Wichita Mountains Oklahoma

Lee needed to find some mountains to hike in near Dallas (which is a little hard to do in the middle of the prairie) so he found a decent size mountain in Oklahoma (Mt Scott at 2464 ft) in the Wichita Mountain range.  Unfortunately, there is a road all the way to the top of Mt Scott, so not much of a hike.  However, there are other mountains in the range with no roads so he hiked Elk Mt. instead (trail was only 2 miles but substantial vertical climb).  The mountains are in a national wildlife refuge that has a bison herd, an elk herd and a long horn cattle herd.  We were very impressed with the scenery which reminded us of a mini Hayden Valley in Yellowstone, large meadows with bison surrounded by mountain peaks.  Not what we expected to find in Oklahoma.  On the drive up to the mountains we stayed one night at Waurika Lake, a Corps of Engineers lake that had a nice campground.  The second night we stayed at Doris campground in the wildlife refuge.  Overall a beautiful area and wonderful drive on backroads to and from.  One surprise was the Holy City.  Who would have thought that you'd find a stage for a reenactment of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ in the middle of the Wichita Mountains but there it is!  Every Easter the local community puts on a Passion Play for tourists. An elaborate set has been built here that includes all the major sites of the play.....definitely worth a look.

Until next time,

Lee & Liz

View from the top of Elk Mountain

Holy City in the Wichita Mountains