Tishomingo NWR, OK, Dec 12 - 18, 2012

 We traveled about two hours south to Tishomingo NWR on the heels of our weekend in OKC. It was pretty country. Our only disappointment with this stop on our journey was that we would not be staying on the refuge. Instead, we were at a Hampton Inn in Durant, OK - about a 20-minute commute each way. The refuge was small, but picturesque, and we tried to enjoy as much of it as we could during our lunch breaks and at the end of the day, before the sunset. Here is Oliver working in our space in the conference room.

The staff was super-nice and helpful and we were able to scan ALL of the docs that they deemed appropriate for this project.....it felt good to get it all done!

 Some of the sights and signs on the refuge.

Tishomingo NWR, OK is 16,464 acres and sits on the upper Washita arm of Lake Texoma, a lake that is split by the stateline of Texas and Oklahoma. It is part of the migratory Central Flyway zone.

The refuge was a large farm (a "showcase of agriculture for Southern OK) until the Denison Dam was built, backing up the waters of the Red and Washita Rivers over the bottom lands in 1943. Large chunks of the 30,000 acre "Washita Farm" were flooded and several buildings were submerged. You can see the rooftops of some of them when the lake waters are low (see below).

 Snow geese taking off from Lake Texhoma. Tishomingo sits on the northerns shores of this manmade lake. Here you can see a flock of snow geese taking off.