Red Carpet Country, Oklahoma
A vast prehistoric sea that covered what's now northwestern Oklahoma colored the soil a deep red-brown -- and left a few other surprised as well. Like the cedar-flecked canyons in Roman Nose State Park, carved by receding water, or the Alabaster Caverns, the world's largest gypsum-lined cave. Shifting sand dunes tower 40 feet high at Little Sahara State Park and the 4,973-foot-high, lava topped Black Mesa near Kenton was created by an ancient volcano. The mesa, the state's highest point, has long been a have for wildlife and for hikers -- some of them bigger than others, as nearby dinosaur footprints testify. The prairies were once dotted with tipis; northwest Oklahoma were the winter campgrounds for the Cheyenne-- the last great herd of buffalo on the Oklahoma plains was spotted near Fort Supply in the 1870s. Two decades later, the largest of all the land runs took place when the Cherokee Outlet was opened in1893 to settlement. In a single afternoon, 100,000 men and women raced to claim 160-acre quarter-sections; some of their great-grandchildren still live on original homesteads. In Aline, the Sod House Museum shelters the only remaining sod house in the state, built in 1849.
Explore Red Carpet Country
"Boomer" Sculpture
Just across the street from where the original land office once stood that registered the claims of anxious settlers who succeeded in the land run is the life-size bronze sculpture of "Boomer."
Enid, OK ArtsBlackwell Armory
The Blackwell Armory with it Art Deco architecture was built in 1925, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Blackwell, OK Historic BuildingsThe Story of the Battle of the Washita
Introduction The cultural collision between pioneers and Indians reached its peak on the Great Plains during the decades before and after the Civil War. U.S. Government policy sought to separate tribes and settlers from each other by establishing an Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma)
Cheyenne, OKCherokee Strip Museum
In 1975 the Cherokee Strip Museum Association acquired the former Alva City Hospital building with its 40 rooms to house one of Oklahoma's best collections of pioneer exhibits. Several of the rooms are set up to display specific period artifacts. * Gun Room * Hat Room * Drug Store *
Alva, OK MuseumsCherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center
The Museum of the Cherokee Strip in Enid, OK was transformed in 2012, into the first regional heritage center for the State of Oklahoma. It doubled in size to a 24,000 square foot facility featuring new state-of-the-art exhibits and was renamed the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center.
Enid, OK MuseumsPioneer Woman Museum & Statue
The Pioneer Woman Statue was commissioned by E. W. Marland. This 17 foot bronze is on the National Register of Historic Places. The newly expanded museum features exhibits of women who have made outstanding "pioneering"
Ponca City, OK Arts"Old Maid" and "The Wedding Party"
About six miles east of Kenton, a group of formations can be seen east of the 101 Ranch on the south side of the road. This group is known as "The Three Sisters" or "The Wedding Party". One mile further east on the north side of the road is the formation known as "The Old Maid". The Old Maid (
Boise City, OK Natural AttractionsRoman Nose Camping
Roman Nose State Park provides the RV and tent campers seven campsites amongst the natural scenic wonders of the canyon. There are sites with 12 full hookups, 26 electric/water hookups, 10 pull-throughs, 45 primitive sites, and 1 group camp. Restrooms/
, OK Camping