Oklahoma City was one of our favorite stops along a 2,200-mile road trip. We had the best time there, with good food, a great hotel, an impressive National Memorial and Museum, fun cowboy culture, and lots of positive interactions with a number of locals. It’s a great place to visit. Here’s why.

Drive across the Panhandle Plains of Texas and you’ll feel the isolation and vastness of the region. This is small town America where ranching, farming, and renewable energy are the top employers. Some of the most famous Route 66 stops are found here too, and we stopped to see a few.

I like to describe Santa Fe as artsy but with a strong spine because of its complicated history. On our visit there, we immersed ourselves in art, learned about the state’s Native American, Mexican, and Spanish history, saw adobe architecture everywhere, and enjoyed a lot of New Mexican cuisine.

It’s a great place to visit. Here’s why.

Are you looking to visit a few less-traveled places in Arizona? A road trip is a great way to combine a few quick stops with those that may require a day or half a day to experience fully. Using Route 66 to guide part of our route, we saw some American pop culture and impressive national parks.

Recently, my husband and I took a road trip across Middle America, starting in Phoenix, AZ, and ending in Kansas City, MO. Over two weeks and driving 2,200+ miles, we visited several places in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (Panhandle), Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. Here are five reasons you want to consider the same or a similar trip.