, which was a delight. He actually apologized that the show did not last longer because of Biden administration policies, but that he couldn’t afford more. His show lasted two hours, and must have cost a real pretty penny.
The Lake Texoma Fourth of July Rainbow
Monday, July 3, and OH MY GOODNESS! Rain storms squalled up and their accompanying wind storm coated us with multiple layers of sand while white caps mounted high off the shores of Lake Texoma—Boats struggling, jet skis lagging and fighting, tow boat rescues, and waves pummeling any vessel trying to make it to port. That mess went on for a few hours before dusk. Then, as the storm moved up north, a faint rainbow appeared.
This rainbow started out kind of dimly lit. We first saw its end at the OU Bio Station shore. But this rainbow kept growing, and we kept watching it. It slowly showed off itself in brighter and brighter hues. There were clouds as the storm moved northward covering parts of this rainbow. This rainbow grew so vivid in color that we were immersed in blessed awe. Then! We discovered that we could see both ends of the rainbow on the Buncombe Creek shore that stretched over to the Rocky Point shore…
Truly a spiritual awakening and witnessing experience! There are no words. We felt a whole bunch of hope when we saw that rainbow’s ends touching both the Oklahoma and Texas shores. We watched it until it faded out of human sight. Then it started raining those irritating big ol’ rain drops that soak you real quick-like, so I left the beach. Well, I left, but the men stayed. They said they had been wet before and they would not melt. No fireworks on Monday.
Tuesday, July 4, the fireworks went on and on and on and on. They started at about 5 p.m. with the little fire crackers, and went on for hours. I left about 11:30 p.m., but I heard today that a camp of college kids got naked after I left. It was unstoppable explosions of the most expensive fireworks this Lake Texoma writer has ever seen from individuals in her entire life. As far as she could see from and to the distant shores, people spared no expense.
The Lake Texoma Fourth of July Blood Red Moon
Not only was that Monday rainbow so poignant, so was the blood red moon that watched over our fireworks on July 4, 2023. At about 7 pm. this full, blood red moon striped with black strips began rising, but it did not rise too fast. That moon held up there as long as this Lake Texoma writer could hold up. The boats on the water dressed up in their most beautiful lights. There are no words, but this Lake Texoma writer has attempted to describe it as vividly as possible.
Wednesday, July 5, was a little bit of an after show. All the tourists and weekenders had left to go back to their daily grind. We locals were all exhausted, but we couldn’t stop hanging at the beach and watching the show. It was calm and peaceful with little activity on Lake Texoma. However, the fireworks did not quit. We were treated to yet one more show! We saw little firework bursts here and there across the shores of Oklahoma and Texas and a few more big bursts on our shore. Tonight’s Texoma moon, on July 5th, 2023, rose orange with a bright red ring around it and as big as it could possibly be.
This 2023 Fourth of July on Lake Texoma Was Phenomenal!