Oklahoma City thrives amid a rich history of a pioneering spirit, oil legacy, Native American tribal conflict, art, music and botanical wonders. More than a dusty landscape, Oklahoma is lush with rivers and lakes and grassy windswept prairies that are home to buffalo herds making a comeback from extinction. All these sights and sounds plus luxury hotels, fine dining, sporting events and great nightlife are in and around Oklahoma City or just a day-trip from the city center.
A must-see is the wonderful permanent —-glass exhibit in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Breathtaking color rich with design, themed tableaus and a jeweled ceiling transport the visitor to a different world of color and form. Click on “gallery” for a glimpse.
The unforgettable monument to the victims of the Murrah Building bombing of April 19, 1995 cannot be missed. 168 Memorial Chairs, each etched with the name of a victim, are the centerpiece of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum in honor of the adults and children who were killed in the deadly attack. At night the clear base of each chair is lit as a beacon of hope. oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.
The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, located in Pawhuska north of Oklahoma City, is 10% of a prairie that once spanned portions of 14 states and covered over 142 million acres. The preserve maintains 38,700 acres of land owned by the Nature Conservancy whose goal is to recreate a functioning tallgrass prairie ecosystem using controlled fire and grazing bison. For more information, visit nature.org.
