Apache Travel Guide

Across the street from the bank and flanking the highway as it reaches town, Apache's Chamber of Commerce also supports the town hall and police department (and perhaps provides the only public payphone in town). Both buildings are from the town's heyday (the early 1920s) and together shoulder the town's main road.

The southwestern quarter of Oklahoma is home to a few venomous snakes, but the most prevalent is the western diamondback. The venom from this pit viper differs slightly from that of the timber rattlesnake, which means that the poisons attack different systems, either the muscles or the nerves. Either way, a single bite is generally not fatal but enough to make you wish to reverse time. Bites occur only seldom but don't be a part of the statistics.

Outside the building that houses the snake pit, vendors sell actual rattlesnake portions. For $2.50 you get a "portion" the size of a chicken breast, but there is usually more meat on a stick of chewing gum. What's worse, the serving is generally deep-fat fried, meaning that breading makes up a third of your "portion." After that, you sink your teeth into the vertebrae before realizing that the "portion" is not a fillet, nor is the "portion" exceptionally meaty. The flavor is not bad but the flesh is somewhat elastic, and the more you fight with the bones the less you wish to continue.

Favorite thing: Though I generally despise such markets as I despise the state fair, thousands flock to such events annually (and many travel over 100 miles to attend, for reasons which I myself cannot pretend to understand). During Apache's rattlesnake roundup, most of the booths and stands are run by locals but out-of-towners can also bring their wares. Several of the stands offer poor trinkets and worthless t-shirts, but coin vendors and genuine artists also offer their inventories for sale.