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My love of traveling began early. Though it can be a double-edged sword, having my family spread out across the country was a blessing for me growing up. I spent my summers playing with my cousins in West Virginia, Michigan, and Louisiana. I spent holidays in Virginia and Mississippi. Birthdays in Indiana. I looked forward to every time I got to cross that Mississippi River and leave Memphis, Tennessee to visit some far away relative.

One of my favorite places to visit as a child was my Great Grandmother’s farm in Oklahoma. There were so many exciting places to discover down by the creek, or out exploring Blue Mountain (which isn’t a mountain, but a hill). For a kid with a big imagination like me – our family farm was full of playtime possibilities.

Every once in a while the adults at the farm would get bored and decide we needed to go find some adventure. We would all load up in my Grandma’s Cadillac (because yes, she was a farm girl – but a classy farm girl) and head off to the “big city”.

No, not Oklahoma  City. Nope, not Tulsa, either. We went to Bartlesville.

Never heard of it? You’re probably not alone. Bartlesville is a hidden gem within Oklahoma. It’s got all the conveniences of a city with plenty of quirky Oklahoma charm mixed in.

Let’s go explore Bartlesville together!

Bartlesville Fun #1. Black Gold. Texas Tea

Oklahoma is known for many things. Tornado Alley. Prairies and cowboys. And oil. One of the first oil barons out of Oklahoma was Frank Phillips – the founder of Phillips Petroleum Company. He had a country estate just southwest of Bartlesville, that he named Woolaroc.

Frank was a one of a kind man, and after his death, Woolaroc went on to become a one of a kind museum and wildlife reserve. Woolaroc boasts one of the largest and most unique collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country. Within the museum, you will also find everything from an airplane museum to one of the world’s largest collections of Colt firearms.

And that’s just the museum…

Woolaroc also is home to a 3700-acre wildlife preserve. There are buffalo, longhorn cattle, ostrich, emu, deer, and many other animals to see. You get to drive around the two-mile stretch that circles the preserve. The animals are free roaming, so there’s no telling what animal you may or may not see.

There is also a lodge. Don’t. Miss. The. Lodge.

Frank Phillips loved the “Old West” he remembered growing up in and nowhere else does this shine through than in The Lodge. Everywhere you look there is something unusual to see. There are mounted hunting trophies from safaris in Africa and antique Native American artwork in every corner. The Lodge is said to be a house that has hosted some of the biggest celebrities of its day – and if only these walls could talk! This home is right up there with Graceland for the quirky character. I loved everything about it as a child, and as an adult, I sorta have a house crush on it.

Woolaroc is absolutely one of the most unique experiences you will have. I always tell everyone that it is nothing at all like you imagine- because it is so much more! Don’t miss this gem!

Bartlesville Fun #2. Cowboy Up, Pardner!

I have to be honest here – this next suggestion isn’t a place I even wanted to visit. It just seemed so lame.

And then I went.

Spoiler alert – I enjoyed visiting so much that I am here trying to convince you that you should visit, as well.

The Tom Mix Museum is actually located in Dewey, Oklahoma, which is only ten minutes down the road, and absolutely worth the short drive. Tom Mix is thought to be America’s first Hollywood cowboy, and his story is one of the most interesting stories I’ve ever heard.

Tom’s first movie – The Cowboy Millionaire – was filmed in Dewey, so that is how the museum wound up there. But his life was spent filming movies out west and living in Hollywood. He became incredibly wealthy- one of the highest paid actors not just of his time, but if adjusted for inflation, one of the highest paid actors of all time. He filmed nearly 300 movies – and all but nine of those were silent movies. After the “talkies” began, he gave up acting to run away and join the circus. No. Really.

In the end, it was his literal wealth that killed him. In a car accident in Arizona, a suitcase full of cash, traveler checks, and jewelry was sent airborne, and hit Tom on the back of the head, breaking his neck, and killing him.

This museum showcases his life and artifacts from his 26 years long acting career. The staff are so friendly and knowledgeable and will make you want to stay longer than you meant to just to talk more with them. Tom’s life was so interesting, and so well documented. I am glad that I decided to give this “lame” museum a chance. It surprised me in the best way. Make sure you take a drive down to Dewey and the Tom Mix Museum. This little piece of American movie history is worth the trip.

Bartlesville Fun #3. “The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest”

Frank Llyod Wright is known as one of America’s most famous architects. He was known the world over as being an organic architect who preferred to let his buildings sit in harmony with their natural surroundings. He designed more than 1,000 structures, of which the majority were houses, though he did design churches, hotels, schools, and museums as well.

And one skyscraper.

Price Tower was designed for Harold C. Price as a corporate headquarters for his pipeline construction company in 1929. It was originally supposed to be built in Manhattan, but due to the Great Depression and the cost it would have cost to build it, it was relocated to Bartlesville,

Frank nicknamed the building as “The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest” because it had escaped the crowded “forests” of Manhattan skyscrapers and was now able “to cast its own shadow upon its own piece of land.”

The “trunk” of Price Tower is made of four elevator shafts.  The upper floors are cantilevered concrete floor slabs which are like “branches.” One of the neatest design elements Frank Lloyd Wright included was that the outer walls do not support the building. The reasoning is to allow for large windows that showed off the beautiful Oklahoma prairie. The exterior of the Price Tower is the “leaves” of the tree, which are copper panels and sun louvers.  The copper is now a beautiful patina color that was produced by chemical applications rather than due to Mother Nature.

You can tour the inside and see a ton of really cool furniture that Frank himself designed just for the building, including draperies and upholstery fabrics. The restaurant there is one of my most favorite in the city, and I’m told the hotel is quite nice to stay in.

If you love architecture as much as I do, take a drive out to the prairie and see one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most important works. You will get a chance to see his genius up close in a way most places won’t let you get.

(Sidenote – unfortunately, since I last visited Oklahoma I have moved to two different states, and then to an entirely different continent. I lost some of my memory sticks in one of those moves and lost quite a bit of my pictures. All of my pictures to see the Price Tower is gone. Sorry about having to use someone else’s pictures.)

Oklahoma is generally regarded as a “fly-over state”. In other words, it’s not a big deal if you miss it. I want to make the case that you just don’t know what you’re missing out on.

The Sooner State is full of unique places to visit, and Bartlesville just happens to be one of the coolest cities you never knew about before now. But now you know, so do yourself a favor, and don’t miss out! The Okies are some of the finest and most hospitable people in all of the US. They’ll be happy to have you stop by for a visit. Tell them Toni sent ya.

Have you ever visited Oklahoma? What was your favorite thing to see there? Let me know in the comments!

Come over to my Instagram to see even more pictures from my trips to Oklahoma. Thanks for stopping by! I’d love it if you’d Pin me!