Last weekend we went to Oklahoma for the night. Our first trip out of state in two years! Texas is so big that we have kept busy with day trips and the occasional overnight to see family. This is partially because of the pandemic and partially because we are the owners of some "pandemic pets" and it has been hard to leave them. (Hard on us mostly. They're resilient.)
While this was a short trip, we packed a lot into it, beginning the journey with a drive through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton-Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Just a few hours north of us, our route took us through Denton, Decatur and Wichita Falls before we left Texas and hit some amazing scenery.
In researching for this trip, I had seen photos of bison and really hoped to see some for myself. My wish came true when we happened upon this small, grazing herd by the side of the main road through the refuge. Not being idiots, we stayed a safe distance and photographed them from the car. James didn't bring his telephoto lens, so we didn't get great close-ups, but we didn't get attacked, either. If you look closely, you can see that the bison have a pumpkin porch on the structure to the right. I found this really funny, as though some bison's been reading the lifestyle blogs. It's fall, ya'll bisons! Anyway, they were indeed majestic and it's wonderful that they have a safe and protected place to live that is so close to us. Maybe we will go back to see how they decorate for spring.
After we checked in to the hotel, I pulled out my sketchbook and tried to capture the scene. This might be a bigger piece later.
Thanks for reading and happy art adventures,
SK