South - Anything worthwhile in Altus, OK?

Making a trip to Altus Oklahoma for a few days and am just wondering what there is to do in the town. I know the base is there but what about outdoor stuff nearby? The only reason i am going is to visit some friends who are there temporarily (going though some pilot training at the base). We are staying off base in one of the local motels (I could only find rooms at the local Motel 6; they are at the Hampton Inn). Thanks for the responses.

Edited to add: Mods, could you fix my typo in the header? Thanks.

Making a trip to Altus Oklahoma for a few days and am just wondering what there is to do in the town. I know the base is there but what about outdoor stuff nearby? The only reason i am going is to visit some friends who are there temporarily (going though some pilot training at the base). We are staying off base in one of the local motels (I could only find rooms at the local Motel 6; they are at the Hampton Inn). Thanks for the responses.

Edited to add: Mods, could you fix my typo in the header? Thanks.

I once went to a conference at this resort, very close to Altus. (http://www.quartzmountainresort.com/) Basically a hilly area by a lake, but nice outdoor activities.

There's also the Wichita "Mountains" Wildlife Refuge to the east of Altus, and I've heard good things about the town of Medicine Park along Lake Lawtonka on the east edge of the park.

wichitamountains.fws.gov

State travel info for many towns, with their local festivals is at:
travelok.com

enjoy!

Oh.....a colleague reminds me.....if you are driving from Colorado to Oklahoma, see if the volcano in northeast New Mexico is worth a slight detour off I-25....it's a national park with a spiral road you can drive right to the top of the (dormant) volcano.....

www.nps.gov/cavo/

Oh.....a colleague reminds me.....if you are driving from Colorado to Oklahoma, see if the volcano in northeast New Mexico is worth a slight detour off I-25....it's a national park with a spiral road you can drive right to the top of the (dormant) volcano.....

www.nps.gov/cavo/

Not that interesting. We drive by it at least once a year heading between Lubbock & CSprings. We've been up it a couple of times. Not a national park but a national monument. A sort of fun spiral drive around to the top. Then get out and enjoy the view of ... not much to look at, really. There is parking at the top, and you can walk nature trails to the bottom of the crater or walk a trail around close to the top. So if you want the exercise, go ahead.

It's cheap ($5, IIRC), only a few minutes off the highway, has restrooms at the park center at the base (this is important, as you may have bypassed the highway rest stop a half hour before, and there's really nothing for another hour). And it doesn't take that long to drive to the top.

But I wouldn't add significant mileage to any trip just to see this. Not worth it.

So, I have been here about 24 hours. The drive was decent from Denver; about 570 miles that took me 10 hours or so. I made 2 gas stops, 1 bathroom break, and 1 food stop. That allowed my 2 dogs a break every 2-3hours or so. I get to Altus around 5 pm and can't get to my hotel because of an accident on the main road through town (Hwy 62 going east/west). It took me 30 mins to find a side road that allowed a detour. Plus, it was 98 degrees with relatively high humidity. My hotel is on the east side of town (near the Air Force base) and my friends, who I am visiting, are staying on the north side of town. The eating opportunities are abundant if you like fast food. Otherwise, not a lot to choose from. I picked the busiest time to visit SW OK. It is their yearly alumni weekend and all the good hotels are booked solid. Plus, it is going to be over 100 each day I am here.

So far, we did go to the Wichita Mtn Nature Preserve (about 30 miles east of Altus). Because it was so hot out, we didn't get out of the car except for the visitor center. In cooler weather, it looked like it offered a lot of hiking and wildlife viewing. We only saw buffalo and some praire dogs.

Tomorrow, we are going to visit friends down in Wichita Falls, TX because they have a pool. Monday, we are going to the Geronimo museum at Ft Sill (about 50 miles away). Other highlights that we could have viewed was the General Tommy Franks Museum (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Actually, it is housed in a small house his wife used to live in. I don't think General Franks ever lived in the area. Also, there is an incandescent light bulb in a nearby town that is supposedly the longest lighted bulb in existance. We passed on that (so far).

So, I have been here about 24 hours. The drive was decent from Denver; about 570 miles that took me 10 hours or so. I made 2 gas stops, 1 bathroom break, and 1 food stop. That allowed my 2 dogs a break every 2-3hours or so. I get to Altus around 5 pm and can't get to my hotel because of an accident on the main road through town (Hwy 62 going east/west). It took me 30 mins to find a side road that allowed a detour. Plus, it was 98 degrees with relatively high humidity. My hotel is on the east side of town (near the Air Force base) and my friends, who I am visiting, are staying on the north side of town. The eating opportunities are abundant if you like fast food. Otherwise, not a lot to choose from. I picked the busiest time to visit SW OK. It is their yearly alumni weekend and all the good hotels are booked solid. Plus, it is going to be over 100 each day I am here.

So far, we did go to the Wichita Mtn Nature Preserve (about 30 miles east of Altus). Because it was so hot out, we didn't get out of the car except for the visitor center. In cooler weather, it looked like it offered a lot of hiking and wildlife viewing. We only saw buffalo and some praire dogs.

Tomorrow, we are going to visit friends down in Wichita Falls, TX because they have a pool. Monday, we are going to the Geronimo museum at Ft Sill (about 50 miles away). Other highlights that we could have viewed was the General Tommy Franks Museum (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Actually, it is housed in a small house his wife used to live in. I don't think General Franks ever lived in the area. Also, there is an incandescent light bulb in a nearby town that is supposedly the longest lighted bulb in existance. We passed on that (so far).

Sounds like you're livin' large in OK. Worth noting that when you go to Fort Sill you can visit the Fort Sill Apache Casino (or, if for some reason you prefer Comanches, there is the Comanche Nation Casino in nearby Lawton).

S

Tomorrow, we are going to visit friends down in Wichita Falls, TX (so far).

Texas? Texassssss????? You mean Baja Oklahoma? Please understand that you are allowed a 48-hour visa as long as you eat only at Sonic Drive-Ins or Braums (both OK-based companies).

Ok, my 5 day visit to SW OK is over and I start the long drive back to wildfire land in the morning. Overall, it was a good visit. We got to see a few of the sights here (as much as one can with 7-month old twins that pretty much run our schedule). We did make it to Ft Sill in Lawton yesterday. I thought it was to the Geronimo museum but in fact was just his burial site (along with other Apache Indians; and apparently just his headless corpse is there. The skull is with the Skull & Crossbones Society at Yale). He was captured and held at a place on Ft Sill but it was being remodeled. The artillery museum was closed or we would have gone there. We replaced it with a visit to Great Plains Museum. It was similar to the one in Altus. Basically just covered life on the plains of Oklahoma. Luckily they were only a few dollars apiece to get in. The best part is that they were air conditioned. It was 107 yesterday and 110 today. We did make it to the small town of Mangum that houses the longest running incandescent lightbulb. Apparently it has be running since 1927 or something like that. It is in the sleeping quarters of the local fire department. The fire captain didn't mind showing us around. However, he was first to admit it hasn't been running continuously because they moved it several years ago from one part of the room and of course when the fire department looses power.

Happy that you (and the twins) saw what there was to see in SW Okie.....through the heat & humidity.....best wishes for your drive homw, and good thoughts to keep the flames away in Colo!

phew...made it home. The drive through Colorado Springs was pretty bad. Just about everything west of I-25 was closed to traffic. Plus the smoke was very intense. You could see the smoke long before you ever got to COS. Listening to the news on the drive, it sounded like the progress of the fire was less than the previous day/night. Hopefully they can get a handle on it soon.

I am an expert on SW Oklahoma now so if anyone has any questions, let me know.:D