The Wichitas

The Wichita Mountain National Wildlife Refuge covers almost 60,000 acres in southwestern Oklahoma. The mountains aren’t terribly tall, topping out at 2479 feet. What they lack in height, they do make up for in interesting features. They are made up of highly eroded Quanah granite. They have a very rough and lumpy texture with lots of boulders, with a reddish-orange color. In many cases, it seems like just piles of boulders dumped in large heaps. The mountains are mixed with prairies for plenty of grazing.

October 2024 From up on one of those rock piles, just above Heart Rock.

We got to explore some the trails here and visit some of the many lakes that are spread around . Just taking a drive on the roads was enjoyable as the scenery of the plains and mountains makes a wonderful backdrop. Heading out early in the morning would guarantee plenty of animals sightings on the drive. They do have bison jams but they are much smaller than Yellowstone’s. A herd here might have 20-30 bison, instead of hundreds. Even in mid day, you could find some bison somewhere on the drive. To find elk, we would have to go out early or closer to dusk. They tend to have a healthier fear of vehicles and people, so it is harder to get a good picture of them.

He’s busy munching on the grass. It must take a lot of grass to support that mass.

On a cool, drizzly morning there were quite a few elk around. There are about 1000 of them in the refuge, while the bison are under 500.

They eventually turned around and went back to the field they were in.

There are also longhorn cattle that roam the refuge. We’ve seen them in the campground.

In addition to these animals there is plenty of other wildlife. There are lots of turkeys with a large flock that seem to live in the campground. One morning we had a coyote cross the road just in front of us and then stalk through the high grass and occasionally pounce on things. There is an area that has a small prairie dog colony. We did see them but didn’t get near enough for any pictures. They are prone to carrying diseases. We did not get to see any river otters or burrowing owls that they are supposed to have.

This guy is an Eastern Collared Lizard, also known as a mountain boomer. He is laying on a log near our firepit.

The morning bathroom rush.

This is the dam on the south side of Quanah Parker lake. The campground is on the west side of the lake.

One of the small lakes, early in the morning.

One of the trails leads to this small canyon, called 40 Foot Hole.

Several of the hikes lead to or go around lakes in the refuge. This is the dam for Post Oak Lake.

A bridge on the way out to Crab Eyes.

This is zoomed in with the phone so the quality isn’t great but you can see the Crab Eyes.

The tower next to Jed Johnson Lake.

The relief gate from French Lake drops into this cool spiral drain.

Our stay at Wichita Mountains NWR was very enjoyable. There was lots to see and do. The campground was very nice and it was nearly silent at night. During the day we could hear artillery rounds sometimes, as Fort Sill shares a border with the refuge. At the other end of the refuge you could frequently hear fighter jets on maneuvers during the day. Our biggest complaint would be the heat. In October it was still pretty hot and we needed AC on most afternoons. Our only other complaint would be the wildfire.

On Thursday afternoon I noticed smoke as I headed back to camp from a hike. It wasn’t thick but it was there. The camp host said there was brush fire north of the main road, a couple miles from the campground. In the morning I spoke to one of the staff and they said the fire was blowing back over an area that already burned so it shouldn’t pose a threat. By noon the wind had changed again and we started having a forest service helicopter coming in and picking up water from the lake nearby. The smoke was definitely getting thicker and the smell was quite strong. By 2:00, we were all told to evacuate the campground. It wasn’t a rush but they wanted everyone gone. Two of the entrances to the refuge were cut off by now so we had to leave by a different route than we wanted and make a wide trip around that added about 2 hours to our drive that day. The Rush fire burned over 12,000 acres before it was contained. We were going to be heading out the next morning so it only cut short our visit by one day. It’s time for us to head back to the Carolinas for winter.

Sunrise on Friday morning. The smoke adds some color to it.

I took this picture as we were leaving the refuge. We are actually back at the refuge as I type this(late March). The wildfire was mainly a brush fire and only burned fallen leaves, grass and low brush. Since October grasses have grown back and you can hardly tell that 12,000 acres.