I can look at prairie dogs forever. (You can probably tell from the video, which is five minutes of pure cute.) I find it so relaxing to watch them, plus they’re adorable. I had a great experience taking photos there last year, so when Alethea Kontis and I had a break in our slow storm-chasing season, we made a trip to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwest Oklahoma to visit their town again.
![](https://www.chriskridler.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/052122wichitamountains-2-300x300.jpg)
Prairie dog playtime!
They made a few sounds while I was there, but it was a very windy day, creating a lot of wind noise in the microphone, and in the face of a loud mansplaining tourist, several yelling kids, and droning motorcycles, I decided to minimize natural sound in the video and use music instead.
![](https://www.chriskridler.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/052122wichitamountains-16.jpg)
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge panorama.
Of course, there’s more than prairie dogs at the refuge. There’s great scenery, bison and other animals. It’s well worth a visit.
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