Category Archives: Hiking

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!

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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.

Hiking

OKC Outdoors

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Arcadia Conservation Education Area

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They are racing for the shade.

It was a little bit hot.

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The education center was closed when we went.

I am not sure if it is only used for school trips and stuff?

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Martin Park Nature Center

We found out that the nature center was closed for construction after we got there.

So you will want to check the status of that before you go.

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This place had really nice easy walks but we ran into seed ticks while there. I am wondering if it was from the bridge or tower.

We stayed in the middle of the path and usually can avoid them if we don’t brush up against grass.

Thankfully a baby wipe got a lot of them off.

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Acadia Lake State Parks

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We actually parked here so Little Bit could take a nap!

It was really hot that day but by parking in the shade right next to the lake, it was not bad at all.

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This trail does not seem to get much use.

The farther we went the smaller the trail so we turned around.

I try not to take trails that are too narrow in the summer here.

Sure enough we got ticks from this one as well.

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Arcadia Lake is really pretty though and has lots of camping options.

Might need to make an rv trip here someday.