Morning Comes to Elk Mountain: Dispatches from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Images

(Previous page) West Cache Creek gathers strength before tumbling over a series of stair-stepping waterfalls that carve the granite chasm known as the Narrows. (This page) Clouds like these, building during a spring afternoon, can be as dangerous as they are ominous. The granite outcrops, prairie meadows and islands of oak trees are no strangers to the power of Oklahoma tornados. (Top) A bull elk, strips of summer’s protective velvet still dangling from his autumn antlers, takes a break from a boisterous morning of battling to keep his harem intact. (Bottom) The Medicine Bluffs bordering the refuge on nearby Fort Sill were a spiritual retreat for the Kiowa and Comanche who came here to fast, pray, seek divine guidance and medicinal healing power. Gaillardia, or Indian Blanket, carpets refuge meadows in late spring. The common name refers to its bright colors, resembling the wool blankets still preferred by local Native Americans for ceremonial events. This natural reflecting pool at the entrance to the refuge’s Charon’s Garden Wilderness shines mirror clear on a late winter afternoon. (Top) A summer storm turns the horizon an eerie shade of yellow and tousles the topknot of a veteran buffalo bull. (Bottom) Small and secretive, Texas brown snakes are hard to spot amid the oak woods and grassy meadows dotting the refuge. In late summer females bear live young. (Facing page) The purple fruits of prickly pear cactus add to a granite outcrop montage overlooking Osage Lake. (Facing page) Granite rocks rest amid the tools that gave them shape over eons: the freeze-thaw action resulting from ice storms and the lowly lichens that wear away at the surface while adding a touch of abstract art. (Top) The refuge’s north entrance is guarded by Mount Sheridan, named for a famed cavalry officer. The mountain was once a dream quest site for the plains warriors he battled. (Left) Millions of years of erosion have resulted in rock formations that defy the imagination in the Wichitas’ jumble of giant granite boulders. (Top) The diamondback rattlesnake, or “coontail” of western folklore, is a common resident of the rocky Wichitas and plays an important role in the ecology of this unique terrain. (Bottom) An itch that needs scratching is all it takes for a buffalo bull to begin the process of hollowing out a favorite wallow. (Facing page) Bailey’s lace cactus is small and mostly unnoticeable where it grows among granite outcrops. Then spring arrives and the electric magenta of the flowers flashes like neon against lichen-streaked stone. (Facing page) Baptisia found in the Wichitas ranges in color from the rich purple-blue to creamy white to pale yellow to the nearly neon gold of Baptisia sphaerocarpa. (Top) The Wichitas retain a remnant herd of the famed longhorn cattle that marched north to market across the western edge of the mountain range over the Great Western Cattle Trail of cowboy folklore. (Left) By mid-November the season’s first frosts turn switchgrass seedheads silver while whitetail bucks spar for mates throughout the cool mornings. (Right) September rains lead to Indian Summer days when water once more runs in refuge streams and elk announce their ardor to misty dawns. (Bottom) January ice may threaten domestic livestock off the refuge, but buffalo tend to take bad weather in stride due to the insulating properties of their winter coats. (Top) May thunderstorms can seem menacing, but they provide vital moisture needed to nourish prairie grasses and legumes needed by refuge grazers. (Left) The handsome blue flowers of this legume dot the greening prairie landscape around the time buffalo calves are born. Standing cypress, Ipomopsis rubra, is an imposing member of the phlox family that can grow six feet tall. This early summer member of the Wichita Mountains flora features vivid scarlet flowers. ...