DeLappenings: In The Heart Of Oklahoma

So...if the measure of an adventure is the level of enthusiasm expressed in the re-telling of events at the end of the day, we had ourselves one successful outing today. :)

The gist of it is this: last year, during our annual, late-July summer trip to Oklahoma, we made an excursion to see some bison. And the day was glorious and lovely and filled with tons o’ middle-of-Oklahoma, Americana charm, but...we didn’t catch any bison.

http://delappenings.blogspot.com/2019/07/tuesday-do-day-pawhuska.html?m=0

So this year (both grandmothers along for the fun) we adjusted our strategy a bit to go someplace that would pretty much guarantee us a sighting. And even better—it gave us a wonderful dose of culture today, as well.

Because it sort of occurred to me today that,

while I mostly consider my childhood rooted in Oklahoma, my children are Texan. And even though it feels weird to say that—despite the better part of two decades spent in Texas—it’s true.

And as a result, the historical and cultural education my kiddos receive is skewed toward Mexican-American history, the history of the Alamo, and the cultural significance of the Fiesta holiday. As one would expect, given our geography.

But where I grew up, Native American history was the greatest area of emphasis. And I’d love for my kiddos to age with a healthy respect and appreciation for it, in the same manner I did.

Enter: Woolaroc.

There’s so much I could say about this preserved area of land, but I’m by no means anywhere near an authority. So I’ll just say that it’s part nature preserve, part museum, part wide-open Oklahoma land.

And thank heavens we didn’t let the morning rain scare us off, because all parts of it seemed to delight my kiddos today. And anything that makes them feel like they’re on an adventure—and a culturally immersive one, no less—is a great thing.

So now...oodles is pics:

To maintain social distancing, we brought our own lunch to avoid restaurants on our adventure, and we were fortunate enough to find a covered picnic area that we had all to ourselves. And the kiddos were in heaven running around in the misting rain that was finally tapering off.

The land belonged to the original Phillips family, so there’s a ton of fun oil history along those lines, as well.

Then after our picnic, we took the meandering two-mile drive to the main museum. And along that drive, we had tons of animal sightings—including bison!—and the kiddos were so happy.

The museum is truly beautiful, and actually quite expansive inside. Given the ages of my kiddos, we walked through it with efficiency, but they were pretty darn engaged—and obviously pumped about the gift shop stop. ;)

Please meet the kiddos’ new stuffed animal friends: Horno the bison (hysterical), Pinkie the pig, and Spot the horsey. :)

After completed the drive back through the property and sighting even more animals, we drove to a nearby town (Pioneer Woman territory) to destroy the same smattering of sweets we loved last year. :)