Lawton, OK and Wichita Wildlife Refuge

Before we knew it, it was our last day in Oklahoma. This was it - Wildlife preserve or bust. We'd heard so much about the reserve (mostly from Yelp reviews...) and didn't want to leave the Lawton area without visiting it. Ryan hadn't been either, so it'd be something new for him too.

Ryan wasn't able to leave base until early afternoon so CJ and I spent the morning do literally everything we could find to do in Lawton. Well other than Cracker Barrel and the movie theater ;) We drove to Fort Sill to check out what the base was like and got to walked around the artillery museum. There were a ton of missiles and tanks set up outside, dating all the way back to WWII. Crazy how big, and powerful, some of these are.

Then we drove to Geronimo's grave. Not terribly impressive, but still cool to see. Apparently he died of influenza as a prisoner of war on the base, not jumping off a cliff screaming "Geronimo!". Slightly disappointing...

We met up with Ryan and his friend at one of their favorite diners in town. It was perfect for some good American, greasy diner food. I had grilled cheese and potato chips, and the others had burgers, chili dogs, you name it.

Finally, we made our way to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. It may not sound like much, but it was like going to Disneyland for us. In the midst of all the flat nothing-ness that makes up much of Oklahoma, all of the sudden we pulled in to see a huge lake, rolling hills, and a mountain. It really was pretty beautiful.

We drove up to the top of Mount Scott (technically a hill) and walked around the top, scrambled over some rocks, and took a ton of pictures. The view was pretty breathtaking - it overlooked Lawton, Fort Sill, a huge lager, and a windmill farm.

After driving down from Mt. Scott, we weren't about to leave without seeing some animals. After a few minutes of driving, we got our wish and were face to face with a buffalo. We got out of the car to get closer - some of us a little bit less cautious than others - and stand near the animal. Buffalo are huge. It's awesome to watch them just hanging out in the plains and think that this is what the majority of the US used to look like. We also saw a longhorn cow and prairie dogs. No pictures of those, since CJ scared them all away...

Last but not least, I dragged everyone to visit the Holy City. It's a really weird, but awesome, place in the middle of the wildlife refuge. It's a replica of ancient Jerusalem and the site of the longest running passion play in the US. Not sure who built it, or why, but I definitely can't pass up a good roadside attraction. There wasn't much to do there except run through the buildings and pose for pictures, but it was well worth it. Almost beats Foamhenge in Natural Bridge, VA. But not quite...

After all of the excitement of the Wildlife Refuge, we went to B-dubs to have dinner and watch the end of the NFC championship game with Ryan and his friends. Nothing like some wings and shoestring fries to finish off a weekend :) Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Ryan and his friend and get ready to head home the next day. It was hard to say goodbye, but I'm so glad we got to come out to Lawton, even if it was just for a weekend! It was well worth it to see Ryan, see where he had been spending the last six months, and see a part of the country I'd probably never have the reason to visit otherwise.

-js