We got up at 4:30am on a Saturday morning so we could get to Lawton, Ok (three hours away) before the heat was too bad.
It was funny, I was driving at one point and lamenting the fact that we did not get up even earlier so I could have been hiking instead of driving as the sky began to turn soft with early morning light.
I am aware that I am odd.
First stop was the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.
This is the site we were greeted with.
Fire.
A little concerned but unsure if this would change our plans we made our way to the visitor center.
They told us the road was closed to the hiking trail we wanted to take because of the fire.
So we headed back the way we came a little bit and drove to the top of Mt. Scott.
It was really beautiful in the early morning light.
View from the top.
The differences between my two boys is sometimes really easy to see.
My oldest, “I WANT TO GET DOWN!”
They were not even that high. This is just boulder and very far away from the edge.
This one loved it and thought it was really cool to be so high.
I “let” Nick take the lead when I failed to notice a rattlesnake on the trail.
Yes, I was the awesome mother that led her children right next to a poisonous snake.
I was even LOOKING for them!
I did not really trust myself with their safety after that.
We enjoyed the Longhorn’s and Bison roaming around the refuge.
There are supposed to be elk and other animals but we did not see any this trip.
We went on the only trail that was open.
It was a bicycle trail, I would not really recommend hiking it.
It was nice but a little monotonous.
We were going to hike the Bison Trail before the fire changed our plans.
I am hoping to go again soon so we can hike that one.
When we were done with our hike we headed into Lawton to visit The Museum of the Great Plains.
It is the only museum on the Oklahoma Museum Network that we have not visited so I wanted to be sure and get it in while we were in the area.
I really liked their outdoor exhibits.
This fort was really neat.
This guy was awesome!
A teachers dream come true.
He was more passionate about history then I am!
He loved telling the boys everything.
He actually talked so much they were all out of questions!
That never happens.
He wanted them to touch everything.
Love it!
The inside was a little less kid friendly then I originally thought it would be.
Lots of static exhibits.
It was still interesting though.
They did have a little section for kids but it was mostly geared towards older kids.
The boys did love the Lego race track!
I got to see prairie dogs!
I was so excited to see them just hanging out right outside the museum.
I think they are pretty common around there because I was the only person going crazy about them.
We headed back to the Refuge to check on the status of the fire and to go to the nature center but they had closed the road to the visitor/nature center while we were gone.
I guess the fire had spread?
We were able to end on a nice tranquil note.
I hope that the rain we are now getting is helping to put out the fires down there. I know that area has been hit pretty hard with fire this summer.
If you in the area check out the Wildlife Refuge!
Whenever I get the chance to touch and feel history I jump at it!
“What’s down there anyway?”
When I was telling my kids about the ships before we got there, my oldest got really excited and thought we were going to sail across the ocean.
The Niña – Most Historically Accurate Columbus Replica Ship Ever Built
View of the Pinta from aboard the Nina.
It was a great experience!
