WINDY, WINDY, WINDY.
Day 60 – It actually rained a little last night and this morning! Maybe it was an exaggeration when people said it hadn’t rained in Oklahoma in years? The sky was dark and very cloudy; the wind had started but the gusts weren’t bad yet. We decided to take a drive around soon after getting up before the wind got too heavy, knowing once it did, we’d be at the campground in the RV.
We drove around the Lake, first heading north over the dam, then turning off to check out two of the campgrounds that were closed for the season just in case they hadn’t put up gates to them. The first campground was gated but it looked nice from what we could see. It overlooked a shallow part of the Lake. On the way to the second campground, we saw 5 Deer in someone’s front yard. We quickly stopped to take a picture. After that, on several occasions Deer ran across the road in front of us. We were unable to get pictures of any of them. The second campground was closed, too, but was not gated since there was a scenic overlook open to the public. We took pictures there, and drove through the campground. It, too, overlooked the Lake. It had a playground and appeared to be family-oriented.
Driving on, we entered Washita National Wildlife Refuge, and a good portion of the remainder of our drive around Foss Lake was through NWR land. It was a good primer for our auto tour of the Refuge tomorrow when the wind has died down. We stopped at Refuge Headquarters, but they were closed. What else is new. We picked up Refuge information at the kiosk. Surprisingly, a ranger came out to talk to us and answer any questions we had. Do they have Buffalo? No, not anymore. Do they have Snow Geese? Yes – and she told us where to find them first thing in the morning. Where are the restrooms? Etc. So, they are working at the Refuges, just not opening up due to Covid.
The wind was picking up so we didn’t dilly-dally like usual, and sped up our driving. We did get some pictures, and look forward to going back tomorrow under better weather conditions.
Back at the RV we found that without even knowing yesterday which direction the wind gusts would be coming from, we were parked in a perfect position to avoid taking the gusts on either side. Instead, the way this particular campsite was facing allowed us to park so that the wind was hitting us from behind. This made today’s wind gusts easier to take. The weather definitely changed some peoples’ plans. It’s Friday evening and normally campers begin arriving at campgrounds in droves Friday afternoons. The campers who’d reserved the campsite next to us beginning Thursday night still hadn’t arrived. Three trailers arrived for other campsites within the last ½ hour. The wind is finally dying down somewhat. We will see what tomorrow brings.
A little information about this area: “Foss State Park was formerly the home of several Plains Indian Tribes. Long ago, Native Americans who lived along the Washita River relied on the large herds of bison as a source of food, shelter, clothing, and much more. Prior to statehood, the area was part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian reservation. Many members of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Tribe still live in the area surrounding Foss State Park today. The Great Western Cattle Trail ran through the area in the 1880’s. The land was also farmed and ranched before the lake was built. When the dam was finished in 1962, it was one of the largest earthen dams in the nation, 134 feet high and 3 miles long. With 8,800 surface acres of water and over 60 miles of shoreline, Foss Lake is the largest lake in Western Oklahoma.” from the Foss State Park map.