Tuesday 3-26-24 to Friday 3-29-24 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge & Medicine Park Aquarium

  

Awesome Three Days

Tuesday 3-26-24

We spent the night at Walmart. We slept very well and woke up to a cold morning in the low 30"s. We had a quick breakfast, and walked over to Walmart to buy a butter tray because I forgot ours at home. When we got back we put everything away or down that we used last night. We were on the road by 8:30. 

Our next destination was Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, which was 70 miles down the road. But Larry ended up going 130 miles because the road to the refuge was closed because of controlled burns. He had to go to Cache and take that road into the park. 

The drive was mainly interstate. We started in Texas, 11 miles later we were in Oklahoma. The interstate in Texas was free but when we entered Oklahoma it became a toll road. We have a TX tag so the toll will be charged to that account. 

On the way we stopped at Medicine Park Aquarium & Natural Sciences Center. It was 12 miles from the refuge and where the road was closed. The center was located in a dirt parking lot. It wasn't level so we had to turn off the refrigerator while we were there. There was a school bus in the parking lot. The actual center was in six or seven large metal building and some exhibits were outside. In the building there were a lot of aquariums with different types of fish such different species of bass, different species of catfish, frogs and a lot more fish. Outside they had an exhibit with a couple of otters, a couple of bobcats, a coyote, butterfly exhibit (destroyed by a hail storm), tortoises (too cold to display) and turtles. The smaller turtles were inside in aquariums. We walked through an exhibit that had a lot of quail. They were very active today and were talking to each other. The exhibits were very small but nice. We were there in time to see the American River Otters and the Alligator Gar being fed. The otters get fed raw meat every two hours. After their fed they go for a swim in the deep pool in the viewing area. We didn’t hang around because their were a lot of kids from the local school. The gars gets fed every three to four days a dozen goldfish. It takes them all day to eat the fish. They’ll eat any fish but the aquarium only has goldfish. Each exhibit had a sign about the animal and what type of animal it was. The exhibits with the coyote and the two bobcats had a sign that told the animals story and how the aquarium inherited the animal. Bobcat Bungalow has two bobcats both were donated to Medicine Park Aquarium in 2020. Luke was 6 weeks old and Bing was raised by a Texan woman as a kitten sometime in 2011-2012. Each bobcat had a sign telling its story. One of the employees told us that they release the butterflies at the end of the season and buy new ones for the next season. It was interesting learning about the animals. The kids were well behaved. The employees were very friendly and knowledgeable about the animals they work with. We had a super time.

North American River Otter

 

Banis LaTrans (coyote)

 

Quail in their exhibit 

Channel Catfish

 

American Bullfrog

 

Alligator Gar

 

Bearded Dragon 

After touring the aquarium we went back to the Minnie and had lunch. Afterwards we were back on the road. Larry stopped at the road closure to find out what was happening. They said it wouldn't be open until 7:00 pm. So we turned around and went to Cache. 

Tuesday 3-26-24 to Friday 3-29-24   

We had three outstanding days at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. During our stay we camped in Doris campground at site #63. It was a great site. It was close to the bathrooms and showers. The water was not on at the park but I did find a spicket that worked. We had plenty of water but I still filled a gallon jug to conserve the water we had. We did four hikes for a total of 12.75 miles. I walked around the campground to get my steps. We read. We had no internet.

Tuesday 3-26-24

We arrived at the park at 3:00 and stopped at the visitor center. It was a beautiful building with a lot of exhibits about the wildlife in the refuge. The lady at the counter was very knowledgeable about the hiking. She pointed out on the map the popular hikes and the wildlife you will see in the refuge. The refuge has bison, longhorns, turkeys, elk, deer, prairie dogs and birds. There were bison hanging around the visitor center. Both the bison and the longhorns in the refuge are pure-bread. After walking around we headed to Doris campground.

A longhorn enjoying his snack

 

A longhorn enjoying the sun

 

 

A bison walking across the road

 

A gorgeous wall of the wildlife in the refuge at the visitor center

 

An exhibit about the Ringtail cat

 

A bison on the side of the road

 

Welcome sign to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
 

On the way to the campground we saw longhorns and bison walking across the road. It's their home so you just have to wait until they make it to the other side. We don't mind because it's exciting to see them. As we were entering into the campground Larry pointed out a flock of turkeys in the trees. They were beautiful Toms with huge tail feathers. We took a few pictures. We found our site and parked the Minnie. We had power so Larry connected the Minnie to the power. 

 

 Camping at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

After setting the Minnie up for three nights we went for a walk/hike. We ended up walking around for 45 minutes and 2.5 miles. We wanted to get familiar with the campground and where the trailheads were. One trailhead was across the lake via a bridge. The other one was on the other side of the campground, which was for The Little Baldy Trail. We decided to hike the Little Baldy Trail. The trail wasn’t marked too well so you have to figure where to go. The CCC made the trails, dams and some of the buildings. We climbed to the top of mountain and back down to the bottom. Then Larry saw some stairs made by the CCC so we climbed back up the mountain. It was very challenging figuring out where to go. Larry is very good about doing this. We had a great hike.

Little Baldy Mountain

The top of Little Baldy

 

A view from the top of Little Baldy
 

After dinner I walked around for an hour and got 15,000 steps for the day. While we were relaxing we saw a few deer walk through the campground and a longhorn walking to the bathrooms.

 

Wednesday 3-27-24

We woke up to a cold morning with temperatures in the 30's and wind. We had breakfast, which was cinnamon french toast sticks. Afterwards we read a bit so the sun would have a chance to warm things up. It wasn't going to be too warm, the high was suppose to be 54 degrees. About 9:30 we went on a 1.7 mile hike. Today we walked to the trailhead that went over the creek via a bridge. We hiked the Quanah Parker Lake Trail. Yesterday, when we were here we saw turtles laying on the logs sunning. Today, there were none, I guess because it's too early in the day or too cold. Quanah Parker Lake Trail is .4 mile one way. The trail went partly around Quanah Parker Lake to the Environmental Education Complex. The complex had a Law Enforcement Building, Restrooms, Outdoor Classroom and a bridge. The buildings were built by the CCC in 1933. They had a gorgeous stone wall, that went around the complex this was built by Treasure Lake Job Corps. CCC in 1982. The bridge took us to a short nature trail with sign about the birds on Quanah Parker Lake. It was very cold so we didn’t spend a lot of time reading the signs. I didn’t see any birds except for a duck in the water. We did hear the birds chirping. It was an easy hike through the trees and through creeks. We had a short cold hike. We were back withing an hour. 

  

Law Enforcement Building

 

 Outdoor Classroom

 Wall built by the Treasure Lake Job Corps. CCC in 1982

 

It was so cold that for lunch I heated up a can of chili and made cornbread to go with it. By using the oven it warmed the Minnie and us up. We spent most of the day reading.

About 2:00 we went on 2.5 mile hike to the dam, which was built by the CCC in 1935. 

We were expecting a package to be delivered via UPS yesterday. It was left at our front door. Larry had asked Jason to pick it up. We don’t have any cell or internet at the campground so we hiked up the mountainside to the dam to see if we could get a signal. We did but it kept coming and going. It took Larry a long time texting back and forth to Jason about the package. After an hour and a half Jason said his wife went over and picked it up. Larry was relieved and e-mailed the gentleman who had sent it. He told him that we had received the package.

We started the hike from the campground to an old utility road. We took the trail up the hill, over slabs of rock and through trees. Once at the dam we walked over the dam to the other side of the lake. The dam was built by the CCC and was very unique. We climbed down stairs, weaved over to the other side and climbed more stairs. It’s a constant level lake so a gate is open all the time. It had a gorgeous rock gorge. After Larry got the packaged taken care of we walked around to see if by chance there was a trail to where we were in morning. No such luck. A few people visited the dam area to take pictures. One couple actually hiked down into the gorge with backpacks. It looked like they were going to camp someplace. They knew where they were going. By the time we got back we were tired. We had another super hike.

In the evening I walked around the campground for about an hour and ended up getting 18,000 steps for the day.

Quanah Parker Lake Dam

 

View of the gorge at the dam

Thursday 3-28-24

 

We woke up to a morning temperature in the 30"s. I made mini waffles for breakfast. Then we put things away and made sure everything was secured because we are going to drive to our next hike, which is about 5 miles down the road. The trail we hiked was Buffalo (Bison) Trail, it was 6 miles round trip. The signs said 8 but we clocked it and it was 6 miles and other people said 5.5 miles. 

The trail was moderate and it didn’t get your heartbeat going fast. We climbed over and in between boulders and on granite slabs. There wasn’t any shade, there were some small trees but the leaves are just starting to appear. There was a light breeze which kept the temperature comfortable. This trail did have trail maps but not enough and there were trail signs with a head of buffalo on it so you could make sure you’re on the right trail. We hiked along West Cache Creek, up a mountainside and along the top of the mountain. At times we saw a trail marker but most of the time we had to decide which way to go. Larry had downloaded the map on the cell phone. He’d get the phone out to see where we’re at. We got off the trail once but we didn’t go too far before Larry figured it out and we got back on track. We started at French Lake parking lot and ended up back there. When we hiked along the creek we saw many dams to slow down the water. They could have just dammed the creek up and made one big lake but doing it this way it gave the wildlife different place to go. We saw big horn cattle, bison on the grassland far away, a few butterflies and some wildflowers. We hiked on the other side of the creek from Lost Lake. There was a dam there and we saw a beautiful waterfall made by the dam. We saw a couple at the beginning of the hike going the opposite direction as we were. About a mile or so from the end of the hike we saw a mom and two teenage kids (boy and girl). The kids were sitting on a rock and convinced mom to hike up to where they were. It took them awhile because she didn’t really want to climb up the side of the mountain. As we passed her she was just starting her adventure. About a half mile from the parking lot we met a gentleman and dog hiking the trail. The dog had hiked the whole trail and was doing a great job. The dog was a medium size dog with short legs and she did a super job. There was a metal bridge you have to cross at the beginning and end and the dog just walked on it without any problems. When we got to the parking lot I asked him about the bridge and the dog. He said she only gets nervous when she can see below her. They were in a rental and are from Florida. He was very friendly. We also said hi to another couple. We had a super hike.

 

 

French Lake

 

French Lake Dam

 

 

A longhorn grazing on the banks of West Cache Creek

 

 

 

Trail marker for Buffalo trail

 

Dogwoods in bloom

 

 

 View of the rock formations created by the creek

 

A snake we saw while hiking

 

Lost Lake dam waterfall

 

By the time we got finished we were hot, tried and hungry. For lunch I put a pasta salad together and we had chips to go with it. After we cooled off it was time to head back to the campground. Before going there we drove around the first part of the park. We noticed, that the rock formations were a little different then what we had been seeing. The rocks looked like a sandstone instead of granite. We drove by Lost Lake picnic area, which we saw from the trail. It was very pretty and had a lot of trees. As we drove we saw longhorns, bison and elk. We almost missed the elk because I was dozing off. But I opened my eyes and saw a few elk in the field grazing and a couple of them were bedded down for the day. They were pretty far away so Larry parked the Minnie and got the binoculars out. I walked across the road had to be careful because it was a narrow two lane park road with no shoulders. There a took a few pictures. We are excited. Larry didn’t read about any elk in the park but when we were in the visitor center the lady said there was a herd. Most people don’t see them because they bed down during the day. We had a super drive through part of the park.

 

Elk
 

By the time we got back to the campground I had done 17,000 steps so I didn't walk around the campground. We spent the rest of the day reading. We walked over and took a shower.