If you were to search for Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge on the Internet you would find a brief splurge that sounds something like this:

“Established in 1901,Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is one of more than 546 refuges throughout the United States managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. …. Our 59,000 plus acre national refuge is home to free range buffalo, Texas longhorn cattle, prairie dogs, elk and deer. We also offer incredible scenery and views for hikers and photographers.”

Although this statement is true, it is very typical of these government facilitated travel web sites to bore you to death with acreage and species technicalities. In fact, I am almost afraid that in including such a large portion of it that you may skip my article entirely, but by all means, read on. Blurbs like that of above make you wonder if any of these people (chained to a desk, no doubt) have ever even visited the refuge.

As for myself, I love the Wichita Refuge and have visited a great many times. For so many reasons I could not possibly lay them all out to you. So instead I will tell you the story of the first time I visited. Late on a Friday many moons ago my fiancé (now husband) suggested to me that we “Go to Lawton.” I asked him why we would go to Lawton. What was there to do in Lawton so late on a Friday? “Not today, all day tomorrow. The wildlife refuge.” He looked at me as if I should know what he was talking about. The truth was I didn’t know there was a wildlife refuge down there, and honestly I had never been to a wildlife refuge. I mean, really, I am from Slowdeatha (Odessa), West Texas where the height of wildlife is seeing a dead armadillo on the side of the road. Do tumbleweeds qualify as wildlife?

Lan explained to me that there were deer, prairie dogs, and little bunnies (at this point I am wondering if Happy, Dopey, Sneezy and Grumpy are about to come into the picture here somewhere). However reluctantly, I agreed. So we woke up bright and early, which for me back then was around noon, and we set off to “Lawton” otherwise known as the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. We started trekking down I-44 towards Lawton and the farther we distanced ourselves from civilization, the happier we got.

I was in such a good mood that I flipped the radio to the local country music station and gave my man a little sing a long concert. After a while, all of that singing made me hungry. So we stopped at the gas station in the middle of the highway at around Chickasha, and a few habenero stuffed olives later we headed back down the road. About thirty minutes and a million cows later Lan pointed in the distance and told me that if I looked out yonder I would see Mount Scott. I said Mount Scott?! What is this Mount Scott? “You mean to tell me there is a mountain in Oklahoma”? He pretty much ignored me and continued to point out the window. Well I’ll be darned if I didn’t look out in the distance and see a little mountain, and I thought to myself that it sure was pretty out there.

When we passed the sign for the refuge I looked to the right and there were buffalo standing right by the road. I had honestly never seen a buffalo before (as I said I am from west Texas). It was cool to see them up so close. Once I got to this point I looked up and saw Mount Scott in its entire splendor, and I thought to myself that this is a pretty big mountain, especially considering I didn’t know that there was a mountain in Oklahoma. Then I saw the sign. “You can go up to the top! We’re going to the top, right?” I asked a slightly annoyed fiancé of mine. He said, “It’s windy.” I pouted for about two seconds and he took the right turn to climb up the mountain. It was truly amazing to see that side of Oklahoma. I was able to look far out into the distance and admire the beauty of our great state. We reached the top and it was windy, but luckily for me we came out in the spring, so it was plenty warm. The view of the refuge from on top of Mount Scott is truly awesome. I looked out to the west and could see the smaller mountains that make up the Wichita Mountains. After a moment of gazing we headed back down the mountain.

Lan suggested to me that we go see the prairie dogs, and finally I recognized something I was familiar with. I went into this long elaborate story about how when I was a kid we used to go to the park by our house. It was called Prairie Pete park, and had this big statue of a prairie dog with a cowboy hat and two pistols. I loved the little prairie dogs, but apparently they were digging up the people’s yards across the street, so they removed them. I remember being the maddest little seven-year-old you ever saw that our Prairie Pete Park now had no Prairie Pete. By the time I finished my story we pulled up to a little valley that was full of prairie dogs. It was spring, so there were baby prairie dogs everywhere. I have to tell you, these are the friendliest prairie dogs on the planet (especially if you have some food). We spent a great deal of time hanging with the prairie dogs and watching the babies play, but we had to move on.

At the refuge there are spots where it is fairly easy to climb the rocks with nothing but your own two feet. Lan pulled over to the side of a quiet road off the main thoroughfare where these huge boulders just appear to be stacked one on top of the other. We got out of the car and climbed up to a rock platform that was pretty high. The rock platform is quite large and smooth so we sat down for a minute and admired the interesting rock formations and took some pictures. If you live in the middle of a city like we do, it is really nice when you are just lying around high on a natural floor of rocks and can hear nothing but the wind blowing through the crevices. The sun began to set, we descended from the rocks and began our drive out of the refuge.

As we drove back down the main road Lan told me to look through the wooded areas because deer always pass that way around sunset. Not two minutes later I spotted three deer not far from my side of the road. Lan pulled over and told me if I got out slowly and quietly I could probably get a pretty good look at them. I should’ve seen this coming. Once out of the car I took one step on a bunch of leaves and they bolted until they were no longer in sight. Lan was, for lack of a better word, hysterical. He didn’t stop laughing at me all the way out of the refuge.

Almost anytime is a great time to visit the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, but here is my advice on the best times to go and what to bring, etc:

• Visit on a weekday in the spring, if possible. I like it when it’s nice and quiet and so do the animals, they will be much more receptive at these times.
• Go when it isn’t too windy.
• Bring a picnic with you, there are many picnic areas with tables and other little spots to sit down and have a little lunch.
• Bring plenty of drinks.
• Stop by the visitor’s center on the way in to stretch your legs and learn a little more about the refuge before digging in.
• Get there early, take your time, and explore the park. There are many little hidden places and hiking trails that lead to places you didn’t even know exist in Oklahoma.
• Wear jeans and walking or running shoes. You want to be comfortable riding in a car or hiking on the trails.
  

My main advice, after visiting the refuge so many times and never experiencing the same thing is to have fun. Take it easy, this is not the mall where you are in a race for time to get in and get out, or a fair where you “have to do this or that.” Just enjoy being at the refuge and take it all in. You will be surprised at how fast the stress of your everyday life just rolls off you once you enter the refuge.