Monthly Archives: September 2017

Camping, Hiking, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

LABOR DAY VACATION 2017 ~ DAY 4(LAST DAY!)~ WICHITA MOUNTAINS WILDLIFE REFUGE

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This was our last full day at the refuge.

We left for home the next day.

And we made it home!

We chugged all the way but made it 😉

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Another beautiful morning hike.

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This shows how much energy Little Bit has.

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We went swimming in Lake Lawtonka.

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Such a pretty location.

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I tried to keep the kids out of the camper as much as possible.

ha

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Our scratch off map!

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Roasting apples over the fire because someone(could have been anyone) did not make sure the marshmallows were good…

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Last hike!

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Anyone else have kids that have to go to the bathroom the instant you start hiking?

Yeah, me neither…

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Our last hike ended up being a little bit stressful since some of my kids were done hiking and I had put a lot of expectations on it.

At least I have pretty pictures to look at.

That always makes me feel better.

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Sunset always made the rocks look amazing.

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Overall I would say this was a good first run in our camper.

Vehicle problems and all.

It helped that this might be my favorite spot in Oklahoma.

Camping, Hiking, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

Labor Day Vacation 2017 ~ Day 3~ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

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These cattle roam free on the refuge.

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Elk!

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Elk Mountain hike!

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It’s a lot of up…

ha

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Beautiful place.

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I like to hike in the morning and evening.

Beautiful light and cooler temps.

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As a photographer I think it is totally acceptable to ask that we only hike in the golden hour…

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Nick took the big kids to finish the hike to the top.

Little bit and I hung out in this amazing spot with awesome views.

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She thought pretending to eat me was giving me kisses.

Ha

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The tiny specks on the top of the ridge are my kids.

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Rabbit!

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Nick took this from the top!

aontop

Headed down.

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After this hike we ate lunch at the camper and went into town to go the Museum of the Great Plains.

Since this is already a long post, I will do a seperate post from the museum.

After visiting the museum we had vehicle trouble!

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We hung out in a car parts store parking lot for a while and had no clue if we would be able to drive home the next day.

Let alone make it back to the campground.

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We stopped at a nearby park to let kids run off energy and so Nick could research(our campsite did not have any cell service).

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After none of our efforts to find a shop to repair it or a reasonable rental that fits a family of 7 we headed back towards our campsite.

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It was an interesting twist to our vacation but gave me a glimpse into what full time travel might be like.

If you break down, you don’t know anyone around to help fix it.

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I was thankful for Nick offering to stop at a spot on the way back to the campsite.

Our vehicle was running rough but we made it back(it was a holiday weekend so our options were limited).

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This place just shows off at sunset.

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I had no clue what the next day would hold but loved ending a somewhat stressful day on such a beautiful note.

Camping, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

Labor Day Vacation 2017 ~ Day 2~ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and camper Tour

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We made it to our campsite and they still had three spots left!!!!

YAY!

I chose the one most secluded and it was beautiful.

We dropped the trailer, paid, and went to see some of the refuge.

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The Prairie Dog Town was a favorite of the kids.

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They would get so close!

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How they felt about my kids…

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Our first hike we went for was really easy since we had our dog with us and she is getting old.

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We saw a lot of wildlife at our campground!

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The visitor center has a beautiful museum.

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This next pic shows why museums start to wear me out quickly though…

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Too much energy to be inside for long.

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On top of Mt. Scott.

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Most of my kids loved jumping from rock to rock!

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Such incredible views!

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These two goofs love mountains.

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Boulder jumping.

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Sunset’s were my favorite.

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The camper made bedtime so much easier!

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The boys slept in the two high bunks and little bit slept in the low bunk.

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The twins slept closer to our room, on the couch, and fold down table.

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We only had eclectic so we did not really use the bathroom for much but little bit fits really well 😉

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I really like that there is less room in our room so that we have enough beds out in the other spaces.

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The next day brought more great views, amazing places, and some obstacles to overcome…