Why Spend Time in Oklahoma City? How About Cowboy Culture, the National Memorial and Museum, Welcoming Locals, and More.
Middle America Road Trip
Part 4-Oklahoma.
We recently took a road trip from Phoenix to Kansas City, visiting six US states (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri). This article focuses on our time in Oklahoma, but here are additional articles related to this road trip:
On The Road In Arizona: From Route 66 Pop Culture to Amazing Natural Wonders
How to Experience the Best of Santa Fe: Art, History, Culture, and Gastronomy
Driving Across the Texas Panhandle: Cattle Ranches, Dairy and Grain Farms, and Wind Turbines
The Drive From Amarillo (TX) to Oklahoma City (OK)
Oklahoma ranch with wind turbine and oil pumpjack. (Photo: Pexels)
As soon as we crossed into Oklahoma from Texas, the wind seemed to pick up, and we started to see bits of golden grass tumbling in circular patterns crossing the highway in front of us. You'll see tumbleweeds if you decide to trek across Oklahoma later in the season (after the first frost). We were a few weeks early for that experience.
This is cowboy and cattle ranching country. As you get close to Oklahoma City, you’ll also see the occasional wind turbine or oil pumpjack in the fields. From what I’ve read, there’s more oil to the north and east of Oklahoma City than the west where we had driven. Also, we did not stop at any Route 66 attractions in Oklahoma due to drive time that day and because most are east of Oklahoma City, heading along I-40 and I-44 to Tulsa and beyond. We headed southeast (off I-40) to Arkansas after Oklahoma City.
One thing consistent across this entire section of our road trip was an overwhelming sense of isolation and vastness. It’s flat for as far as the eye can see. Our drive was occasionally interrupted by roadside billboard advertisements about Route 66 restaurants, shops (only 20 miles!), and Indian Reservation casinos. still crossing the Great Plains and passing many livestock ranches.
Oklahoma’s Fun Facts
According to Google (and we all know it’s true if it’s on google):
Where does the name 'Oklahoma' come from? Okla means ‘people’ and humma means ‘red’ in Choctaw. Oklahoma means ‘Red People’.
Oklahoma has the largest Native American population of any state in the U.S.
What’s the official state drink? Here’s a hint: Mooo. Yup, it’s milk.
What’s in an Oklahoma state meal? Chicken-fried steak, barbequed pork, fried okra, squash, cornbread, grits, corn, sausage with biscuits and gravy, black-eyed peas, strawberries, and pecan pie.
State animal? American bison.
Famous Oklahomans? Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Garth Brooks, Walter Cronkite, Kristin Chenoweth, James Garner, Chuck Norris, Will Rogers, Johnny Bench, Mickey Mantle, and the list goes on.
Oklahoma has 200 man-made lakes (the most of any U.S. state).
Oklahoma has the most tornados per square mile (20) than any other place in the world and the highest wind speed ever recorded. In 1999, a F-5 tornado wind speed was clocked at 318 mph. Yikes!
When is tornado season? April-June (two-thirds occur during this time) although we had warnings when we were at the Kansas City airport (also in Tornado Alley like Oklahoma City) waiting for our flight home in late October.
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City was one of our favorite stops along the entire 2,200-mile trip. It was the only major stop we made in Oklahoma and we stayed two nights. 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 quiet city with a laid-back vibe. The people we met were helpful, proud yet modest, and hardworking. The city’s clean—we saw no litter anywhere we walked. The only thing that felt odd was that there were very few pedestrians (and cars) in downtown Oklahoma City mid-day.
I think it's a great place to spend a weekend away.
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Many of us will never forget the images of the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995. The entire country was in shock. When you spend time in this quiet city, you feel even more disbelief that something so horrendous could be a part of its history. Traffic is light and civilized (no honking horns), the streets are spotless, and pedestrian traffic mid-morning is almost non-existent in the city's center.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is one of the best memorials and museums I’ve visited (domestic and international). The memorial includes the Field of Empty Chairs, the Reflecting Pool, and the Survivor Tree, which provide a space for reflection on the impact of violence and the resilience of the human spirit. The museum offers an immersive, interactive journey through the events of that day and its aftermath, making it a poignant visit for all. We spent four hours there.
The museum is sober and chilling because it takes you through the day, starting just a few minutes before the explosion. That said, we left feeling uplifted by how the city handled this tragedy. It’s a must-visit if you are ever in this city.
Bricktown Entertainment District
Bricktown is a renovated warehouse area turned entertainment district filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. A man-made canal runs through its center, and water taxi tours are available. The area reminded me of a smaller, newer version of Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. It’s a great place to spend a few hours or an afternoon.
The area also boasts the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark—home of the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. You’ll see statues of some of the great ballplayers out of Oklahoma, including Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, and Warren Spahn.
Stockyards City Main Street
Stockyards City is focused on preserving and promoting Western heritage. It’s home to the Oklahoma National Stockyards, the world's largest stocker/feeder cattle market. Cattle auctions occur on Mondays and Tuesdays, and spectators are welcome. Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t right for the livestock auction, which I would have loved to see. The day we visited, Main Street and the auction yards were desolate.
I suspect auction days are busy with ranchers and their teams (as well as tourists). Main Street in Stockyards City caters to cowboys. There are western wear and cowboy boot stores, a cobbler, Shorty's Caboy Hattery, the Cattleman’s Steakhouse (the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Oklahoma City), and McClintock Saloon and Chop House with their 50-foot bar. Stop into Little Joe’s Boots and get fitted with a nice pair of cowboy boots. Ask for Jim. He’s a kind, helpful, hardworking man with whom I loved sharing an hour after purchasing a great pair of cowboy boots for myself. We talked about life in Oklahoma, bad hips and knees, the team that makes their custom boots, and multi-generation family dynamics.
Where We Stayed
The best hotel on our two-week roadtrip was in Oklahoma City. That’s a fact.
The National, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel offers luxury in a historical building (it was originally a bank with lots of marble, dark wood, and a high vaulted ceiling in the main floor where the bar and restaurant are located. Large, clean guest rooms with top-shelf amenities. Great staff. Convenient location. I’d go back to the city just to stay there again.
After Oklahoma City, we headed southeast into Arkansas to visit Hot Springs National Park. More to come on that stop as well as our visit to Kansas and Missouri.
