Recently, we took a trip to the Wichitas and my buddy let us borrow a Volkswagen van…

No, not that one. This one:

When my boyfriend and I are together with the kids there’s a grand total of six that can only be transported in two cars. We were thrilled to borrow the Routan SE which had all sorts of bells and whistles to keep the chatter rolling all the way to Lawton. My son (age 7) was so enamored that the next time I picked him up from school after returning the Routan he had this defeated look on his face. “You took it BACK?” Yes, yes I did….just like I said I would. 😉

We made the trip from OKC to Lawton in 90 mintes, give or take to enjoy a day of hiking, climbing and at least one picnic. The Wichita Wildlife Refuge did not fail to deliver. Upon arriving at the base of Mt. Scott we had a quick lunch then wound up the corkscrew road to the top. My son was off in a flash, recklessly climbing up and jumping off of boulders. Clayton’s son was busy wandering around with his photgrapher’s eye capturing all kinds of magic. I was trying to do the same but it’s hard to focus on focusing when your focus is plunging from boulders with a giggle and a wink.

We drove around the refuge and park taking in the views of prairie dog reservess, herds of bison and  wandering longhorns. One of my favorite (and totally accidental) captures was this:

Those are my two teenage friends staring in wonder at wildlife we’d stopped to gaze upon in our travels through the nature reserve. It was just a longhorn…but he was really close and totally alone. Twas a tranquil site.

We hiked through some interesting places that I never knew existed in Oklahoma. Cannot wait to go back! If I can get the other photog to send me a link I’d love to share his vantage on our day. For now, here are mine: Flickr Slideshow.