If you are wanting to take a trip on Route 66 you will come to the village of Afton.  Here you will have the opportunity to see some classic Route 66 roadside architecture telling the story of times gone by.  You will be able to see the former D-X gas station which has been beautifully restored to the Afton State and serves as a visitor center with information on the community and surrounding area.

Attached to the station you will find the building that used to be the garage for the station and inside you will find an impressive collection of Packard cars.  Since it isn’t a full time museum the owners may or may not be there but even if they aren’t you can peek through the windows and see the cars.  The Packard was an American luxury automobile who first came off the factory floors in 1899.  The last one was built in 1958 so all of the cars in the museum are truly antiques that have quite a story to tell.

Also in Afton you will find the Darryl Starbird’s National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame  with over 50 custom built cars for you to see.  The claim is that this is the only institution in the world dedicated to the preservation and display of classic Hot Rods and custom Cars and honoring the vision, craftsmanship and tenacity of the men who built them.

While visiting the museum you will see that every square inch of the wall and space is full of photos and memorabilia of famous custom built vehicles ranging from street rods, nostalgic custom cars, vans, pickup, sports cars and experimental bubble topped concept looking vehicles of the future.  They are all in a 40,000 square foot facility on Highway 85Q, just an hour northeast of Tulsa.

You can also visit a real Emu ranch, Emu Only, while in Afton.  You can enjoy indoor viewing area to see emus in various stages of development, from incubation to full-sized birds.  Emu meat is state inspected and is similar in character to extra lean beef.  Bet you didn’t know that!

Day    Open    Close
Thursday    10:00 am    5:00 pm
Friday    10:00 am    5:00 pm
Saturday    10:00 am    5:00 pm
Also open by appointment.

Directions
From I-44, take the Afton exit, then go south on Hwy 59 to Grove. Located 3 miles from Buffalo Ranch.

You will also have the opportunity to visit the Diamond Triple C Ranch, Inc. while in Afton.  This ranch is for alpacas and offers some of the best in the world.  You will be able to see these outstanding animals and learn about the quality of the yarn they produce.  There are alpacas for sale as well as products produced from them.  Stop in for a visit while in Afton.

Part of Route 66 – Afton, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

David Anderson is known as a leading 3-dimensional multi-media artist having used fiberglass and epoxy resin, woods and bronze.  His work ranges from contemporary pieces a few inches tall to outdoor and lobby sculpture twenty feet in diameter. 

Born in Jamestown, New York in 1931, David Anderson moved to Tulsa with his family 1936.  After serving in the United States Air Force, David enrolled at University of Tulsa, studying under the direction of Alexander Hogue, the chair of the art department.  David earned his BA degree in commercial design in 1964. 

But, if you can’t make it then you can certainly find beautiful pieces of original oil paintings, watercolors, sculptures, pottery and fine art prints by historic Oklahoma artists such as Emilio Amero, Alexandre Hogue, Oscar Brousse Jacobson, J.J. McVicker, Doel Reed, and Charles Banks Wilson.  Native American artists such as Fred Beaver, Woody Crumbo, Willard Stone and Jerome Tiger. Regional artists such as Phil Epp, John Farnsworth and Mark Gould.  The gallery has fabulous displays all year long, come in and enjoy them.

When you are in Tulsa you will want to visit the gallery to get a taste of the wonders of the talent of the different artists using different mediums.  Spend some time just strolling through the gallery, find the type of art that appeals to you.  Ask questions, the staff is knowledgable and will be glad to assist you.

Location: 1311 E. 15th, Tulsa, OK 74120

Phone: (918) 584-2440

Email: piersongallery@sbcglobal.net

Pierson Gallery exhibits sculptures of abstract artist David Anderson (1931-2006) – Tulsa, OK is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

The fun and interesting museum is housed in a renovated 1910 mansion. Even without all of the toys, it would be fun to explore the nearly 100-year-old house!

When you begin touring the house, you will see a wide variety of toys and miniatures in the collection. Many of the items in the house are quite old and exotic, but there is a good chance that people will find items that remind you of your own childhood. The museum’s galleries hold a number of interesting treasures, from artisans around the world.

Most of the items on display are from the collection of retired local teacher Ida Dennie Willis, which includes toys, miniatures, and dolls gathered for over thirty years. In addition, you can see other collections that are very impressive in their own right.

A few of these other collections that you can see are Fannie Hill’s “One Thousand Dolls,” Eddie Fay Gates’ ethnic dolls, as well as dolls used in advertising, a collection of Native American Dolls and artifacts from the collection of Buena V. Green, and handcrafted miniature houses and a Gypsy caravan by Carl Smith.

While the toys and miniatures are certainly nice, the museum does more than just bring about a sense of nostalgia. It also offers a look at history and art, as well as the style of the toys and how they changed over the years.
While the permanent collection of toys and miniatures is quite impressive, the museum also has many rotating exhibits. Some of these are on loan from people in the community.

The Ida Dennie Willis Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys is open from 11AM to 4:30PM Wednesday through Saturday. It is closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Admission for adults is $3.50, $3.00 for seniors as well as children between the ages of 12 and 17. Children are $2.50.

Location: 628 N Country Club Drive
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Dennie Willis Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys – Tulsa, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

Visitors to the museum will be able to find a number of interesting items in the Gilcrease collections. They have an extensive amount of exhibits in their Fine Art, Anthropology, and Archives collections, many of which are on display.

The Fine Art Collection has more than 10,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints from artists around the nation. The pieces in the collection date from the colonial times to the present. Many of the artists featured at the museum specialize in Western themed art. You can see work from William M. Cary, Charles M. Russell, Willard Stone, Thomas Moran, and many others.

Of course, the museum also has a number of other artists’ work that encompasses other themes and styles. You can see works from Daniel Chester French, Winslow Homer, and James McNeil Whistler. Anyone who likes art will love the collection of work.

The Anthropology collection has more than a quarter of a million pieces. They cover the prehistoric period onward. Guests will be able to see a number of different types of artifact from Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo-American culture. You will be able to see ceramics, clothing, tools, and much more that help to detail the rich history of past cultures in America.

In the Archives collection, you can see more than 100,000 manuscripts, maps, and documents that date from about the time that Columbus came to the Americas. A few of the impressive documents in the collection include a letter from Thomas Jefferson dated July 1, 1776, the Cortez Decree of 1521, and copies of the Declaration of Independence. Anyone with an interest in rare and old books will love this section of the museum.

In addition to the displays, you will also want to explore the gardens at the museum. A few of the gardens that you can’t miss are the Pioneer Garden, Friendship Garden, and the Pre-Columbian Garden.

Be sure to visit the Gilcrease Museum Store as well, where you can search for the perfect souvenir to bring home.

Tulsa has a variety of other attractions available as well, as the city just keeps getting bigger. For excellent rates on hotels, visit HotelsCombined.com.

1400 Gilcrease Museum Rd
Tulsa, OK 74127

Gilcrease Museum – Tulsa, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

In 1925 an oilman names Frank Phillips decided to build a retreat in Northeastern Oklahoma.  This ranch encompasses 3,700 acres where it is a wildlife preserve for many different species of native and exotic wildlife.  There are buffalo, elk and longhorn cattle.  On the land is also a museum showcasing a wonderful collection of western art and artifacts.  Included in the displays are Native American material, one of the best collections of Colt firearms in the world and amny other items.  There is a nature trail and two living history areas for you to experience the natural environment of Woolaroc.  There is the pre-Civil War 1840′s mountain man camp and an early-day oil lease.

At the museum you will be able to see one of America’s most unique displays of Western art and artifacts from Native American pottery, baskets, beads, blankets and cultural art; there are historical displays and the Colt display.  The Native American displays trace the prehistoric civilizations of Oklahoma with the baskets, pottery and Navajo blankets.  The displays include items from the Apache, Hopi and Pueblos located in Arizona and New Mexico.  There are beaded buckskins and feather bonnets from the Plains tribes showing their beauty to all that visit.  With approximately 40 different tribes work on display you will certainly get a broad exposure to the culture of the past.

The Fine art paintings include the work of greats such as Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russel, William R. Leigh, Frank Tenney Johnson, Thomas Moran and others.  Contemporary artists such as Wilson Hurley, John Clymer, Clark Hulings, and Bettina Steinke. Five of the original six Taos Society Artists are represented: O.E. Berninghaus, E.I. Couse, Herbert Dunton, Bert Phillips, and J.H. Sharp.

Is there anything that is more beautiful than good sculpture?  Here you will see pieces by many of the great western artists, including Remington and Russel. There are 12 bronzes for you to see. There are heroic-sized sculptures by Bryant Baker and Jo Mora both inside and outside the museum.

There are also the works of contemporary sculptors such as Harry Jackson, Joe Beeler and John D. Free.

The over 30 varieties of native and exotic animals and birds that call Woolaroc home are part of the working ranch.  You can take the two mile drive through the animal preserve to the main complex where you may well see the animals which roam the entire preserve, then again, they may not be near enough for you to see them so you will have to come back another time and try then.

Of course the most prominent species at the ranch are the American Bison, elk and longhorn cattle, which are native to this area.  Some of the other species include the Japanese Sika deer, North European fallow deer, water buffalo, llamas, aoudads, ostriches, Sardinian donkeys and pigmy goats.  These are wild animals so stay in your car.  Don’t leave your car to photograph, feed or touch any of the animals…they are wild and will stay that way!

Regular Schedule: Wednesday thru Sunday 10 – 5
Summer: Tuesday thru Sunday 10 – 5

Admission: Adults $8; Over 65 $6 and Children 11 and younger are Free.

Directions: Woolaroc is located on Oklahoma State Highway 123, twelve (12) miles southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Tours/services
Group Tours

For school or other group tours, please call Carol at 918-336-0307, ext. 31. She will help schedule your dates, help you with food services and can discuss our group rates. Woolaroc will help make sure that your trip is special and that your group experiences some of the MAGIC of Woolaroc!
Shopping

The Museum Store is located in the Woolaroc Museum. The Museum Store carries a wide variety of gifts, Native American-made jewelry, pottery, books on related subjects, reproductions of some selected paintings, and other unique gifts.
Food Service

Buffalo Haunt Concession Stand – Sandwiches, snacks and drinks are available at the Buffalo Haunt located adjacent to the Woolaroc Heritage Center. There are picnic tables and a covered pavilion at the adjacent picnic area. Indoor seating is also available in the Heritage Center Building.
Facility Rentals

The Clyde Lake Pavilion and the Woolaroc Events Center are available for rental for special events and business functions by calling the Foundation Office at (918) 336-0307-x10.

Location: Mailing address: 1925 Woolaroc Ranch Road, Bartlesville, OK 74003

Phone: (918) 336-0307 ex. 10
Fax: (918) 336-0084
Toll free: 888-WOOLAROC (966-5276) ex. 10

Email: woolarocmail@woolaroc.org

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve – Bartlesville, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

If you are a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and want to see the only "skyscraper" he designed then you need to come to Bartlesville.  The Price Tower is the only cantilevered skyscraper designed by him and was inspired by a tree.  It is a National Historic Landmark destination which serves local, regional and global audiences for its architecture and art.

The Price Tower Arts center integrates history, a museum, hotel and restaurant in the downtown are of Bartlesville.  See the exhibitions that are on display, which change regularly so you won’t get bored seeing the same thing all the time.  Take for instance the 106,000 aluminum cans that are transformed into pieces of artwork.  The displays are created to show the impact of the transformation of common objects such as audio takes, floppy disks, water bottles, newspapers, old clothes and more made into art.  This display expands the notion of what can be considered art.  The exhibitions concepts and contents raise questions about our society’s habits of consumption and attitudes toward the environment, natural and human resources and offer artistically conceived alternatives.  It is thought that the exhibit may cause some reflection on how we can examine our own habits of buying and tossing things. 

The tower also is home to the Inn at Price Tower where visitors can stay in Wrights glass-wrapped sleeping lofts and dine on the 16th floor terrace.  There are just 19 rooms at the Inn but may well be worth checking out if you are planning to stay in town.

Tours are offered of the Tower with the stories of Frank Lloyd Wright and how this pioneering experiment in the multi-use skyscraper was designed in a tall, slim, richly detailed structure to handle business offices, retail and apartments.

Arts center Gallery Admission: $4 adults; $3 Seniors, free for children 16 years and under (tax not included.)

Tower Tour Admission: $10 adults (15 -64); $8 Senior (65+); $5 Students and children 16 and under, included gallery admission (tax not included.)

Tour Times: Tuesday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.  Reservations are recommended for groups of 10 or more for both Tower Tours and Museum.  Special group rates are available.  Call 918-336-4949 for more information.

Price Tower Arts Center museum features both temporary and permanent collection on view Tuesday – Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 12 to 5.

The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Mondays
.
Location: 510 Dewey Ave., Bartlesville, OK 74003

Telephone: 918-336-4949

Email: Scott Perkins, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions: sperkins@prictower.org
 

Price Tower Arts Center – Bartlesville, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

Not everyplace has a big blue whale sitting at the edge of a pond for people to enjoy either swimming in the pond and jumping off the tail of the Big Blue or just getting your picture taken in the whales’ mouth.

The Blue Whale was build by a man named Hugh Davis in the early 1970′s as an anniversary gift for his wife who collected whales.  In 1988, due to health issues of Mr. Davis, the area was closed down but in late the 1990′s the area was restored by local volunteers and fundraisers to give Route 66 the Blue Whale of Catoosa again.

The Blue Whale is one of the most recognizable attractions on old Route 66 in Oklahoma.  This 80 ft long whale was built out of pipe and concrete.  It ended up being a gathering and swimming place for those traveling on 66 or townspeople and their kids.  In 1988, when the Davis’ just weren’t able to take care of it any longer, it fell into disrepair, the rest of the park that had grown out of the idea of the whale totally decayed but the whale was too beloved by the townspeople and they refurbished it so you can still enjoy being there.

There are some picnic spots near the whales’ mouth for those that want to take a lunch break.

Location: 2705 N Hwy 66, Catoosa, OK
 

Blue Whale of Catoosa – Catoosa, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

Oklahoma has served as an integral part of the Native American experience for many years. Once known as Indian Territory, the state retains its connection with numerous Native American tribes even in modern times. The Cherokee Heritage Center is comprised of a museum that works to preserve the cultural and historical crafts, language and artifacts of the Cherokee Nation. In addition, a central genealogy research center and database for the Cherokee People is located at the center.

Visitors will find the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, on the same site that the Cherokee Seminary building was located in the mid-1800s. The Cherokee Heritage Center is home to an impressive array of relics, cultural objects, art and historic documents that date to the 1830 Trail of Tears march. There are also numerous Cherokee artifacts that date from both ancient times to modern times.

One of the most popular features of the center is the Cherokee Township. The township is a complete reproduction of a Cherokee village as it would have appeared in the mid 18th century. Along with traditional crafts, the township also includes a traditional Cherokee Council Lodge and displays of cultural and religious practices as well as hunting techniques.

The museum itself was fashioned after a traditional longhouse. Visitors must pass through the gift shop to enter the museum, where they are provided with an introductory lesson in the Cherokee language. Exhibits are displayed in chronological order in an effort to present Cherokee cultural history beginning with the arrival of the first humans in North America and extending to modern times.

Numerous maps are on display in the center to detail the reduction in Cherokee lands that have occurred since the first European contact was made in 1540 through the removal of Cherokees from Georgia in 1838-1839 in the Trail of Tears. A large number of the displays and exhibits in the museum focus on the survival of the tribe following the Trail of Tears. Information is provided on the seminaries that were established in the mid 19th century in order to prepare and educate Cherokee children to enter white society while at the same time retaining their Cherokee heritage. Other displays include a Cherokee medicine exhibit and exhibits on Cherokee dance, music and religion. Tsa-La-Gi Ancient Village, a living museum, educates the public about Cherokee traditions and culture. Visitors can observe pottery making, leather working and woodcarving.

Cherokee Heritage Center – Tahlequah, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

Fans of “Oklahoma!” will certainly thrill at the prospect of seeing the popular musical actually performed in Oklahoma. The opportunity to do just that is available at Discoveryland USA, located just outside of Tulsa.

Discoveryland USA has been open since 1976, providing fun family style experiences and productions for visitors each and every year. Productions are held in an outdoor amphitheater while dinner is served in a unique dinner barn. Discoveryland USA not only hosts productions of “Oklahoma!” but also “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Productions of “Oklahoma!” are held Monday through Wednesday as well as on Saturday. Productions of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is held on Thursdays and Fridays. Dozens of actors, dancers and singers from across the country perform in these highly popular productions. Actual wagons and horses are also utilized in the outdoor productions.

Prior to the performances, visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy a ranch style dinner as well as a variety of other entertainment options. The ranch style dinner includes a ribeye steak sandwich, potato salad, beans, corn on the cob and iced tea. The cost is $10.95 per adult and $6.95 per child. Country style desserts consisting of Oklahoma Mud Pies, Berries ‘n Cream pies and snow cones are also served. Popcorn is also served during the show’s intermission.

Guests who wish to arrive early can also enjoy a variety of different pre-show entertainment venues, including Native American dancing as well as a Western musical revue. Children will have the opportunity to have their faces painted by the Indian warriors while families can also have their pictures taken with the Native American dancers. In addition, the Pony Express will make a visit and provide the opportunity for guests to mail postcards directly from Discoveryland, USA. In addition, guests will have the opportunity to shop at the Indian Trading Post, featuring Native American crafts, beadwork, art and jewelry.

Show tickets are $19.95 for adults. Children ages ten and younger are admitted free with a paying adult and receive free pony rides. After the show has concluded, guests are allowed the opportunity to go up on the set and visit the numerous performers who are part of the show.

To reach Discoveryland USA, take Interstate 44 west to Tulsa. Exit at 51st Street and travel north on West 41st Street. Turn left and travel nine miles. Discoveryland is located on the right side of the road.

Discoveryland – Tulsa, Oklahoma is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism

Oklahoma Vacation is a post from: Oklahoma Tourism