Long before Route 66 was commissioned in the 1920s, settlers used the Beale Wagon Road to move west. Route 66 traced the same route used by the Beale Wagon Road through Arizona. The Arizona Route 66 Museum, located in a former Kingman power plant, recalls the history of the route from horse-and-buggy days to the Route 66 heyday in the 1950s and ‘60s. Read more
It’s been said that you can never play a sad song on a banjo. How true that is. When I think of banjo music, I think of ragtime, the Roaring Twenties and bluegrass, upbeat toe-tapping music. The American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City celebrates the evolution of the banjo with over 400 unique banjos on display, plus memorabilia, a hall of fame and special exhibits. Read more
There is no doubt that the Crystal Bridge Conservatory blends well with the surrounding downtown Oklahoma City skyscrapers. The 224-foot long, 70-foot diameter tube covered in translucent acrylic panels complements the steel and glass buildings in the area. Stepping inside the conservatory at Myriad Botanical Gardens, though, and you get the feeling you’ve been transported from hectic city life to a lush tropical oasis. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Read more
Driving north to Hoover Dam from Arizona via US 93, I noticed people walking alongside the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, a concrete barrier separating freeway traffic from the pedestrians. A few minutes later, I was among those people on the bridge, getting an awesome view of Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. Read more
Walking down the stairs from Oklahoma City’s street level to board the Bricktown Water Taxi on the canal, my first thought was that it looked like San Antonio’s River Walk from the many pictures I’ve seen. The photos always look inviting: a tour boat gliding along the river, a beautifully landscaped walkway, and restaurants with plenty of al fresco dining, tables adorned with colorful umbrellas. It turns out the Bricktown Canal was modeled after the San Antonio attraction. Read more
Chicago has deep-dish pizza. Philadelphia has Philly cheesesteak. And Springfield, Missouri, has Springfield style cashew chicken. Springfield style cashew chicken, a regional favorite, was invented in the 1960s by David Leong. You can find copies of Springfield style cashew chicken all over town, but you can get the original only at Leong’s Asian diner. Read more
