Oklahoma Travel

With the exception of its capital and Tulsa, Oklahoma for the most part is a rural state with the great plains in the east and mountains rising up in the west. Some things that stand out about Oklahoma is its large Native American population that speak over 25 different languages; more than any other state in USA. The great plains in the east are also home to the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve where bison , and I was surprised to find that the capital was a very fun and interesting place to visit.

Oklahoma Links
	Oklahoma City is the capital, and with its population of over half a million people it is the largest city in the state. Above is the usual photo I start off with, the state capitol building on the left, and a picture of the city's downtown.

	Overall I was pretty impressed with Oklahoma City, I was surprised to find it very clean and with a new look. As a matter of fact, the only bad thing I can say about Oklahoma City were there weren't many people out on the weekend durign the day time, but that could be because the temperatures were around freezing. Above is a photo of a trolley going down one of the main streets, and on the right a bran new building is being erected.

Immediately outside the capitol area of Oklahoma City is Harn Homestead, one of the most upscale and expensive real estate areas in Oklahoma. One of the old victorian mansions has been turned into a museum that was built when the city was first founded in 1889.
Oklahoma city is divided up into several districts, and one of the best to visit is its art district right outside the capitol area. It almost seems like there are an endless amount of museums, theaters and memorials in this area. I think if you're really into museums you could easily spend an entire weekend in the art district alone. Above is a sign along the main street marking the art district, on the right is some of the unique decorations that are seen by many of the commercial buildings here..

My favorite place by far in the art district is the Myriad Gardens; a 17 acre botanical garden located a large capsule like building. The inside of the botanical garden has full grown palm trees, and many unique plants that are typically found in wet tropical areas of the world.
On the left is a large unique yellow flower I found in the myriad gardens though I'm not sure what species it is. I was surprised to find some 'wildlife' roaming freely in the gardens as well. Above is a small lizard that I caught on a rock. I saw several other lizards as well as some large butterflies that were all living freely inside the gardens.

Another district I visited in Oklahoma City is called bricktown. Of course just about all the structures here are made out of brick, but they are home to several nice restaurants, breweries, and shops. One section even has a little waterway where you can take boat tours throughout the district. I didn't make it out here at night time, but I imagine it's a more lively place then.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of this lawyer's method of advertising. His psychedelic van is painted bright yellow with flowers, 4:20 signs, and many symbols associated with drugs. I suppose the 'drug lawyer' proves he understands his clients and the system.
These two photos are random pictures of Oklahoma City. Above is a mural painted on a building I saw in Bricktown. The building on the right has a scary walkway connecting two high rise buildings together in the downtown section.

Before 9/11 occurred, the greatest terrorist attack in the United States occurred in Oklahoma City. At 9:02 in the morning on April 19th 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb that destroyed the Murrah building and killed 168 people. Timothy McVeigh's motivation was basically revenge on the US government for what he believed to be increasingly tyrannical. I remember I was 13 years old at the time and my history class was interrupted and we all watched the story unfold live on TV. It's hard to believe 15 years have passed since the bombing occurred. Only 90 minutes after the attack, Timothy McVeigh was arrested, charged with domestic terrorism and put to death in 01.
Where the Murrah building once stood is now a memorial dedicated to both the victims and survivors of the attack. On the upper left is the empty chairs, one for each victim who's life was lost. The upper right has a small piece of the original Murrah building that still stands. This is called the survivors wall and also has a plaque with all the names of people who were in the immediate area when the bombing occurred. The most touching part of the memorial is the personal belongings people leave behind. Below shows some examples of personal items that belonged to victims and other items left behind in their memory; license plates, a workers glove, a teddy bear, American flags and flowers


Oklahoma's next biggest city is Tulsa, located in the north eastern part of the state. I liked Oklahoma City a lot more since there seemed to be more going on, but in all honesty I didn't spend to much time here so I didn't give it a real chance yet. Once called the "oil capital of the world", Tulsa has changed its economy to focus on other industries such as aviation, enegery, and other high tech fields..

The Tulsa zoo was probably where I spent most of my time while in the city. In 2005 it was voted as the number one favorite zoo by Americans based on random polls. The zoo has many different districts such as African Savannah, Arctic Tundra, an indoor rainforest and other biomes. Above is a photo from the penguin exhibit, and on the upper right shows the skull of an extinct camel like animal that lived in the US. Below on the left is an arctic fox, and on the lower right is an evil bird that lives freely in the indoor rainforest. I took it's picture from a distance and afterwards it immediately ran up to me. I could tell it was pissed but I took a second picture anyway and then it attacked me..

Another popular place to visit in Tulsa is the Gilcrease museum. No photos are allowed in the inside, but it houses the world's largest collection of art from the American West. Most of the museum is made up of large paintings of both 19th century Cowboys and native Americans. There are also hundreds of artifacts from the time period as well that give a good description of what life was once like here..

Something that surprised me about Oklahoma is that it has one of the fastest growing economies in the United States. The state is a large producer of natural gas and oil, and has more drilling rigs than any other state. Above are two photos of some drilling rigs that I randomly came across in the state; some are even placed right in the center of cities. Other high tech fields are also what help fuel Oklahoma's economy. Before I visited I would have assumed it was mostly simpler things like ranches and farms that made up the biggest industry..


Most of central and eastern Oklahoma isn't home to any significant elevation, but surprisingly near the border of Texas is Turner Falls, the state's highest waterfall. Above is the road leading to the falls and the outgoing river, below is the falls themselves and a picture of some of the rapids. This area is a popular place to rent a cabin and go swimming or fishing. Even in the winter there were a significant amount of people around, I imagine in the spring and summer it must be pretty packed and a popular destination..


A random place that I spent the night in was the small town of Pawhuska. Despite their small population of only a few thousand, the town put together a small Christmas Parade that lasted about 30 minutes. It was mostly comprised of pick up trucks pulling make shift moats, but they did a very good job with the parade. It amazes me how such a small town can get together and find ways to have fun..

My last photos are of a December trip to the tallgrass prairie's of northern Oklahoma. I don't think December is the best time to visit, but I still had the opportunity to see a lot of wild life. These prairies right here represent the largest remaining tallgrass prairies in the world. They once spanned across 14 different states and were one of the biggest biomes in the United States. Today only a small percent still remain..

	On the left is a nasty photo of a overcast sky, dead tree and a cold lake in December. I can only imagine what the place might look like in the spring. The scene on the left reminded me of the book I read while on Aconcagua, the road. Above is a terrible photo I took of a pair of bald eagles, but better than no photo at all!

	And my last two photos of Oklahoma, wild bison still roaming freely in the prairies. The bison in these tallgrass prairies number over 2500 and along with natural fires, the two are what help keep forests from entering the prairies. Other wildlife that can be seen are deer, foxes and a large number of birds from hawks to eagles. On my return to Oklahoma, I intend to visit the western part and do some hiking in the mountains where bears and lions still live.

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Oklahoma Travel

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