SULPHUR, OK -- It is one of the smallest national parks in the nation, but it's big on beauty and history. That's something one Oklahoma native wanted to share in his film that accompanied the television documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." Katrina Gutierrez has more.

This fall, a part of Oklahoma's past, present and future was featured by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.

"This has been a refuge for outdoor traditions from people from Oklahoma from Texas for over 100 years, longer than Oklahoma has been a state," Park Ranger Eric Leonard says.

Leonard is talking about the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur, and it was the unique history of the park that caught Oklahoma native and filmmaker Rick Thompson's attention.

"I felt really good about the story. I thought that I could also address opportunities on the horizon there in Murray county because the Chickasaw Cultural Center was opening and so it gave me a beginning, middle and an end and the two will be there as of 2010 and will make the place a stronger more frequently visited area," Thompson said.

Thompson began his 30-minute piece on the park this past spring to accompany Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Thompson's focus was on the history of the freshwater and mineral springs of CNRA.

"In America there's a great tradition that anything worth value you often have to pay for, and the people who were using the springs in 1902 didn't want that to happen. They wanted everybody to be able to use that, and that's part of the national park idea, all of these places are open now and for future generations," Thompson said.

Although only 12 minutes of Thompson's movie was shown on air, the rest of his film can be seen on KERA's website. Thompson says one of the strengths of his film was the community's involvement in aggregating historical photographs of the park.

"That was really one of the great things about doing the film that I've never really encountered before, so kudos to the individuals from the historical communities there who understand he benefit of the bigger audience," Leonard said.

Thompson and Leonard both hope the Oka segment will teach viewers that the CNRA may be one of the smallest National Parks, but it's also one of the most beautiful and historical.