Winter in Oklahoma is anything from warm and sunny to bitterly cold with snow flurries. Of course, if you wait five minutes it'll change. So a few weeks ago Darrell and I took advantage of a really beautiful and mild day to wander around the western part of the state. 

We started out at the Great Salt Plains Wildlife Refuge. The marshes and surrounding landscape hosts a huge variety of resident and migrating birds throughout the year and there's a short auto tour route worth taking where you can see many of them. Sandhill cranes filled the sky as we went along, flying Vs against the blue, their voices filling the air and we saw a pair of bald eagles too. But if you're headed to the area for crystal digging make sure to check the website to see when the salt flats are open since they're closed to the public for part of the year.

Our next stop was Little Sahara which is only really accessible if you've got a four wheel vehicle of some sort. There are several places where you can rent them but you can't access the dunes or go out and walk on them without one. We didn't have time for a rental, maybe we'll go back sometime when we do, and I was a little disappointed. There was a raised boardwalk with a view of the dunes in the distance but that was it as far as I could see if you're on foot. 

Our last stop of the day was Gloss Mountains State Park. It's an interesting spot and I'm hoping to do some portraits here at some point. The area is striking and I think smoke bombs would be amazing here (hint, hint). But besides a perfect spot for portraits it's a lovely area with a view of the plains stretching out in either direction. 

I'm not sure which direction we'll head next since we've recently explored the eastern part of the state. If you have any suggestions let me know! I always need another road trip.