We stopped by the dam at the bottom end of town and I got a couple of pictures, one looking at the spilllway at the dam, where there was a bare trickle of water coming out.
I mentioned to Scooterchick that as a youth I would have skipped along the headwall and dam with nary a care. after all they were at least 16" wide so I would not have had to mind the drop to the rocks on one side, or the plunge into the water on the other. Age definitely changes things, since as I trotted back along the concrete to to the car, I definitely got a weird feeling down in my giblets, one that definitely thickened my gravy!
I took a picture of some cute little flowers by the roadside as I regained my composure and my legs stopped shaking.....haha
Then it was off to our next destination, we parked the car and I got a picture of this sign in the middle of the street in a planter box. I thought a couple more pictures were in order.
Looking east from this sign, and the adorable Scooterchick in the background brings another picture.
This is a private home at the east end of the intersection. I particularly like the moose sculpture in his front yard, done by a local sculptor who has since passed away.
Here's a view looking down the street toward the creek. The local stone has been used extensively, and it keeps the houses cool in summer and warm in winter. And so we come to our next destination.
This is a motorcycle accessory business which was recommended to us and we wanted to check out their offerings. It is actually 3 cojoined buildings so it looks like a quaint country store but is actually an emporium with tires, clothing and maintenance items as well as souvenir stuff.
After we left the store we stopped to take a couple pictures at the upper edge of downtown. Here they have constructed another dam which impounds the creek and creates another small lake. The sound of the water cascading was very peaceful. There's something about the sound of water in motion that speaks volumes to the soul, drowns out the world and encourages a meditative state of mind...no?
Here's another picture of the falls over the dam, with a little more zoom added fro emphasis. although I don't drive a Mazda, I enjoy taking advantage of the Zoom....Zoom.
This is the upper end of the pedestrian walk way that parallels the creek. This walkway runs all the way through downtown and gives a pleasant outlook for strollers....if you don't mind the heat. There was a nice breeze today so it wasn't too oppressive.
We drove up past the dam and along lake Lawtonka, which furnishes Lawton's water supply. This end of the lake has a marina, and a lot of folks from town have boathouses here. They are more than boathouses really, as they have well developed cabins on the upper decks. That way they can boat and enjoy some time at their cabin at the lake all in the same go.
We left Lake Lawtonka and started climbing up into the hills on OK 58 and it was apparent that fall is coming to the Great Plains. You'll notice a sign in the lower left that says "Posted no trespassing". this is code for "if I find you past this sign, you are likely to be ventilated, or get a sudden case of lead poisoning". As discretion is the better part of valor, I valorously kept my distance.
On the other side of the road was a little pond, that was just begging to have have it's picture taken. I was happy to oblige it.
Farming has always been a bit of a hit or miss situation in the rocky ground of this region, so they have moved to another type of enterprise....wind farming. When we were married in 2008 there were about a dozen windmills along this ridge. Now they stretch as far as the eye can see, probably a couple hundred or more, and more going in every day. Since it's almost always windy here this is a great resource to put to use. Another contributing factor is " no trees....no tree huggers".
There's something inspiring about these huge machines. Their blades are turning in a sedate but productive fashion, making a lazy "swoosh-swoosh-swoosh" sound. Up close they are really quite majestic. I stood in the wind watching them for a couple minutes..."swoosh-swoosh-swoosh" almost hypnotic........"swoosh-swoosh-swoosh"....sorry, I'm drifting off.......
Across the road from this triad of giants the topography takes a decided left turn into the strange category. It looks like the everpresent breeze has eroded the landscape to reveal upturned ridges of the type of granitic rock that makes up the Wichita Mtns. I does look unusual though, almost as if some giant had dragged his giant rake across the land in an absent minded way, creating these linear ridges.
Immediately across the road it was evident that geologic upthrust in aeons past had something to do with it. I know my amateur interest in geology is weird, but.....there you have it!
A short drive back down OK 19 brought us to Apache OK. It is another small town that history has relegated to "the stacks", but contains 1,445 people more or less and a few pictureworthy sights as we cruised into town. the first is a mural depicting the stage coach days, now long faded in the sun.
This building stands at the corner of Coblake St (OK 62) and Evans Ave. which is the old Main St. Sadly I have no further information about this building although it does wear it's age well.
This building sits across the street. I did manage to identify it as a bank, mainly because the word BANK was in it's brickwork. Clever sod yeah?
This is a shot down Evans Ave. displaying downtown Apache in all it's glory. If it looks sleepy that's because a somnolent lethargy hangs over the town in the late afternoon.
By this time the sun was lowering and it was time to head back to town. Ten minutes down 281 and another 10 down 44 and we were back in Lawton. There was just enough time to take some sunset shots.
The sunsets on the plains can be really spectacular, the colors are outstanding as the sun fades into the west. You have to be quick with the shutter though, as the colors are ephemeral and are gone in a minute. I am pretty quick with the shutter though, and try to get several shots and try to pick the best one.
The colors though fleeting can be dramatic, by turns inspiring and/or violent. I love the way that God paints the world, with such a delicate brush, and it's easy to see in the sunset.
And so with the light faded, the belly full and the blog completed, it's time to say good night all...
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