Home on the Range

The first time I came out to Oklahoma, I was in shock.

I had always been under the impression that buffalo were extinct. (Yes, I'm aware this is not particularly bright of me.)

To my surprise and childlike delight, buffalo, in fact, not only are NOT extinct, but they run around like they own the place at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (which is conveniently located less that a half hour away from where we live!)

(He looks like Where the Wild Things Are.)

This Mother's Day, we decided to celebrate by taking our dog out there to see if he would try to commune with the wild animals. (We enjoy non-related celebratory activities pretty frequently, actually.)

Anyway, to answer the question burning in your mind: Yes. Yes, our little three-legged domestic dog was like King of the Forest and had the cows lowing at him and the buffalo eying our vehicle to weigh whether or not they were willing to attack us. (We took the minivan, knowing that this situation was likely to come up.)

I love the refuge and not just because it's free. It's just so different from where I grew up. J isn't nearly as enthusiastic about it, seeing as he has childhood stories about trying to piss off bison and cow-ownership. I tried to explain- I thought bison were dinosaurs. As in, try to compare this situation to if I took you to a park full of velociraptors. 

You'd be freaking out, too.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Free

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/