Wichita Mountain Ride
Wichita
Mountain Wildlife Refuge
April 8, 2006
By Laurie Allshouse
For spring 2006, Johnnie Lerma suggested
camping in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. Jim and Johnnie started
researching campgrounds and rides in the area. April 7th
we loaded the camping gear, everything but the kitchen sink, and set off for the
drive to the refuge. It took about two hours. We drove through an
area of charred remains of the southwest Oklahoma City fires. The smell
was overpowering and we could see places that were still smoldering in the
fields and trees. About the time we were exiting I-44 at the Medicine Park
junction, we heard a funny noise mixed in with the music we were listening to on
the radio. We suddenly realized it was Jim’s cell phone. By the time
we answered, it had gone to the message center. I called for messages and
heard a strange woman say, “ . . . . it’s raining. We decided to turn
around and go back home. Have a good weekend and we’ll talk to you when
you get back.” Could that have been Diana? I better call her and see
what is going on. When I called, she and Johnnie were laughing so hard
they could hardly be made audible. April Fools! They were on their
way and just passing the charred area.
We set up camp in the Doris Campground right across
from the shower/bathroom facility. We were informed that we could have up
to 8 people per site and it was only $6 per night. The burn ban was in
effect but we could use charcoal, much to Jim’s delight. His plans to try
a new recipe for Awesome Beef Roast (with garlic, carrots, mushrooms and
potatoes) in the Dutch oven were saved.
It was very windy at camp and we drove into Lawton for
dinner at the Golden Corral. John Harris, a friend from Jim’s work at the
Capitol, joined us for dinner. Since we couldn’t have a fire at camp, we
just crawled into bed once we got back to our tents.
The wind blew all night long. Being optimists we
tried to ride but once we got out of the campground and away from the shelter of
the trees, we started being blown right off the road. Diana’s suggestion
of turning around and riding around the campground was greeted with, “GREAT
IDEA!” from everyone.
As we were touring the camp area, we spotted a walking
bridge that said it led to the Environmental Education Center. According
to the map, once you crossed the bridge, you were there. Much to Jim’s
dismay, that wasn’t true. A short walk around the lake was enjoyed by
everyone but Jim (he’s allergic to walking). Once we found the center, we
were invited in for a talk by four people about the wild life in the area.
It was fun and informative. The young people come from Job Corps and had
learned to be plumbers and carpenters. Two of the young men were waiting
to join the armed forces. Johnnie, Diana and I enjoyed their talk while
Jim was conversing with their supervisor. We walked back to camp and were
enjoying iced tea and pistachios around noon when Diana said, “Listen!”
The wind had stopped. We jumped on our bikes and rode to Meers for lunch.
There is a short hill right at the edge of Meers that is straight up. My
heart rate jumped to 176 and I thought my heart was going to jump out of my
chest. Right as you crest, you are in Meers. There were about 30
motorcycles parked at the restaurant. As I struggled to catch my breath, I
wondered if anyone of the owners would trade me bikes.
After a lunch of shared giant BLT’s, we rode the loop
through the community of Mt. Scott and on to Hwy 58. At that intersection,
we saw two camels being transported in the back of an open 5th wheel
horse trailer. One had two humps and the other had one hump. We
stood at the intersection and just stared. Finally Johnnie jumped into
action and was able to capture a picture as they crossed the road in front of
us. It’s not everyday that you see camels enroute in Oklahoma.
After going through Medicine Park, we made a stop at
the Winery of the Wichitas. We sampled their wine and between the four of
us, we purchased two bottles. Since it had been cool when we started
riding and we had been peeling off layers as the day progressed, our bike trunks
were getting full. With a little redistribution, we put both bottles in
Johnnie’s trunk. The idea was to slow him down a bit. It didn’t
work. I’m thinking of trying a case of wine next time.
Once we were back on Wildlife property, we were passed
by a total of six police or sheriff cars and one ambulance. No one was in
hurry nor were any lights flashing. It sure seemed like overkill for no
more traffic than we encountered. Most of the traffic WAS law enforcement.
Right before our turn off into Camp Doris, I heard a turkey warble. I
looked up to see a herd of deer being alerted to our presence. They
watched closely as we rode by.
Back at camp, we started getting the Awesome Roast
started. There was a lot of peeling and slicing involved getting all the
ingredients ready. Once it was set to cook, we trundled off to the shower.
The great thing about the showers was that even with a lot of people using them,
we each had warm water when it was our turn. Jim was in the shower and
Johnnie, Diana and I were just staring at the Dutch oven as it cooked.
Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, when some commotion brought us back to
reality. We looked up in time to see four deer running past our tents on
their way to the nearby Quanah Parker Lake. A couple of minutes later, two
more deer were journeying past at a more leisurely pace. We were so
stunned that no one thought of the camera this time.
John Harris drove out from Cache to have dinner with
us. We had a nice chat but as soon as the sun went down it started getting
a bit chilly. It sure would have been nice to sit around a camp fire but
with the winds and dry weather, we all understood the need for a burn ban.
Sunday morning, we rode into Cache for breakfast at the
Small Town Café. People were friendly and the food was good. We
decided to take a tour of Cache. We spotted a Chevy Camero with a bright
paint job of flames and other paraphernalia. After a second look, we realized
it was a cop car with D.A.R.E. written on the side and flashing lights on top.
We were so stunned that by the time Jim realized he wanted a picture, the car
was gone. We saw it turn the corner several blocks ahead. We decided
to chase it down. I felt like a scene from Smokey and the Bandit. We
tried to cut him off at the pass but always were a step behind. Finally I
made a turn just as he was going through the intersection. I got him to
stop and told him that we wanted to take his picture. The young man told
me that they painted the car that way to get the young people’s attention.
I told him that it sure got our attention.
The slight headwind we had fought against for the short
ride to Cache, was a glorious tailwind for the ride back to camp. What a
wonderful way to spend the weekend!
Click thumbnail for larger view of photo. Captions below
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
