National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Exploring Life in the American West

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Exploring Life in the American West

Life in the American West conjures up images of cowboys and homesteaders, cattle drives and rodeos. The Western way of life was romanticized and popularized in early 20thcentury books by Zane Grey and later in cinema movies. Today the story of the American West is told in Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum through world-class art galleries and exhibits. Read more

Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours: Touring the Techatticup Gold Mine

Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours: Touring the Techatticup Gold Mine

Gold strikes, claim jumpers, renegades and posses are things you find in a Wild West movie. In Nevada’s Eldorado Canyon, it was real life. On a recent visit to Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours near Nelson, Nevada, our guide related captivating stories of the ghost town’s past and led us on a tour of the abandoned Techhatticup gold mine. Read more

Ambassador Hotel Oklahoma City: Trendy Sophistication

Ambassador Hotel Oklahoma City: Trendy Sophistication

The Osler Building, originally constructed as a medical office building, sat vacant from 2006 to 2013 in the declining Midtown district of Oklahoma City. You’d never know that today. Midtown has experienced a renaissance. The area, once blighted, is now filled with trendy restaurants and businesses. In 2013 the Osler Building was completely gutted and transformed into a 54-room boutique hotel, the Ambassador Hotel Oklahoma City, Autograph Collection, where I stayed on my recent visit to Oklahoma City. Read more

Arizona Route 66 Museum: Wagon Trail to Mother Road

Arizona Route 66 Museum: Wagon Trail to Mother Road

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

American Banjo Museum: Evolution of an American Instrument

American Banjo Museum: Evolution of an American Instrument

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

Myriad Botanical Gardens Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory: Lush Oasis in Oklahoma City

Myriad Botanical Gardens Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory: Lush Oasis in Oklahoma City

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