Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

One of my favorite places on our trip so far has been the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma.  It is made of over 60,000 acres of grassland, mountains, and lakes, providing habitats for bison and other animals as well as a place for wildflowers to grow.  

We set our GPS to get to the Visitor Center but instead of going the most direct route which included tolls, we told it to avoid tolls.  That turned out to be a great way to go into the area because it took us on the buffalo trail which we would have missed if we had come in by the main highway!  We had great views of the mountains, too, which were as beautiful as the grasslands.

The Visitor Center is well done.  It has a lot of good information and exhibits about the refuge and the work that is ongoing.  We enjoyed looking at the dioramas and art work on display.

The gift shop is run by the Friends of Wichita Mountains like the gift shop at the Apalachicola National Estuarian Research Reserve is run by the Friends of the reserve there.  We bought a book and postcards at the gift shop and collected some passport stamps for my smash book.

As we were driving through the Refuge, I had my eye out for the Oklahoma state wildflower - the Indian Blanket - and I saw some growing out in fields.  But it wasn't until we were just about to exit the Refuge that we pulled over for me to get out and get a picture.  I was so happy to have found one growing and accessible for a photo! 

If you ever get out to southwestern Oklahoma, put the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge on your Must See list of things to do.  You won't regret it!

~ Cindy D.