Little River National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife refuges have historically been outstanding photo destinations for me. So I was pleased to learn that there was one just a few miles south of our Broken Bow cabin -- the Little River National Wildlife Refuge.

Before I even got in my car I was seeing photo opportunities, like this daffodil reaching for the early morning light.

I stopped at the refuge headquarters in town hoping to get some advice on where and what to look for, but it was closed.  I did grab a helpful map that guided me to the lone no-hunting zone.  Even though it wasn't hunting season for any game, I still thought I'd have a better chance of seeing wildlife where they knew they would never get shot.

Water was still high from recent heavy rains, but low enough that the dirt roads were nice and dry.  Still, it left some nice scenes on the roadsides.

I liked adjusting my polarizing filter to get a mix of reflecting tree branches and submerged leaf litter in this shot.

Then here, I wanted (and got) pure reflection.

I seriously hope the water here is usually lower.  Otherwise, this sign really concerns me.

I'm no better at identifying Oklahoma wildflowers than I am at figuring out ones in Texas or Colorado.  But I know pretty when I see it.

This was definitely a first and hopefully a last for me -- I didn't actually take a single wildlife photo on the refuge.  I did see this Loggerhead Shrike on my drive back to the cabin, so I had that going for me.

Pretty place, but obviously disappointed not to see any animals!