Step Inside This 1920s Oklahoma City Landmark And Look Up At Its Painted Ceilings For Free
Some of the best afternoons in Oklahoma start with a simple plan to stop in for a quick look and end with a sore neck from staring straight up. I walked through the front doors...
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Fried Catfish Comes With Free Hush Puppies At These 6 Oklahoma Fish Houses
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma come from buildings you would drive right past without a second look. A gravel lot, a hand-painted sign, and suddenly a basket of golden catfish...
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Anyone Can Walk The Quiet Prayer Gardens At This Oklahoma Monastery For Free
I went looking for a handmade rosary and came home thinking about silence instead. Down a winding country road in Oklahoma, past woods and pasture, sits a place where monks chant,...
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11 Tiny Oklahoma Cafes In Towns Under 500 People
The sign was faded, the parking lot was gravel, and I almost kept driving. Then I smelled onions on a flat-top grill and pulled over, and that plate turned into the best meal of...
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This Oklahoma Bakery Fills Warm Czech Kolaches With Fruit And Sausage Every Morning
Some of the best mornings in Oklahoma start with a hunch and a growling stomach. You pull off a two-lane highway, spot a modest storefront, and figure you will grab a quick pastry...
Read More 10 min read
This Small Town Oklahoma Diner Serves A Chicken Fried Steak That Hangs Off The Plate
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma start with a wrong turn and a growling stomach. You spot a plain little building on a quiet street, figure it will do, and walk in expecting...
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Real Tallgrass Bison Herds Roam Right Past Your Car Window In Northeast Oklahoma This Fall
I figured it would be a quick look at some grass and maybe one shaggy animal way off in the distance. Instead, I found myself rolling down a gravel road in Oklahoma while a full...
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Steak Sandwiches Hang Way Past The Bun At This Old-School Oklahoma Drive-In
I pulled in expecting a quick lunch and maybe a decent burger, nothing more. Then a paper-wrapped sandwich landed in my lap with crispy steak poking out on every side like it was...
Read More 10 min read
Seven Oklahoma City Museums And Galleries Open Their Doors Without Charging You A Dime
Some of the best afternoons I have spent in Oklahoma started with an empty wallet and a hunch. You walk through a plain door expecting a quick look, and two hours later you are...
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Oklahoma’s Woolaroc Lets You Drive Past Bison And Elk Before Wandering A Museum Packed With Western Art
The road curved through quiet Oklahoma hills, and I figured the morning would be a simple museum stop. Then a shaggy bison lifted its head right beside my window, chewing slowly,...
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Vietnamese Staples Fill These 6 Spots In Oklahoma City’s Asian District
I only stopped because I was hungry and the parking lot looked easy, and I left already planning my next visit. A plain strip mall storefront handed me a bowl of soup so fragrant...
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Pick Your Own Pumpkin Straight Off The Vine At This Family Farm Near Tulsa, Oklahoma
I only meant to grab one pumpkin for the front porch, maybe snap a quick photo, and head home. Three hours later my shoes were dusty, my cheeks hurt from grinning, and a camel...
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This Oklahoma Roadside Stop Loads Your Tray With Smoked Brisket, Fried Catfish And A Whole Pickle Bar
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma show up when you only meant to stretch your legs and grab a quick bite. You pull off the highway, walk into a plain little building, and suddenly...
Read More 11 min read
This Oklahoma Bookstore Lets You Curl Up By The Fireplace With A Book And A Coffee
From the parking lot, it looked like just another plain building on a busy Oklahoma road. Then the door swung open, and the smell of fresh coffee and old wood hit me like a warm...
Read More 10 min read
Anyone Can Wander Into The Buddha-Filled Garden Behind This Tulsa Temple For Free Every Day
I pulled off a quiet road in Oklahoma expecting maybe five minutes of looking, and I stayed for well over an hour. A towering stone figure watched over rows of trees, little statues...
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Louisiana Cajun Cooking Lands In Oklahoma City’s Uptown District At Cajun Corner
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma show up when you least expect them, like a plate of blackened catfish found on an ordinary errand day. I walked in thinking I would grab a quick...
Read More 10 min read
Bring Comfortable Shoes Because This Enormous Oklahoma Swap Meet Eats Up An Entire Saturday
I only meant to stop for a quick look, maybe ten minutes, maybe a cup of coffee. Five hours later, I had a sunburned neck, a bag of odd little treasures, and the smell of fried...
Read More 9 min read
This Landmark Oklahoma Theater Was Built In 1937 And Still Draws Crowds For Concerts And Films
You spot the glow first, a tall neon sign humming over a busy Oklahoma street like it has been waiting for you since your grandparents were kids. Step closer and the old tile,...
Read More 8 min read
Shelves Of Two-Headed Curiosities And Rare Oddities Pack This Strange Little Oklahoma Shop
Some of the best afternoons in Oklahoma start with a plain storefront you almost drive right past. You step inside expecting a quick look, and suddenly an hour is gone and your...
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8 Oklahoma Places Where Tribal Nations Share Their History In Their Own Words
Some of the best stories in Oklahoma are not written on a plaque by an outsider. They are told by the people who lived them, passed down from grandparents to grandkids and now...
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Movie Fans Still Pose On The Front Porch Of This Yellow Oklahoma House From The Outsiders
Some houses look so ordinary that you would drive right past them without a second glance. Then you spot a small crowd on the porch, all grinning and striking the same pose, and...
Read More 10 min read
At This Oklahoma Farm You Hand-Feed Gentle Alpacas And Walk One Around The Pasture
Some of the best afternoons in Oklahoma start with a small sign you almost drive right past. You pull in expecting a quick look at a few fuzzy animals, and an hour later you are...
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Quilters Across Oklahoma Tag Their Friends About These 6 Small-Town Fabric Shops
You pull off a two-lane road in Oklahoma just to stretch your legs, and a plain little storefront catches your eye. Inside, the walls are stacked with bright bolts of cotton, and...
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The Weathered Barracks At This Old Oklahoma Frontier Fort Carry Ghost Stories Locals Still Whisper Every October
I only pulled off the highway to stretch my legs and grab a snack from the cooler, but a row of old brick buildings on the prairie made me stay for the whole afternoon. Oklahoma...
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This Oklahoma Off-Road Park Marks Its Trails From Mild To Wild And Stays Surprisingly Clean
I expected a dusty lot, a few rutted paths, and maybe a trash barrel tipped over by the gate. What I found in the hills of eastern Oklahoma was a trail system color-coded like...
Read More 10 min read
This Untouched Oklahoma Battlefield Lets You Walk Where Union And Confederate Troops Actually Clashed
I expected a quick stop, maybe a sign and a parking spot, somewhere off a quiet Oklahoma highway. Instead I found open fields and creek-side trails that look almost exactly like...
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This Oklahoma Salt Cave Spa Hands You A Plushy Robe And Lets You Do Absolutely Nothing
I pulled off the road in southeastern Oklahoma expecting a quick stretch and a gas station snack, not a room full of pink salt and a robe so soft it felt like a hug. Most of us...
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This Tiny Oklahoma Chapel Near Tulsa Is Known As America’s Smallest Still Hosting Weddings
You could drive right past it on the way to lunch and never know what you missed. Tucked into a quiet corner of Oklahoma sits a chapel so small it barely looks real, like something...
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Blow Your Own Glass Ornament at This Glass Studio in Oklahoma City
I expected a quiet little studio and maybe a quick look at some pretty glass. Instead, I found a glowing furnace, a patient teacher, and an ornament with my own breath inside it.
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Why Families Keep Wandering Tulsa’s Stone Temple In The Wichita Mountains Every Fall
I almost skipped the turnoff, figuring a few old stone buildings in the hills of southwest Oklahoma would make for a ten-minute stretch break at best. Two hours later, my shoes...
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These 6 Oklahoma Drive-In Theaters Still Light Up Friday Nights Under The Open Prairie Sky
Some of the best Friday nights in Oklahoma start with nothing more than a gravel lot, a full tank of gas, and a paper sack of popcorn going soft on the dashboard. You roll in expecting...
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This Oklahoma Corner Store Still Wears Its Old Sign And Feels Like An After-School Stop
I almost missed it, and I was sitting at a red light right next to it. Perched on a slice of land barely bigger than a backyard patio, an old brick building in Oklahoma wears a...
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Fewer Than 6,000 People Live In This Oklahoma Town And It Keeps Sending Champions To The Rodeo Arena
Some Oklahoma towns hand you their whole story in one afternoon, and others make you slow down and look twice. I rolled into this one expecting a gas stop and a stretch of the...
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Ed Galloway Spent Eleven Years Building The World’s Tallest Concrete Totem Pole in Oklahoma
Some of the best stops in Oklahoma are the ones nobody puts on a billboard. A couple of miles off the old highway, past pasture fence and a gravel shoulder, a 90-foot painted tower...
Read More 6 min read
This Family-Run Moore, Oklahoma Kitchen Serves Beef Ravioli And A Three-Pasta Combo
Some of the best plates of pasta in Oklahoma come out of buildings you would drive right past without a second glance. I had passed this one more times than I can count before...
Read More 6 min read
Free-Roaming Bison Wander Up To The Road At This Oklahoma Refuge Near Lawton
You round a bend on a quiet two-lane road in southwest Oklahoma, and suddenly a shaggy, two-thousand-pound neighbor is standing right beside your window, chewing grass like he...
Read More 10 min read
This Oklahoma Space Museum Off I-40 Keeps 3,500 Rockets, Jets And Capsules That Actually Orbited Earth
You are cruising across western Oklahoma, the radio is fading in and out, and a highway sign promises rockets. Most folks keep driving.
Read More 9 min read
Scones And Clotted Cream Arrive On Tiered Stands Inside This Restored Oklahoma City Bank Hall
Some of the best afternoons start with a door that doesn't look like much from the sidewalk. You pull it open in downtown Oklahoma, expecting an office lobby, and instead your...
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At This Duncan Steakhouse, The Chicken-Fried Steak Gives Way To A Fork And The Peach Cobbler Arrives Unordered
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma hide behind plain brick walls and a parking lot full of pickup trucks. I pulled in expecting an ordinary small-town supper and walked out already...
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Oklahoma’s Oldest Tavern Has Fried Chicken For Over A Century And Still Fills Every Table
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma come from buildings that look like they would rather not be noticed. I drove past wheat fields and grain elevators expecting a quick stop, and...
Read More 9 min read
This Oklahoma Roadside Stand Hands You a Peach Fried Pie Still Too Hot to Hold
Some of the best food in Oklahoma hides behind a screen door and a gravel parking lot. I pulled off the highway expecting a quick snack from a glorified gas station counter, and...
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Visitors Drive Two Hours Across Oklahoma Just To Comb The Bangs Of These Fluffy Highland Cows
Some Oklahoma detours end with a gas station hot dog and a shrug. This one ends with a thousand-pound animal resting its shaggy head against your knee while you brush the hair...
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This Oklahoma Kitchen Sets Out A Pickle Bar And Sends You Home With Blocks Of Fudge
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma happen in buildings you would drive right past without a second glance. I pulled into a small downtown block expecting a quick sandwich and walked...
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At This Oklahoma Cultural Center The Chickasaw Nation Walks You Through A Re-Created Ancestral Village
Some places in Oklahoma sneak up on you. You turn off a quiet road expecting a small roadside stop and instead find 184 acres of gardens, water features, a theater, and a village...
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At This Oklahoma Family Farm You Sleep In A Covered Wagon With A Real Bed Inside
Somewhere along a stretch of south Oklahoma road, past the strip malls and the grain silos, there's a farm where the overnight guests sleep inside covered wagons with actual mattresses,...
Read More 7 min read
An Oil Baron Built This Oklahoma Prairie Mansion And Its Rooms Still Look Lived In
Somewhere north of the wheat fields in Oklahoma, a limestone villa sits on a rise of prairie grass like it wandered off from Florence and never found its way home. I expected a...
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This Oklahoma Wildlife Hospital Nurses Injured Hawks Back To Health And Opens Its Doors For Tours
Down a gravel-edged country lane in Oklahoma sits a cluster of low buildings and wire enclosures that most drivers would blow right past. I expected a shed, a few cages, maybe...
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This Old-School Oklahoma Burger Stand Still Brews Its Own Root Beer Fresh Every Single Day
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma come from buildings you could drive past a hundred times without blinking. I almost did exactly that, then caught the smell of onions hitting...
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In El Reno, Oklahoma, A Diner Griddles Onion Burgers With Shaved Onions Pressed Into Every Patty
Some of the best food in Oklahoma hides behind a screen door and a hand-lettered sign, and you only find it because your stomach made the decision before your brain caught up....
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This Oklahoma Hobby Shop Keeps Model Railroaders Browsing Aisles Packed With HO And O Scale Trains
Some of the best stops in Oklahoma look like nothing at all from the parking lot. You pull up expecting a quick errand, walk through the door, and suddenly an hour has vanished...
Read More 9 min read
The Reuben At This Oklahoma Deli Stacks High Enough To Justify The Drive Across The State
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma hide behind plain brick storefronts in strip centers you would drive past a hundred times without blinking. That was my exact mistake with this...
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10 Oklahoma Places That Still Look Almost Exactly Like They Did In Century-Old Photos
Some of the best stops in Oklahoma don't announce themselves. You pull off a two-lane road expecting nothing more than a leg stretch, and instead you're standing in front of sandstone...
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Oklahoma’s Osage Nation Has Run The Country’s Oldest Tribally Owned Museum In Pawhuska Since 1938
Some of the best stops in Oklahoma don't announce themselves. You pull up to a modest stone building on a hill, figure you'll poke around for ten minutes, and then a staff member...
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German-Made Stained Glass Makes This Small-Town Oklahoma Church Look Straight Out Of Europe
Some Oklahoma buildings give away everything from the sidewalk, and then there are the ones that keep their best secret behind the front doors. From the outside, this brick church...
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This Oklahoma Sanctuary Hands You Breakfast To Share With Its Herd Of Asian Elephants
Somewhere in southeastern Oklahoma, down a county road that gives you no warning whatsoever, there is a porch where your morning coffee and pastries arrive carried in a pail by...
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Boat Ramps Lead Into Dry Grass At The Oklahoma Lake That Never Got Filled
Somewhere out in the far western stretch of Oklahoma, there is a concrete boat ramp that slopes down into knee-high prairie grass instead of water. I went looking for a lake and...
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6 Small-Town Oklahoma Diners Where The Chicken Fried Steak Hangs Right Off The Plate
Some of the best meals in Oklahoma come from buildings you would drive past without a second look. A gravel lot, a hand-painted sign, a screen door that sticks, and then a platter...
Read More 4 min read
There Is A Town In Oklahoma Named Disney And Its Blue-Green Swimming Spot Is The Real Attraction
Some of the best places in Oklahoma do not announce themselves with billboards or gift shops. I pulled off a two-lane highway expecting a quick leg stretch, maybe a snack from...
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This Oklahoma Bookstore Holds More Shelves Than You Could Browse In One Long Afternoon
Some buildings in Oklahoma look like nothing from the parking lot and then swallow your whole afternoon whole. I walked into one expecting a quick stop, maybe twenty minutes, and...
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Once A Month This Oklahoma Blacksmith Shop Lets Anyone Walk In And Hammer Out Their Own Iron
Some of the best days I have had in Oklahoma started with a turn onto a road I almost drove past. Down one of those quiet stretches east of the city, a working forge throws open...
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