Just about every year we make a trip to my home state of Oklahoma. Our favorite place to make memories is the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, which includes a visit to…
The Holy City of the Wichitas, a very special site for all of us, as it is where our family started…
Fish Ladder. This is a favorite hike for our family (with young children) because it is an easy, well-maintained trail!
What is fish ladder? It was supposed to be a way for fish to return to French Lake to spawn after the dam was built, but it didn’t work. But… it’s a fascinating structure.
Where is fish ladder? French Lake. Cross the footbridge and take a left, and continue taking the left trail as you follow the lake around to the dam.
Historic Medicine Park. This cobblestone community (just outside the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge) is always where we stay, even though my parents and sisters live in the nearby town of Lawton.
This time we stayed at Whitehorse Lodge, which has been our family favorite thus far (and we’ve stayed in a bunch of cabins and cottages in Medicine Park)!
The Old Plantation. If you ever stay in Medicine Park, be sure to grab lunch at The Old Plantation Restaurant. This is a tradition for our entire family (not just us, but granny, papaw, cousins, aunts and uncles!).
Meers. If you ever visit the Wichita Mountains, the Meers Store and Restaurant is not just a place to eat some good old Texas Longhorn beef, it’s an historic event. (Are there any fellow Aggies out there who can fully appreciate this statement?)
Heart Rock. It takes all of thirty seconds to get to Heart Rock once you know where to park!
When the trail comes out of the evergreens, you will see Heart Rock near the base of the giant-sloped rock (our family’s nickname for this giant rock is “slick rock”). Heart Rock doesn’t look much like a heart when you’re standing next to it. You have to climb around to a huge boulder to look down upon it from above.
