Things to do in OK City

We visited Oklahoma City during the late afternoon at the beginning of June. It was HOT! Sweat poured down my forehead and my shirt stuck to my back. I suggest getting an early start on the outside sights or visiting in the evening after the sun sets so you won't have the sun beating down.

The Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge add a lot of color to Oklahoma City. My camera didn't rest for a moment while inside the half tropical/half desert plant bridge. The grounds are spectacular too.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial was somber. Mixed feelings because I felt I was intruding on someone else's wounds, but also learning about the terrible destruction and pain.

The lighter museum was great. Ted was an excellent curator. He knows so much and has such a varied display. He's always up for a chat too.

The Route 66 Museum is so cool! Being a twenty-something, I didn't grow up with the highway, but can appreciate the nostalgia and awesome history.

Quick Tips:

Downtown Oklahoma City clears after everyone goes home from work. The city is very friendly. You won't feel threatened walking around town.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving around isn't a problem. There's hardly any traffic at all. You'll probably need a car though to get to all the sights.

What a phenomenon Route 66 has become in America! In Clinton, just a small way from Oklahoma City, you can visit the Route 66 Museum. It's dedicated entirely to the memories and paraphanalia associated with the historic highway.

With the small price of admission, you don headsets and hear a narrator explain the story of how Route 66 came to be. Several rooms display the phases and eras of the infamous 66. At the end, you'll watch a short movie about how the byway is now crumbling and fading out of sight.

The most interesting part to me was the stories people shared about the old Route 66. Some traveled along it to visit family, others rode to see the great America. All these are posted on a wall inside the museum and you can add your own memories about how you traveled on the highway or where you're headed.

Old gas pumps and other displays like maps and photos are set up in each room. They're interactive so children will like the museum too. Inside is a 50's diner set-up which made my mom comment about the quality of food at diners. She says that you can tell how good a diner or cafe is by the number of calendars on the wall. A diner with one is okay, but not excellent. One with 5 would be the best food you've ever eaten.

The very last thing you see before you exit is a short 10 minute documentary movie about the famous Route 66. It's interesting to see how families used the highway to move across the country or vacation. How treacherous 66 used to be! The movie also explains that the old highway has now crumbled and will soon vanish. Keep your eyes peeled as you drive along old Route 66, you'll see those relics they show in the film.

The gift shop is decent, but you can find Route 66 stuff all over the southwest part of America. So if you don't see something you like, then wait till you do.

The biggest attraction in Guthrie is the National Lighter Museum. Stop in to see the largest collection in the world and chat with owner Ted Ballard.

Featured in many publications as an unusual museum, the National Lighter Museum in Guthrie, Oklahoma is a treat. The museum is located next to the fire station downtown

I checked the museum's website just the other day and Ted says that he's in the process of relocating. You can visit the National Lighter Museum website too and see what's in store.

The Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge are a tropical oasis smack dab in the middle of bustling Oklahoma City. We arrived late in the afternoon on a blistering summer day, but this would have been the perfect place for a picnic lunch. The grounds are beautiful--blooming flowers, ducks along the fountains, scattered sculptures.

The cost to enter the Crystal Bridge is about $3.00, but well worth it. I bet you could sneak inside without paying because no one really monitors if you've got a ticket. But don't tell them I told you that.

The Crystal Bridge is an enclosed walkway across the pond/lake at the botanical gardens. The cylindrical bridge houses both a tropical environment on one side and an arid, desert climate on the other. When you first enter, it's wet, but wonderful. The waterfalls are spectacular and you can climb to the top of it. There are banana and coconut trees too. You can follow a higher bridge inside the cylinder to get to the desert side. Surrounding you are cacti and other desert plants. We saw many butterflies and a lizard too. You can sit outside on a park bench and watch the birds in the water. In summer the flowers are bright and colorful. Inside the Crystal Bridge you'll sweat from the tropical heat, but it's worth it to see the clear cool waterfall, towering coconut trees and fluttering butterflies. Keep your eyes open for those little lizards.

Seeing a place where so many people died isn't exactly a pleasure sight. However, I went because I wanted to know more about this historic event. The Oklahoma National Memorial is a tribute to those who died on April 19, 1995. What was once the Murrah Building is now a reminder of how powerful one devastating event can change so many lifes.

We entered from the East Gate Entrance and looked across the reflecting pool to the other gate. The gates are large bronze rectangles with smaller rectangles cut out to allow people to enter. Etched on the east gate is 9:01 and on the west, 9:03. The explosion occurred at 9:02 a.m.

One hundred and sixty eight chairs are are placed in nine rows along the south side of the reflecting pool, representing the 168 lives taken on the nine floors of the building. Nineteen of those chairs are smaller in size to represent the children who were killed.

On the north side of the pool stands a lone tree, the Survivor Tree. It was the only one to remain standing in the area.

On the other side of the west gate a fence runs along the street. Visitors and relatives have left moments and notes to acknowledge the destruction of the bombing. One of the saddest things was to see a baby bottle with a note inside tied to the fence with a ribbon.

I visited not too long ago and even today some of the surrounding buildings have not been repaired. Only a small part of the Murrah building remains. On the other side of the wall is a fenced in yard called "The Children's Playground". This truly moved me.

It was not a pleasant experience to visit the memorial, but it was nice to pay tribute to those who died, those who lost, and those who fought.