I've been frustrated with Oklahoma recently. The state has too few places are free of noise pollution or obtrusive humanity. I was beginning to feel trapped here - it was solitude that I needed. I needed to get away
So I left. Driving a few hours south of Enid - into the Wichita Wilderness - I found some peace.
So there is beauty in Oklahoma. It's not as obvious as in Colorado but there is some of it. It just happens to be much more subtle and intricate out here. Incredibly, combinations of wind, light, and shadow - in proper order - can transform an otherwise monotonous landscape in a field of great depth and contrast.
The wilderness parking lots were crowded on this fair-weather Saturday but I was surprised how little I had to walk before it was just me and the buffalo.
Luck provided a campsite to me - I paid for a designated place - but once the sun set, I elected to walk a bit further out of the crowded campgrounds. After half a mile saunter, I could no longer hear anything but the wind and the coyotes. At this site, my only company became the stars, moon, and fireflies. It was just what I needed.
Great photographs. Loved the bison.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are beautiful and your writing is descriptive enough to feel the experience, although I probably wouldn't have liked the coyotes.
ReplyDeleteA dark sky makes for brilliant stars.
ReplyDeleteIn a strange way, I'm looking forward to visiting OK.
Who would have guessed that walking a little extra distance in a place like oklahoma would put you in a place of solitude.
ReplyDeleteI still can't get over the awesome herd of bison...I thought the Indians killed all of them.