The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge: The Holy City of The Wichitas, Oklahoma 2014

May 16, 2023May 29, 2023 TanjaLeave a comment

🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕

Located in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge just 22 miles northwest of Lawton, the Holy City of the Wichitas stands on a 66-acre area that looks much like Israel during Biblical times. You’ll find numerous full-sized buildings and structures inside the city, including the temple court, the Lord’s Supper building, Herod’s Court, and Pilate’s judgment hall, all built with locally-quarried granite in the 1930s. You can also explore areas designated as Calvary’s Mount and the Garden of Gethsemane, in addition to watchtowers and perimeter walls.

The site is also home to the nation’s longest-running annual Easter passion play, “The Prince of Peace.” American theaters showed newsreel footage, and in 1937 the U.S. government produced a full-length film of the pageant. Attendance reached an all-time high in 1939 when 225,000 visitors jammed Audience Hill for the sunrise performance.

Other on-site attractions include a memorial for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, a Veterans Walkway, and the World Chapel, which has become a popular wedding locale. This modern-day chapel replicates Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, and features ceiling and wall murals by artist Irene Malcolm.

https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.3595

When we left Holy City, we had a couple of motorcyclists and a prairie dog in front of us. The riders honked at the prairie dog, which sat in the middle of the lane. The Prairie Dog ran over in the grass, turned around, and showed them its tongue. What a naughty little critter??!!!

🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕

2023 · Days of The Week · Oklahoma · Travel Tuesday · USA

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge And The Meers Store & Restaurant, Oklahoma 2014

May 9, 2023May 25, 2023 TanjaLeave a comment

🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕

When Kevin was about Katelynn’s age, his dad was stationed as a soldier at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. Since the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge is lining up with Fort Sill, my parents-in-law took their three boys and went camping and/or hiking in the mountains for the weekends. Many years later, Kevin always talked about going back hiking in the Wichita Mountains. At the Labor Day weekend in 2014, I said: “Okay, the girls are big enough. Let’s pack the camping gear and give it a shot!”

When we made it to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, we went to the visitor center to get some information, before we drove to the campground. Once, Kevin had set up the tent we traveled to The Meers Store & Restaurant, which is located in Meers, one and a half miles north of the refuge. Kevin, Katelynn, Sara, and I never had Longhorn burgers before. So, there was our chance. The restaurant opened as a burger joint in 1901 and is now known as its “Best Burger in Oklahoma”. Since the place is so famous, we had to wait about 2 hours in line to get a table. The experience was so worth waiting outside at 95℉.

🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕🦬🏕

… to be continued …

2023 · Days of The Week · Oklahoma · Places · Travel Tuesday · USA

Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma ~ 2013

February 14, 2023 TanjaLeave a comment

On Labor Day 2013, Kevin, Katelynn, Sara and I went up to Tishomingo Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. We wanted to get out of the city to take a little walk. So, we went north of the refuge by Murry 23. We walked along the lake and watched some butterflies. One Gulf Fritillary landed on Katelynn’s arm. We didn’t make it far, because it was very warm and humid. A short time later, we made it back to Texas.

2022 · Oklahoma · Places · USA

National Bison Day 2022

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022 TanjaLeave a comment

In 2012, a movement was launched officially recognizing the American bison as the national mammal of the United States. Organizers included making National Bison Day the first Saturday of November. The United States Senate signed resolutions yearly supporting the passage of such a proclamation. On May 9, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the law making the American bison the national mammal of the United States.