By the time we returned, the gate had opened and we entered. After paying admission, we parked for the waterfall. There was a small castle just above the parking area.
Just past here was the larger Collings Castle.
Steep steps led up to the castle and we explored around a bit.
They claim it was once a home, but it seemed more like a defensive fortification than a house with no real rooms.
After some pictures, we continued on to the beautiful Turner Falls.
Swimming was unfortunately closed, I guess because it's not summer. But that kept the crowds away and we mostly had the falls to ourselves. The water sure looked inviting and the waterfall was surrounded by cool rock cliffs.
We walked all around the waterfall to get pictures from different angles.
Some clouds rolled in conveniently so we could get some decent pictures.
We hung out at the waterfall for about 30 minutes then returned to our car.
We drove over to the campground area and went for a hike along Honey Creek upstream of the waterfall. Some Canada geese were in the campground.
There were a lot of wildflowers blooming along the creek.
Spiderwort and baby blue eyes were growing along the creek.
And there was a lot of Indian paintbrush in the open areas above the creek.
We followed the creek upstream for a ways.
Dakota mock vervain was flowering in abundance.
In the powerline clearing, there were more yellow flowers.
There were a lot of yellow daisies and desert chicory.
We went to around the park boundary and then turned back.
Leaving the park, we stopped at an overlook with an expansive view.
And we made one more stop near the exit at Blue Pool.
Swimming was prohibited here too, but the pool was really beautiful.
After that, we left the park.
Driving west, we stopped in Duncan for lunch at the Taqueria Los Dos Hermanos taco truck. I think it was the best quesadillas I've ever had. Then we continued to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and parked at Quanah Parker Dam. On the road to the dam, we pulled over to see a Texas longhorn.
Quanah Parker Lake was very pretty.
At the dam parking, there was a female collared lizard next to the trailhead.
Little Baldy Trail crossed the top of the scenic dam. With low water, nothing was flowing out of the dam.
Beyond the dam, the trail continued less than a mile up to Little Baldy. With very open conditions, we could see the mountain the entire hike.
There were a lot more of the collared lizards around here. The males are a beautiful turquoise color.
There was also some green milkweed getting ready to flower.
The open views of the lake along the trail were great.
And despite the arid conditions, we saw a number of wildflowers blooming.
A black swallowtail was nectaring on Indian paintbrush.
Atlantic camas were another pretty wildflower.
The trail wrapped around the backside of the mountain and climbed up to the top.
The views of the lake and the surrounding refuge were great from up here.
But my favorite part was a cool balanced rock.
It was quite windy so we didn't stay at the top for long.
As we got back to the trailhead, I went out along the lake for a couple more pictures.
And then we took off.
We made another stop at the Visitor Center just up the road to read a little about the area. Just past here, we pulled off to see a herd of bison just off the road. One was rustling up dust all around.
Next, we continued to Mount Scott Road and started driving up. There were great views from the road.
We parked at the top and milled around for some great views.
It was really windy up here, but the views over the Wichita Mountains were great.
But it was too windy to stay long.
I did find the survey marker to mark the official summit of the mountain.
From here, we drove into Lawton and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn. For dinner, we walked next door to Bricktown Brewery. There was a crazy hail storm after we got back to the room, but fortunately didn't damage the rental car.
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