After returning from the Alaskan cruise, we spent a few days in Texas with family and friends before heading north to spend a week in Oklahoma. All the years we lived in North Texas, we paid little attention to Oklahoma.  What a surprise!  There are many fascinating things to see and do!

Our first stop was the Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur, Oklahoma. This area is so significant in its natural beauty and resources that it was first designated as Platt National Park in 1906. Nestled in the Arbuckle Mountains, numerous natural springs with crystal-clear waterfalls flow into Rock Creek, which feeds into Lake Arbuckle. The area was eventually re-designated as a National Recreation Area, encompassing the lake. We saw many families escaping the heat and enjoying several swimming holes along the creek.

Our next stop was Oklahoma City—or as the Okies call it, "The City."  We booked a guided tour of the Oklahoma City National Stockyards, which is the largest stocker and feeder cattle market in the world and actually the last of its kind in the US.  Every Monday and Tuesday, thousands of cattle are sold and millions of dollars change hands in the auction arena. Our tour group included two cowboys from Ireland, and it was fascinating to hear them exchange experiences with our guide, who has worked at the stockyards for 47 years.

After the tour, we had lunch at Cattlemen's 1910 Cafe, which has been serving lunch to cowboys since, well, 1910.

Our next stop in Oklahoma City is the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It is a vast museum dedicated to Western art and the story of the cowboy, covering everything from real-life cattle drivers on the range to the history of the rodeo to western frontier towns to Native American history to Westerns on the big (and little) screen.

On our way to Ponca City, we stopped in Guthrie, OK, and toured the Scottish Rite Temple. Built in the early 1900s, it is one of the 3 largest in the US and absolutely beautiful.  It is massive at 400,000 square feet.  Yes, four hundred thousand square feet!  

Ponca City was the home of E.W. Marland, founder of Marland Oil Co. (the precursor to Conoco Oil). We toured both of his homes: his 10,000-square-foot Grand Home and the magnificent 40,000-square-foot Marland Mansion, built in 1921. The Mansion is truly amazing and well worth a visit.

On the way to Bartlesville, we drove through the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. The drive was beautiful, and we were lucky to see the bison herd up close. They crossed the road right in front of and behind our car, so we parked and enjoyed the quiet moment while watching them.

Woolaroc is the remote hideaway of Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips 66. The estate features a drive-through exotic animal park (a zebra, an ostrich or two, and an African deer),  a museum, a restaurant, and a historic lodge. The museum houses an eclectic collection of Western and Native American art and artifacts.  We really enjoyed walking the grounds and having lunch at the cafe.

On to Bartlesville and something truly surprising.  A skyscraper!  And not just a skyscraper but the only skyscraper designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Price tower was built in 1956 for the H.C. Price Company.  It's not open for touring but we did tour the founder of Phillips 66, Frank Phillips, house.  It is beautiful, but we got so involved with the stories on the tour that we failed to get a single pic. 😒

From natural beauty, cattle, bison, art, oil barons homes, and a Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper we left Oklahoma with a new respect for Texas' neighbor to the north. Oklahoma, we are sorry we neglected you!