In the summer of 2021, my husband and I went to Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. In this post, I will mention the best things that we saw on our trip to Oklahoma. We were only in Oklahoma for a few days, so it was essential for us to see the most incredible things to do. Here are some places that we visited on our trip. I hope that if you live in Oklahoma, you have already visited these places. If not, I suggest you plan a trip to see at least some of these places that make the state of Oklahoma so great.
If you have never been to Oklahoma, you might consider going there on your next vacation. Visit Oklahoma, or maybe Oklahoma and bordering states like Kansas and Texas. I have a previous post about our trip to Kansas. Double click here to read it: Kansas – Interesting Things to Do – Growing Older Everyday
Oklahoma is known as the Sooner State, The Land of the Red Man, and Native America. This is partially because Oklahoma has the largest population of Native Americans in the United States.
Pawhuska
One of the first things that we saw in Oklahoma was Pawhuska. Pawhuska is a small city of under 4,000 people. It was established in 1872 by the Osage Nation of Indians. In Pawhuska, there are several things to visit that are all within walking distance on Kihekah Avenue.
We saw the Triangle Building, a historical landmark, which was built in 1913. It is interesting to see the traffic go in one direction on one side of the building and the other direction on the other side. The location had been a park and was changed to a five-story building with over 100 lawyers and other businesses like jewelers, tobacco stands, doctor offices, and beauty shops. The building was the first fireproof building in Oklahoma, and one of five in the U.S., in the early 1900s.
In 2017, it was renovated to turn it into a 20 room historic boutique hotel, The Frontier Hotel Pawhuska. Great care was taken to restore everything to its original beauty. The rooms look beautiful from the online pictures. They are in the higher $100s to the higher $200s price range. I think the price would be worth it, because of the historical significance and the views from the windows. And you are right there amid everything Pioneer Woman.
Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond lives here
Also in Pawhuska is P-TownWood-Fired Pizza, Mercantile Bakery, Deli, and General Store. The Mercantile is at 532 Kihekah. We ate lunch in the Deli. It was an hour wait, which I believe ended up being less than an hour. That gave me plenty of time to check out the General Store. There is an extensive selection of gift and kitchen items available. I ended up purchasing two butter dishes for family gatherings. They are perfect for a half cube of butter. Once Thanksgiving arrives, I will use them, since they are a close match to the dishes I will use for Thanksgiving. There is also a small selection of women’s clothing that will have you dressing in a similar style as Ree Drummond herself. It was an interesting place to walk around while waiting for our table.
We also had time to go upstairs to the bakery. Our plan was to get two cinnamon rolls for the next day’s breakfast. However, to get the cinnamon rolls, you need to arrive earlier than noon. Instead, we purchased a few other pastries for our breakfast.
Food Suggestions From The Pioneer Woman
Our lunch at the Deli was good. At least mine was. My husband ordered something he had never ordered anywhere in his life and he thought it was ok. I ordered a French Dip sandwich and fries and I loved my meal. It was a lot of food, so I took home (to our vacation condo) leftovers for dinner. A specialty that they have for drinks is 25 cent lemonade, unsweetened tea, and sweet tea. I’m not normally a lemonade purchaser, but on that day I gave it a try since it was a super deal. It was delicious.
P-Town Wood-Fired Pizza is across the street from the Mercantile, at 515 Kihekah. They have an upstairs outdoor patio. Were we staying longer, I would have tried to go there for a meal. Besides pizza, they have chicken wings, salads, not knots, and for dessert, Layered Dessert Jars, which looks delicious in the pictures. They have a few traditional pizzas, with some more unusual choices. The unusual include Fig & Prosciutto, Potato & Leek, and Steakhouse Pizza.
Commerce
Commerce is the home of Mickey Mantle, a hall of fame baseball player. There is a statue of Mickey Mantle at Commerce High School, where he attended. The baseball field has been re-named Mickey Mantle Field. There is even a street alongside the high school named “Mickey Mantle.” His childhood home is at 319 S. Quincy Street. It is not available for looking inside, but there is a plaque on the door that gives you some interesting information about the little boy who moved into the house at three years old.
His father, Mutt, started teaching Mickey how to play baseball a few years later. Mikey’s nickname became the “Commerce Comet.” There is a Mutt Mantle Field little league baseball field in Commerce on N. Main Street. Commerce, with a population of less than 3,000 has a lot of pride in the Mantle family.
Also in Commerce are a few stops along Route 66. At Commerce and Main is a 1925 Marathon gas station that is now the Dairy King, a little burger place that also sells Route 66 cookies. I was looking forward to buying a cookie, but we came through on a Sunday, a day they are not open. Across the street from them is a photo opportunity in front of the Allen’s Fillin’ Station, a former gas station that looks like it is sunken into the brick wall of the building next store.
Route 66 continues
Arcadia is in the northeast part of Oklahoma. We went there to see the Round Barn, another historical landmark. This is the only Round Barn along Route 66. The barn was originally built in 1898. It has a second story that can be rented out for parties, weddings, etc. It would be a great place to have a dance. There is a separate entrance on the outside of the barn to the second story.
The first floor has a museum and gift shop. It has an abundance of memorabilia regarding the barn and early days of Arcadia. Also, they have some Route 66 memorabilia. There are many pictures, plus old farm equipment inside and outside of the barn. It is open seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated for the maintenance of the barn. Guided tours are available.
Pops 66 Soda Ranch is also in Arcadia. This place has a gas station, a 66-foot tall neon soda bottle in front, and a restaurant with over 700 choices of soda. The flavors of soda are likely the most extensive selection you can find anywhere. They have Coke, Pepsi, etc., plus 80 different root beer brands/flavors.
Then there are the highly unusual flavors that you can’t find in your average restaurant. Those unique flavors include Beefdrinkers’ Teriyaki Beef Jerky Soda, Lester’s Fixin’s Buffalo Wing Soda, Cool Mountain Cream Soda, Tommy Knocker Almond Creme, and Filbert’s Red Raspberry. If you want to try more flavors, they have cardboard 6 packs that you can fill with any variety you desire and buy them and bring them home or your next stop on your trip.
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is at 620 N Harvey Ave. Inside the museum is information about the Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995. The cost is $15 each for adults, with a senior or military discount, it is $13 per adult. It is open from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday to Friday. 9 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and 12 PM to 6 PM on Sunday.
The museum has films, interactives, and exhibits. There was so much information that I didn’t remember, or never knew. Some of the survivors are interviewed about that day. It was very emotional and moving for me.
On the grounds, you will find the Reflecting Pool, The Children’s Plaza, the Survivor Wall, and the Field of Empty Chairs, where each chair represents one of the 168 people that were killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, in downtown Oklahoma City. Each child is represented by a smaller chair. On the base of each chair is the name of the person who died. These bases light up at night. There is so much more on the grounds than I have listed.
In the Children’s Plaza, there are tiles that have been painted by children from around the world. There is also a chalkboard area where visitors can share their feelings. Chalk is provided.
Cowboys
There are plenty of Cowboy places to visit, including the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, but I’m not a fan of cowboy museums or country music. My apologies to anyone that is a fan. I guess that’s because I have always lived in California, which is not a country music capital. So to get the best info on anything, cowboy, I apologize. I am not the person to ask.
Places we could not visit due to time constraints, but I wish we could have:
- Swinging Bridge over Bird Creek. This is a wood-plank suspension bridge people can walk across. It was built in 1926. I will admit I failed to look at my list and that is why we weren’t able to visit it. Oops.
- Osage Nation Museum
- Oklahoma City Museum of Art – this would have been my choice to stop at because of the Chihuly exhibit. It’s at 415 Couch Dr. And the cost is $8 each, which may be a senior price. If you are not a Dale Chihuly fan, then that might not attract you, but art in general could be a draw.
Oklahoma is a state I wouldn’t mind visiting again. What I love about traveling to different states is I get to meet the people that live there and see the things that they have lived through and value.
Have you been to Oklahoma? What did you see that you were happy you visited? Let me know below in the comments section. Coming soon will be a post about Nebraska.
