Fun things to do in Oklahoma

In May we stepped back in time to 1539 at The Castle of Muskogee's Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. We visit several of the shops. We ate at the newly built Italian Quarter, where they had some of the best pizza I have every had. While we ate we watched a magic show. Then we attended the living chess match. We got insulted by man that was in the stalks begging to be hit with rotten fruit. My oldest daughter got her face painted with a beautiful picture. There was even a man blowing bubbles for even the littlest of guest. My mother even enjoyed looking at the handsome actors. LOL. My whole family had a really great time and we can't wait until the next one in May!

While on a cross-country road trip in August, 2005, I stopped and camped at this beautiful state park in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. The park sits at the confluence of the Neosho and Spring Rivers and is especially popular with fishermen and boaters. The 63-acre park has 160 campsites, from modern to rustic. Other recreational ammenities include volleyball, horseshoes and playgrounds. This is a peaceful and serene area, and a great place for a quiet getaway or a family vacation.

The area around Twin Bridges consists of the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma. There is a casino nearby, and much of native American historical and cultural interest to explore.

This is the first building constructed in Oklahoma Territory for the purposes of higher education. Known then as the Territorial Normal School, its classes first assembled in a nearby Methodist church before this building rose on its present site in January 1893. This National Historic Site remains Edmond's most impressive historic building, and sitting as it does on the edge of campus, it still serves higher education by quartering the administration for the University of Central Oklahoma.

Grew up around Lake Texoma area....there's plenty to see and do here!! Located just a few miles outside of Durant, OK.
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Features/Facilities:
93,000 Lake Acres • 1,882 Park Acres • Resort Lodge • 67 Cottages • Bayview Lodge • 7 Meeting Rooms • Galley Restaurant • Waterfront Lounge • 4 Lake Huts • 3 Camping Areas, 517 Campsites • RV Rally Group Campground • Nature Center • Naturalist • Indoor Fitness & Recreation Center • Swimming Beach & Pool • Boating • Water Skiing • Horseback Riding • Hayrides • Bicycle Rentals • Bumper Boats • Miniature Golf • Go-Cart Track • Striper Fishing Guide Service & Packages • Marina (boat & personal water craft rentals) • Grocery • Airstrip • Hiking Trail • Recreation Specialist

Oklahoma City is a medium sized city that seems like a nice place. We spent one night there, and visited the History Center that is located across from the Capitol building ( see photo). We did not actually visit the Capitol building but I just took a photo of it, since it looked nice:)
After going through some travel brochures at the hotel we were staying at, and we only had limited time, we decided on the museum, but there are a few other things I would have liked to do , like visit the livestock auction, or the Cowboy museum.

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We spent an entire morning at the Oklahoma History Center, and it was well worth it! There are several different exhibits, all of them interesting. I enjoyed the Pioneer section the most, and the Native American section. The kids liked the current Rock'n Roll exhibit.
The exhibits about the pioneers detailed Oklahoma history, and had a lot of stuff to look at like the replica of one of the wagons the early settlers arrived in. I found the whole land rush thing interesting. Basically, the government opened up the State of Oklahoma, and said " ready, set, go! " and whoever got to a piece of land first, could just claim it. The result was a race to get the land of course. Some "cheated" , the "Sooners" took off early...so they got a lot of the land before everyone else got there. The "Dust Bowl" section was ...scary! It is hard to imagine that this very productive looking State was at one point 80 or so years ago covered with sand and dust and people were starving, just because of bad land management ( and drought, but they have those now also sometimes). The weather is another problem in Oklahoma, they have it ALL, tornados, blizzards, floods, droughts. I think the only thing missing is hurricanes.
So, if you find yourself in Oklahoma City and have time for only one thing, this museum would be my choice.

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We were going to hike up Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma but stopped way short of the top because it was just too hot ( over 100 at 9 AM already) , dusty and dry.
The area is really in the middle of nowhere, and takes a while to get to. It is in the far north-west corner of Oklahoma, right at the border with Colorado and New Mexico.
The hike is over 8 miles round trip but we probably only hiked a few miles down the trail. You have to hike all the way around the Mesa to the other side from the parking lot before you even start climbing. A mesa is basically a flat top rock. This one isn't even that high, just over 4000 ft. Maybe next time.....

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This large new Welcome center is near the northern border of Oklahoma along Interstate 35. They offer free coffee as well as maps and information. It makes a nice stop.

CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE THE ACTUAL WELCOME CENTER BEHIND THE SIGN.