Today I drove about an hour and forty-five minutes to Tulsa. I went to the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center in Tulsa. It shared the story of Greenwood as a successful enclave of Black business until the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. This museum created an immersive experience. My favorite was the barbershop where I was able to sit in the barbershop chair and watch holographic barbers talk about early dreams for Greenwood.
The museum shared examples of systemic oppression and asks visitors to commit to racial reconciliation. I loved the message of the museum through media, stories, pictures and interactive displays. The museum does not shy away from the work that still needs to be done by all of us.
Afterwards I wandered the downtown area to see the many churches, examples of art deco and numerous murals. Tulsa was very clean but few people are out and about on the streets.
Once I crossed the border into Oklahoma (which I did not even realize because there is no grand announcement or large sign like many other states) I immediately saw Windstar Casino which is quite the vision – look it up! I did a double take.
After digesting it, I was struck with the wide open space on both sides of the highway. Wind turbines were present (another unexpected sight) and the air smelled so sweet and fresh. I took a quick detour to Turner Falls but could not walk it because no dogs are allowed (even though AI told me the opposite). I am learning AI cannot be trusted. I have found so many inaccuracies as I have used it during my travels.
My senses were alerted to all of the unexpected glimpses of Oklahoma. I love how travel can oh so quickly dispel the false notions of what is my head about a place! The surprises continued as I reached downtown. The city is beyond clean (like Singapore clean). Just wow!
I am visiting Oklahoma City because my mentee asked me to and I am so glad I did. We met for lunch as soon as I arrived in Norman, Oklahoma. Norman is the cutest town with University of Oklahoma as its main tenant. After a meeting, we met at the dog park. Needless to say, Pete was thrilled to meet all the fun-loving Oklahoma dogs! We then went to dinner in an area called the Paseo Arts District.
After dinner we went downtown since I wanted to see the Clara Luper Sit-In Memorial. I did not know about Clara or what she did. Her bravery was incredible and the bronze life-sized statues were impressive. Afterwards, we went to Tellers. It is a restaurant, hotel, bar and apartments in an old bank building. The bar is in the vault and we had a drink, of course. I also learned that Oklahoma has a sinners tax so be prepared for your liquor bill to have a 13.5% tax on top of the 8.5% sales tax! Thank goodness the building was beautiful, historic and so cool.
The next morning I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, which was a sobering lesson in the Oklahoma City bombing. We walked the site with the ranger and he explained all the thoughtful details that went into designing and building the site including leaving the building wall with its damage exposed and the chairs in the garden that represent all the folks that were killed, including five lined-up chairs that represent the five people outside the building on the street that lost their lives.
I then drove to Myriad Botanical Gardens. Although this is not its prime season, it was still pretty and has a lot of great elements such as the ponds, children’s area, a stage and downtown as its backdrop.
I also drove through Bricktown. Needless to say, the weather has been amazing. My introduction to Oklahoma has been educational and surprising. I am really enjoying this part of the country. Tomorrow I will see Tulsa!
I head out tomorrow to begin my journey to Georgia. I have a lot of stops on the way but today I visited the Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Tucson, walked the Presidio and stopped at Estrella Bakery. Last night I revisited El Charro (yes, it’s that good!).
Today we ventured to the east NP. This park has an 8 mile one-way loop that takes visitors through the park. There are plenty of lookouts and parking to do some short hikes. This park felt a little wilder with lots of greenery and cacti of the desert (not just saguaro cacti) but not as groomed as its west sister-park. Together visiting both east and west creates a great experience of the Sonoran landscape.
This spectacular park has an east and a west location. The entry fee is good for a week so we visited the west today. We will visit the east on another day.
The cloud formations added to the amazing cactus and I bet sunrise and sunset is amazing to see.
We were fortunate enough to stay at the Loews resort the week of Christmas. The grounds were beautiful and well-maintained. A short trail led to this amazing natural waterfall (yes, in the desert). Apparently when the resort was built in 1984 it was a priority to leave intact all the saguaro cactus in their original locations and so the resort built around all the natural fauna.
The service and food were great and Carli and I visited the gym daily and even attended a group fitness class – the instructor was excellent. We also took advantage of a tennis class. Prosecco and Pickleball on Friday night was a hit!
A large Koi pond was next to the check-in desk and food to feed the fish was provided. The koi know exactly when someone shows up to feed them and wait patiently for the food to be tossed.
As usual, Pete received a lot of attention wherever we went and Pete was quick to uncover where he would receive treats and directed his daily walks on the routes that were guaranteed for treats!
A short drive from where I’m staying is Sabino Canyon. Eight dollars gets you all day admission and you could easily spend that time on the paved path, the numerous trails and the open-air tram, if walking isn’t your thing.
Mountains littered with cacti, a stream and dry bed river areas make this area beautiful with a desert existence. There is so much beauty in Tucson and it’s so different from Portland!
I did not realize that Arizona had a wine region but they do! At about an elevation of 5000 feet (for reference Tucson is at about 2500 feet) the vineyards are plentiful in this beautiful area of grasslands, rolling hills, Santa Rita Mountains and ranches (both cattle and horses). I stopped at Sonoita Vineyards and the Elgin Winery and Distillery. I tasted a few wines and bought a bottle. The wines were very good (to my unsophisticated palate).
The drive took about an hour each way and was beautiful. Cactus gave way to yucca plants and grassland was plentiful. The vineyards often couldn’t be seen from the road but once I drove up the dusty driveways, the rolling hills with vineyards emerged.
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