Oklahoma was OK
My visit to the "Sooner State"
I recently took a short trip to the northeast corner of Oklahoma. I’d never been there, so I wanted to see if the wind did, indeed, come “sweepin’ down the plain.”
My friend Allie and I stayed in a tent we booked through Airbnb. I referred to it as an AirTnT (Tent and Toilet). The toilet, in this case, was similar to a Porta Potty located about 50 yards away, down a rugged path through some trees.
I wrote a piece about camping with a city girl, and although it was satire, it was not far off from the truth.
Our actual camping experience certainly wasn’t as bad as Allie anticipated. The tent had a small A/C unit, a small fan, a space heater, a table, a mattress on a wooden frame, and two lawn chairs inside. Even she had to admit that it was more of a “glamping” experience.
We also read in the description that a lake was nearby for fishing and swimming, so I brought along an inner tube to float on. The only body of water we saw was a small, algae-covered lagoon about 15 feet in diameter.
“There’s the lake!” I exclaimed jokingly.
Allie said, “I am NOT getting in that!”
A couple of mini cabins sat on the property, as well as a very large grassy area with a disc golf course and horseshoe pits. I brought a Frisbee along and tried to get Allie to play with me, but she was already melting in the heat, and mosquitoes consider her a delicacy. So, I played a few “holes” alone, but it’s no fun without competition.
Extreme heat warnings were in effect for our home area in the days leading up to our trip, but the temperature was significantly cooler the night we stayed in the tent. We’d originally planned to stay two nights to make the trip worth the drive, but the tent was only available for one night that weekend. I’m not sure Allie could’ve handled another one very well anyway.
We wanted to visit an old theater in Miami, OK, but because it was Independence Day weekend, it was closed.
We peeked into the windows, and it looked pretty cool. I wish we could’ve gone inside, but the outside was cool, too.
Before zipping ourselves into our tent for the night, we stopped by a Pow Wow celebrated by the O-Gah-Pah tribe in Quapaw, Oklahoma. When we arrived, we saw several Native Americans with numbers on their backs, dancing in a circle, with judges seated in the center. Spectators sat around the circle and on concrete bleachers on a hill above.
Vendors had tents and tables set up as they sold their wares. We saw many beautiful blankets, jewelry, wooden flutes, and other things.
It was only my second experience visiting a Native American tribe. I don’t remember the first time, but I have a photo of it.
In case you can’t tell by this gay little boy’s expression and hand gesture, I’m saying, “Who is this man and why is he holding me?”
Before heading home the next day, we stopped by a historic marker for Route 66.
As you can read from the marker, only 9 feet of original pavement from the old Route 66 road exists today.
As we exited Oklahoma, we stopped at another marker at the Tri-State Corner, where Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri meet.
It says, “Remonumented Oct 2004” because the Missouri Association of County Surveyors found the actual convergence to be 50 feet to the east. The original stone marker was built by the National Youth Administration in 1938.
As you can see, it’s covered in graffiti of people’s names, dates, and other things. But among the defacement, I found a butterfly.
Besides the tourist sites, we saw many Dollar General stores and casinos. Other than that, there wasn’t much to see in that particular area. We talked to a server at a local cafe in Miami, OK, who said it’s a cool place to visit, but it’s pretty boring if you live there. As with many places, there are always cool things to see and do if you look for them. If nothing else, I was able to check Oklahoma off my state bucket list.
Thanks for reading about my trip! I hope you enjoyed it. I have my sights set on Gulf Shores, Alabama, for my next big trip, but unless I get a few more paid subscribers (*hint hint*), it’ll have to wait until next year.
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That sounds like Oklahoma. My family is from Texas, and I’ve been through Oklahoma. Thanks for sharing your trip!
Love reading your travel adventures! ❤️