Oklahoma
Wow- I’m starting to feel just a bit older. The end of 2021 brought me all the way up to 30 years old. Now the rhetorical question I’ve always heard from my parents, “When did that happen?” is ringing inside my own head. Megan and I were trying to figure out a fun way to celebrate my new decade and came to the obvious conclusion- why not visit the last US state I haven’t been to? The only issue was that Oklahoma was the destination- a total road trip of 24 hours away. After throwing around this idea for a few weeks, we finally decided we were still crazy enough to go for it. So off we went to Oklahoma for the New Year’s weekend. Happy New Year to all! Or should I say y’all?
Kansas City
Luckily, we have some amazing extended family who live in Kansas City, a near mid-point for our drive down to Oklahoma. We were able to crash here on the front and back ends of our trip, and it was much needed. It’s always a thrill to see family and great to catch up with their life-happenings. Thank you to all Zenders for accommodating us!
Twin Bridges State Park
Our immediate research when traveling usually surrounds nature. So soon after we crossed over into Oklahoma, we were looking for anything from a look out point to a local hike. Up in the northeast corner of the state we found Twin Bridges State Park. There was not much for hiking here, but a couple nice overlooks allowing us to stretch our legs out for a moment.
A glimpse of Twin Bridges State Park.
Natural Falls State Park
We figured staying on the east side of Oklahoma would keep us close to the Ozark foothills and therefore give us the best chance for outdoor adventure. Shooting down south for about 1 hour brought us to Natural Falls State Park, which is pretty much on the Arkansas border. This park was delightfully surprising! Home to Oklahoma’s 2nd tallest waterfall (77 ft), it had a full disc golf course and a few miles of established trails to hike throughout.
Natural Falls State Park
A good spot for some easy hiking…
…to several different vantage points!
Fun fact: parts of Where the Red Fern Grows were filmed at Natural Falls State Park!
Natural Falls State Park
A good spot for some easy hiking…
…to several different vantage points!
Fun fact: parts of Where the Red Fern Grows were filmed at Natural Falls State Park!
Tulsa
Due to our restricted time this weekend, we finally started heading west again toward our final destination- Oklahoma City. On the way you run into Tulsa. Drivers beware! If you’re wanting to head directly west from Natural Falls toward Tulsa, you will be paying close to $10 in tolls on the Cherokee Turnpike. I’ll be honest- Megan and I have been to more amazing places. Tulsa seems to still be stuck in the 1920s with art deco architecture dominating all views. We tried a downtown restaurant called “The Vault,” which seemed like a cool option on paper as it was a former bank building, but the food/drink was very disappointing. We also tested out a couple of breweries here- Welltown and Dead Armadillo Brewery– each with very average beer. The nice part about Welltown is that it has a rooftop overlooking downtown. The best thing going for Tulsa might be their gigantic family-friendly park “The Gathering Place,” littered with different-themed playgrounds, fun meeting areas, and a small river complete with kayak rentals and a beach.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Vault
Welltown Brewing
Cool views of downtown during all seasons!
Cute & cozy interior too!
Didn’t love the beer, but this brewery wins the best name – Dead Armadillo Brewery!
One of the better logos/mascots we’ve seen!
The Gathering Place…unique architecture!
…unique indoor spaces!
…fun playgrounds!
…and some boat rentals!
Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Vault
Welltown Brewing
Cute & cozy interior too!
Cool views of downtown during all seasons!
Didn’t love the beer, but this brewery wins the best name – Dead Armadillo Brewery!
One of the better logos/mascots we’ve seen!
The Gathering Place…unique architecture!
…unique indoor spaces!
…fun playgrounds!
…and some boat rentals!
Oklahoma City
A little bit further west we finally made it to Oklahoma City ~10 hours before the new year. Megan was scouring the internet for fun things to do in the city for New Year’s weeks in advance, finally coming up with our best option- a Great Gatsby Party at the historic (and haunted) Skirvin Hilton Oklahoma City presented by VIP Nightlife. But prior to the party we decided to check out what the capital city had to offer otherwise.
The Skirvin Hilton
It felt like we were walking right into the 1920s!
The Skirvin Hilton
It felt like we were walking right into the 1920s!
We quickly checked out Riversport Adventures on the riverfront; it was quite underwhelming during winter but looks like an awesome spot with man-made white-water rafting, surfing, rock climbing, ziplining, and more! We then headed into the downtown entertainment district “Bricktown,” where their minor league baseball stadium sits along with tons of restaurants and bars. We briefly touched down at Toby Keith’s for a couple drinks before our Bricktown Water Taxi tour commenced. Think of this as a mini–San Antonio RiverWalk vibe, with the tour running through a brief history of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, and the development of Bricktown. For dinner we checked out the Bricktown Brewery, which was packed with people, but unfortunately continued the theme of average beer and food in our opinion.
Riversport Adventures…great summertime potential!
One of the several entrances to Bricktown!
Definitely no shortage of bricks here!
Made a quick pitstop at Toby Keith’s!
Bricktown Water Taxi Tour!
Learned a lot about Oklahoma history on the tour!
Bricktown Brewery
Riversport Adventures…great summertime potential!
One of the several entrances to Bricktown!
Definitely no shortage of bricks here!
Made a quick pitstop at Toby Keith’s!
Bricktown Water Taxi Tour!
Learned a lot about Oklahoma history on the tour!
Bricktown Brewery
Shortly after dinner we meandered our way over to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, remembering the 1995 bombing and the victims. This whole area is very somber, so glad we walked through before the party. We got back to the Skirvin hotel and started getting ready to change the mood! We dressed to impress roaring twenties style and made our way to their ballroom. Just dressing up alone was fun as the hotel has kept its 100+ year old historical identity and everyone coming to the party was also dressed up- truly a blast into the past. The rest of the night was a blur- we met native Mexicans, native Oklahomans, an Oklahoma state trooper; we played blackjack; and of course, we danced the night away through the midnight countdown to ring in 2022!
The somber but thoughtful Oklahoma City National Memorial.
We don’t dress up often…
But when we do…
Happy 2022!
The somber but thoughtful Oklahoma City National Memorial
We don’t dress up often…
But when we do…
Happy 2022!
The following morning, we were in dire need of food, so we went to the Stockyards City district in OKC and took the state trooper we met up on his recommendation. We ordered steak and eggs to share at Cattlemen’s Steak House, where former President George W. Bush would come for the same T-bone steak we were about to eat. And it was delicious. The atmosphere of the actual restaurant leaves something to be desired, but they know how to do a steak. Second breakfast was in OKC’s Uptown district at HunnyBunny Biscuit Co., where they are pumping out phenomenal biscuits and every concoction that goes with it. On the way out of town we briefly visited the Lake Hefner lighthouse, thinking we’d get a great view of a nice lake. But the first blizzard of the year was quickly blowing in, limiting visibility of the lake at all. Megan and I figured that was our cue to go, and the trip back up to Minnesota began.
Made our way to the stockyards!
For some killer steak!
From Cattlemen’s Cafe (recommended by a local!)
Locals waiting to drive people to Papakolea Green Sand Beach.
Yes, they have a biscuit cinnamon roll!!!
Not the best weather for our Lake Hefner stop…
Made our way to the stockyards!
For some killer steak!
From Cattlemen’s Cafe (recommended by a local!)
HunnyBunny in OKC Uptown
Yes, they have a biscuit cinnamon roll!!!
Not the best weather for our Lake Hefner stop…
While the achievement of hitting all fifty states in 30 years is extremely cool, take my advice and probably don’t leave Oklahoma for last? Now, we only saw a glimpse of what this state has to offer, I get that, but there are more exciting places! All in all, the best part of this trip was ringing in 2022 with my lovely forever adventure partner in a place many people wondered why we were going there in the first place!
Getting our Blackjack on!
The Skirvin in Lego form!
Getting our Blackjack on!
The Skirvin in Lego form!