My family and I just got back from a fun little trip to Oklahoma City. It is a quiet city with a lot of beautiful historical and modern features. I couldn’t get over how quiet it was. When I think “city” I think of places like Houston, with people and interstates coming and going everywhere. Houston is never quiet.
I am used to hot temperatures and prefer hot over cold, but let me tell you it was hot with a capital H. Temperatures reached as high as 113 degrees fahrenheit. Even the wind was hot. All of Oklahoma is under severe or extreme drought conditions. We barely saw a cloud while we were there.
We had a lot of fun hanging out around OKC’s main attractions, Bricktown and Stockyard City. Bricktown is a charming area of town with old brick buildings, fun eateries, and a quaint riverwalk surrounded by restaurants and shops.
Oklahoma City has a minor league baseball team called the
Oklahoma City Redhawks and their baseball stadium is in the heart of Bricktown. We had dinner at a fun little restaurant called
Coach’s that is connected to and overlooks the ball field. Guests can enjoy dinner and watch a free game.
We spent one evening in Stockyard City shopping in some of the western stores, looking at the historical sites, and having a great steak dinner at one of the best steakhouses, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse.There is another Cattlemen’s in the stockyards in Forth Worth, Texas. We love that location too!
From top left, clockwise… Riverwalk in Bricktown, Entrance to the Stockyards, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse (doesn’t look like much, but it is awesome!), Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory
On our way home we stopped off at Turner Falls in the
Arbuckle Mountains in southern Oklahoma. I had first visited this area many years ago with my parents.
Turner Falls Park is a gorgeous park that covers 1500 acres and a great place to bring your family. Mine loved it. We had a blast swimming and walking around the park. Swimming really helped to make the heat bearable.
The waterfall is called
Turner Falls and is one of the parks feature swim holes.
There is also a castle located in the park that was built with native stone and materials in the early 1930’s based on Old English architecture. It was built by Dr. Ellsworth Collins, a professor at Oklahoma University. It served as the headquarters for The Bar C Ranch and his summer home. That is some kind of summer home! I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live in that castle in the ’30’s and look out at those beautiful surroundings everyday. How peaceful it would have been. Of course, I also could not imagine living there with no electricity, nothing to keep the bugs out, and no facilities. I grew up in the country, but some things are a must.
This castle is a hike up the side of a steep hill. There is another building even further up. The steps get pretty steep after the first building. The pictures above are of the lower building.
We had a fun trip… we saw the sites and ate all the food. Oklahoma was an adventure, but we are happy to be back in Texas.
Thanks for visiting,
Candace
6 Comments
Kelly
Gorgeous pics, the waterfall looks so peaceful. I wouldn't have lasted five minutes in those temps though, we Brits moan when it reaches the 80's here 😉
LeslieUnfinished
That's my city! People are always amazed at how quiet downtown is. Did you know there are underground tunnels?
Carmen y Prady
Que sitio más hermoso, y que gran pais. Un beso.
Angela
I need to do this trip! My oldest son has been to Turner Falls and the castle and keeps telling us we need to go. I think I'll wait til it cools off a bit, though:)
Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity
Hi there–I come via Sew Many Ways. I only live about 3 hours south of Oklahoma City and know I should visit. Your pictures give me several more reasons. I've also wanted to visit Turner Falls but we've just never had the chance. Glad you had a wonderful trip–thanks for sharing!
Wa Wa Waughs
Next time try to go to the OKC Memorial (bombing) museum. Really good. The Zoo is one of the top rated in the nation as well. Big Truck Tacos and Cuppies and Joe are located near downtown as well and are fun eateries.