Through The Wichita Mountains

Today was a day off- I woke up early, probably because I didn't have anywhere in particular to be. So I woke up, cleaned my room up a bit, then went into town for coffee. It was early in the morning, and I found myself at loose ends- what to do with the rest of the day? Well, at least the morning. So coffee in hand, I decided to drive. There are few points in Lawton I haven't seen, Lawton being a fairly small town, but where, I wondered, does that road out of town go? What does Altus look like?
And so off I went to see exactly what Altus does look like. Altus contains fields. Imagine that, here in the plains states! So I kept driving- I was to be glad I did! Down the road, north of Lawton, is a wildlife preserve at the foot of the Wichita Mountains. It's just past Deyo on the Quanah Parker Trailway, for those of you familiar with the geography of Lawton. The road wound through a couple dense patches of forest, and into the mountains themselves. There are several lakes there, and I hear the fishing is good, as well as a great many hiking trails. I drove down the road, taking in the impressive sight of the mountains a few hundred yards from the road. There were also free-range longhorns and buffalo in the fields. I hear longhorn cattle are pretty placid beasts, though buffalo are not, and tend to be aggressive when they see you. However, they generally will ignore cars if the cars are driving by them. So I drove by them.
The air smelled of wet earth and some wildflowers I couldn't identify as the sun came up over the mountains, and all in all it was a good place to spend a few days doing nothing. Just not around the buffalo, though. I'm hoping to pull together a hike next weekend, assuming my largely Zen method of finding the preserve in the first place can be repeated. It was also a much-needed break in routine, and a chance to see some more of the state that fate has made my residence for the time being. I'd still like to see Texas, too. A friend is from El Paso, and tells me it's quite the place to see, if you don't mind the heat. The last few weeks have seen temperatures consistently over 100, so I guess I really don't have too many options there. But it made me feel glad to be here- not just here in the South, but out on a great warm summer day.