We gave mom and dad a break today and headed out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Understand this is my back yard...I grew up with these mountains in the horizon. Went to sleep at night counting the flares as the military played war out on the numerous ranges that border and surround the mountains. We camped out here as a family, swam in the lakes, traipsed the boulders, fields, trails (and made a few new trails) and Dennis and I spent endless hours here turning rocks when were were dating. Its where we came as teenagers to gather around campfires and talk into the night. It is were we brought company who were visiting from out of town and where I brought my children time and time again when we "came home". I can imagine my life apart from the Wichita Mountains.....Dennis and I spent quite a bit of time here last summer kayaking the small lakes that dot the Wichita's. It was way too windy to kayak today so we just bummed around, doing what we do best....walking, turning rocks, recalling times in these old hills.....
Of course no trip to the Wichitas is complete until you go to Meers....Meers Oklahoma is a cross roads.....with the best burger stop in the country. Here you get 97% lean Texas longhorn beef, with no added fat. The burgers are HUGE. Dennis and I split one...which was good! But before I knew it.....I had ordered the equally famous homemade peach cobbler with homemade (I do mean freshly churned) ice cream.....sigh...what can I say?
On to the wildlife of the Wichita's....today we spotted one dead Western Diamondback , two HUGE live ones under rocks, a dead Yellowbelly Racer ....lots of buffalo, longhorns tons of birds, armadillos and several beautiful mountain boomers....
So....it was a successful day at the Mountains, by our standards....hopefully Saturday we can add kayaking to our Wichita Mountains experience, if this wind will just quit blowing for awhile!
