Ancient History in our own back yard!

Feb 4, 2018

4 min read

We three brOKe teachers spend most of our time looking for adventure, looking for old stuff, seeking out history, and wanting to feel a part of the past. We love that kind of stuff... as you already know... And little did we realize all we had to do was drive into our own backyard! Did you know that the Wichita Mountains are over 500 million years old?? Yes, I said 500 Million!! Tho they are not the Ancient Mountain Range they once were, (who is?), they are still ancient, and right here where we live? These hills are rich in lore and man if only these rocks could talk, can you imagine the history they have seen? The Wichita Mountain and Wildlife Refuge is a place that everyone, especially EVERY Oklahoman should visit. EVERY time we go, we are even more amazed!!

First on our list for the day... FOOD, of course!! Come on... you know this!

We started out like we do with every adventure... hungry! We hadn't been to Meers in such a long time that we just had to go there first. Home of the "Best Burger in Oklahoma," by the Food Network so We had to find out for ourselves, again they proved themselves correct! We all three had memories of being little girls and coming here with our parents and grandparents, we still had that same anticipation for this day.. Meers, Oklahoma... population one family of six people, eight cats, and a dog. At one time Meers was a gold mining town nestled in the hills of this amazing mountain range. Only remaining structure of this booming little gold rush town is the Resturant itself. It's quaint and full of nostalgia. Its a MUST!!

Fried Green tomatoes, one of our favorites and the famous Meersburger!! It was delish!! Then a sample of their homemade cobbler and ice cream! It was heavenly!!

Peach, cherry, and Pecan... it was more than we could handle... just the way we like it!!

Now it was time to climb...

We left Meers with bellies full and decided to make the trek up the majestic and ancient Mount Scott. If you don't like heights, you might want to rethink this...

The higher you go, the more spectacular it is... just amazing!!

The view will knock your socks off. It's always windy, but man, it's just so beautiful, it takes your breath away... we love to hike and mess around on the trails all around... we were like kids all over again!

Quannah Parker once called these mountains home, his mother who was once a settler and captured by the Comanches, are both buried on the refuge, legends of the The James gang and buried treasure, even President Theodore Roosevelt hunting wolf right here in these ancient hills... just Amazing...

Can you tell how excited we were!! It is just as awe as it appears to be in pictures, even more so....

We then drove across the refuge to a special place in our hearts. The Holy City of the Wichitas. We all three can remember heading to the Holy City when it was Easter Time. Sitting on the side of the mountain in the cold, wrapped up in blankets, waiting for the sun to come up and watch the Passion Play, the last few days of Christ Life. It started in 1926, 90 plus years of tradition that Oklahoman's have grown to love.

The longest running Easter Pageant in North America, right here in our own back yard!!

With the help of President Roosevelt and the WPA, the Holy City was created in the Oklahoma Mountains and features "The Prince of Peace " Passion Play. It's a treasure for sure!!

We drove across the plains to another favorite Oklahoma spot, Medicine Park

Known as America's cobblestone treasure .... Medicine Park, Oklahoma has an interesting history. The Plains Indians were well aware of this amazing oasis of rock long before it became a resort town attracting celebrities, gangsters, politicians and journalists in the early 1900's. Lori and Lisa's grandmother, Freeda June Washburn told of many vacations with her large family in The cobblestone cabins nestled in the mountainside. She told of fun nights of rollerskating and many long walks around the trails by the Medicine Creek or Bath Lake. Some of her greatest memories with her sisters were spent here in the early 1930's. Lori would even talk of one special memory of Freeda June traveling to Medicine Park and on to Craterville in her book, A girl Named Pete by Lori Perkins Karpe. A great read!! Marla also has memories of coming to Medicine Creek and swimming with her grandparents for the day as a young girl. We were so happy to see that in the early 2000's that the community of Medicine Park and the state of Oklahoma took a vested interested in this lovely community and has brought it back to life.

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It's such a cute and interesting place. We love the unique little cobblestone shops in the heart of the community where on the weekends you can usually hear live music coming from one of the little hidden spots in downtown Medicine Park. And then of course the River that runs through it. We love that they added a river walk that you can stroll along the Medicine Creek while exploring and looking at the beautiful vintage cobblestone homes up on the hill. You can plan a day of swimming in the summer months... It's is just a fun place to visit.

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We drove around on our way out and were surprised by the all the lovely homes located in this magical place. A new church up on the hill looked like it was something from off the coast of New Hampshire. Just gorgeous!

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What a great trip this was, next time we are gonna bring our metal detectors and look for that lost treasure we learned about in that certain cave that we can't tell you where it is or we will have to kill you... to be continued....