The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is an oasis of awesomeness in southwestern Oklahoma. Established in 1901 – six years before statehood – it is one of the oldest national wildlife refuges in the United States and encompasses 60,000 acres of granite mountains, mixed grass prairie, and numerous lakes and streams. The refuge is home to an abundance of wildlife, including roaming herds of plains bison, longhorn cattle, and Rocky Mountain elk.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Plains bison
Mount Scott, standing at 2,464 feet above sea level, is a prominent peak in this area, but not even half the height of the state's highest point in the panhandle. You can drive to the top of the mountain for some amazing views.
Jana reclaims Oklahoma
Tom takes in the view
Wichita Mountains
Lake Lawtonka
The Holy City of the Wichitas is set on 66 acres within the refuge and is home to North America's longest continuously running Easter pageant, since 1925. The stone structures of The Holy City as they appear today were constructed in 1934-1936 by FDR's WPA and CCC work programs. Although constructed with public funds, today The Holy City operates solely by donations.
OKC bombing memorial at The Holy City of the Wichitas
Holy City Chapel
Chapel interior
Depiction of Jerusalem
View from the Holy City
It's an easy mile hike to the Lake Jed Johnson Tower, an old fire watch tower. Unfortunately, the entrance is sealed, but the view from its base is still amazing. Also known as “The Ghost Tower,” it is supposedly haunted. Maybe that's why they sealed the entrance...
Lake Jed Johnson Tower
Tom at the tower
Wichita Mountains
Lake Jed Johnson
Also allegedly haunted is the Parallel Forest, where over 20,000 red cedars have been planted exactly six feet apart across 16 acres of land. To the average person, this may look odd and eerie, but if you know your Oklahoma history, you'll find it no surprise to learn that this was part of a government program in 1912 to counteract the effects of the Dust Bowl. Take it from this Okie: The trees were meant as a wind block for erosion control, nothing more.
Parallel Forest
Usually on our travels, we opt for fast, efficient picnic lunches, but we made an exception today to eat at the world-famous Meers Store and Restaurant, with burgers so big they cut them in quarters and serve them on a pie plate! The restaurant is all that's left of Meers, OK, a once-bustling boom town that sprang up during a misguided gold rush in the early 1900s in the gold-free Wichita Mountains. The building retains much of its original decor dating back to 1901.
Home of the Meers Burger
Dig in!
After lunch, we left the Wichita Mountains and continued driving west, with points of interest becoming fewer and farther between. Altus, OK, is home to Altus Air Force Base and was once home to the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron (1961-1965). I suppose this explains why the town has a deactivated ICBM serving as a landmark for its baseball fields.
Missile Park, Altus, OK
As we continued through the featureless landscape toward Lubbock, TX, our search for entertainment became slightly desperate. Points of moderate interest: one of many Quanah Parker Trail arrows; a (somewhat) Big Sneaker; Bob's Oil Well (a defunct historic gas station); and the (alleged) World's Largest Jackrabbit.
Quanah Park Trail arrow, Quanah, TX
Big Sneaker, with Jana's sneaker for scale
Bob's Oil Well, Matador, TX
World's Largest Jackrabbit, Ralls, TX
Lodging: Hyatt Place, Lubbock, Texas, where we got a king suite for free as a credit card award. Woohoo! After three long days of driving, a night of comfort was just what the doctor ordered. Instead of leaving our luxurious suite, tonight we opted to eat leftovers from yesterday's La Fiesta feast.