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Tulsa World Supplement | Sunday, June 22, 2014

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ROAD TRIPS

JUNE 22, 2014

Discover new nation without leaving Oklahoma

By Kevin Armstrong Special Sections Editor Did you know you can drive one hour, not leave Oklahoma and travel through several nations?

Welcome to “international� travel — Native American style. Oklahoma residents can visit many tribal nations within the state, and the largest is the Cherokees, whose capital is in Tahlequah.

The Cherokee Nation covers 66,000 acres in all or parts of 14 counties in Northeastern Oklahoma. But traveling back in time to capture the culture of the Cherokee people is best served by drving one hour south of town. “Tahlequah is really the anchor of other sites throughout Cherokee Nation,� says Travis Owens of Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism. “It has the largest collection of cultural resources. It’s a great day trip for people in Tulsa.�

Cherokee Nation offers a self-guided tour of four main attractions to make it easy for Tahlequah visitors to explore at their own pace. Adults and

Diligwa photo

Cherokee Nation invites residents to learn more about its culture by traveling to Tahlequah. teens can purchase a Cherokee Compass that provides admission to all four museums, a T-shirt and a guide to more than 100 things to do in Northeastern Oklahoma.

Children 12 and younger can get a free “Adventure Pass.� “It’s like a passport,� Owens says, explaining that both

adults and children receive a stamp in their Compass or Pass at each museum. “The Adventure Pass takes kids on a scavenger hunt.�

The stops include: • Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum – Built in 1844, it’s the oldest government building in

Oklahoma. Visitors can learn about Cherokee justice and listen to an 1840 murder trial. • Cherokee National Prison Museum — Built in 1875, the museum was the first penitentiary in Indian Territory. It tells how the Cherokee penal system moved from corporal punishment to confinement. • John Ross Museum — John Ross served as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation for 38 years. Interactive exhibits chronicle the Trail of Tears, Civil War, Cherokee Golden Age and more. • Cherokee Heritage Center — This is a recreated Continued on Page 6

About this section Road Trips is produced

by Tulsa World’s Advertising Department.

For more information, call 918-581-8519.

One of the “Best Places to Experience Native American Culture� - CNN, April 23, 2014

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Eureka Springs Best Kept Secret!

See our website for great deals!

479-253-7505 www.thebrownstoneinn.com

Say Osiyo t to Cherokee Nation Museums Plan your visit to Cherokee Nation with the Cherokee Compass museum package. Get discounted admission to the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum, Cherokee National Prison Museum, Cherokee Heritage Center and John Ross Museum, as well as a list of 107 FREE adventures and a FREE T-shirt with a $15 purchase of the Compass museum package. Children 18 & under are FREE. Available at all Cherokee Nation Gift Shops and museums.

Osiyo is the traditional Cherokee greeting. Come say “hello�

*Named 2013 Tribal Destination of the Year by the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association

JUNE 22, 2014

ROAD TRIPS

TULSA WORLD SUPPLEMENT • 3

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ROAD TRIPS

Travel Kansas

JUNE 22, 2014

The Sunfl adventur to w

DODGE CITY Experience the Old West at the Boothill Museum WICHITA The Keeper of the Plains welcomes you

More than 32 million people visit various loca spending $8 billion shopping, dining, lodging and to the Kansas Travel & Tourism Division. Here is a s seven top destinations, each within a five

ROAD TRIPS

JUNE 22, 2014

flower State is blooming with re, from history and science waterparks and zoos.

TULSA WORLD SUPPLEMENT • 5

COFFEYVILLE (1 hour from Tulsa)

The infamous Dalton Gang put this town on the map and history books when citizens banded together to stop the outlaws from robbing two banks on the same day in 1892. You can learn all about it in the local museum.

Don’t miss: Dalton Defenders Museum, Brown Mansion, Aviation Heritage Museum

DODGE CITY (5 hours from Tulsa)

KANSAS CITY Dare to ride the world’s tallest waterslide

MANHATTAN Enjoy a picnic at the KSU Gardens

Welcome to the wild, wild West. Step back in time to the 1870s and experience what life was like in the gun-slingin’ days as the frontier was still being won. You’ll find plenty of entertainment for the entire family to enjoy while learning a lot about U.S. history.

Don’t miss: Boot Hill Museum, Trolley Tour, Santa Fe Depot

INDEPENDENCE (1½ hours from Tulsa)

Independence is the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright William Inge and author Laura Ingalls Wilder, who penned “Little House on the Prairie.” The town celebrates Inge’s work every year with a Theatre Festival and is home to a museum honoring Wilder and her writings. Children will enjoy a 124-acre park that includes miniature golf, carousel rides and an aquatic center.

Don’t miss: Little House on the Prairie Museum, Riverside Park

TOPEKA Tour the dome at the state’s Capitol

K.C. SUBURBS (4 hours from Tulsa)

Overland Park, Olathe and Bonner Springs each offers fun in various ways from professional sports at the Kansas Speedway and Major League soccer venue, world’s tallest waterslide at Schiltterbahn Waterpark to the Moon Marble company and new Museum at Prairiefire (affiliated with American Museum of Natural History).

Don’t miss: Museum at Prairiefire, Schlitterbahn Waterpark

MANHATTAN (5 hours from Tulsa)

INDEPENDENCE Relive the story of “Little House on the Prairie”

COFFEYVILLE Learn about the Dalton Gang

Coffeyville

ations in Kansas each year, d being entertained, according snapshot of what you can find in e-hour drive from Tulsa.

It’s nicknamed “the Little Apple,” thanks to its New York namesake.

The city is best known as the home of Kansas State University.

You don’t have to wait for a Big XII football or basketball game to discover what the town has to offer: the oldest shopping district of its kind in the state and a museum celebrating the prairie.

Don’t miss: Flint Hills Discovery Center, KSU Gardens, Aggieville shopping

TOPEKA

(4 hours from Tulsa)

Kansans are $332 million and 13 years ahead of Oklahoma when it comes to renovating their Capitol. It’s the only capitol in America where visitors can walk to the top of the dome and along an outdoor balcony for a view. This seat of state government also played a historic role in securing the rights of African Americans during both the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement. Discover how.

Don’t miss: Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site, Kansas Children’s Discovery Center

WICHITA

(3 hours from Tulsa)

The Keeper of the Plains statue is to Wichita what the Golden Driller is to Tulsa. He welcomes you to Kansas’ largest city and its eclectic offering of indoor and outdoor fun, from aviation experiences and arts and culture centers to one of the nation’s largest zoos and an entertainment district sure to please everyone.

Don’t miss: Exploration Place, Sedgwick County Zoo, Old Town

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OKLAHOMA

Tehee, executive director of the Cherokee Heritage Center. “We have a research Continued from Page 2 library to help them.” village called Diligwa (“deeAdmission to the Cherokee lee-gwah”) that represents Heritage Center costs $5 to Cherokee life in 1710. It features an hourlong guided $8.50 unless you have a Cherokee Compass, and it allows tour seven times a day. visitors access to the research Diligwa just opened last summer, replacing a previous library. Staff genealogists also village that had evolved since are available for $30 per hour to do the research for you.

1967. Unlike the four other The Cherokee Nation museums, the Cherokee currently recognizes about Heritage Center is operated 350,000 citizens worldwide by the Cherokee National Historical Society, rather than as Cherokees. To be recognized as a Cherokee citizen, a the Cherokee Nation. person must be able to trace The village features varihis or her ancestry to the ous interpretive stations on things such as stickball, blow- Dawes Roll, a list of members of the Five Civilized Tribes guns and basket making. who removed to Indian TerriStructures inside the living tory during the 1800s. outdoor exhibit include a Tehee says some people school house, frontier home, might not be Cherokee general store, log cabin, citizens but they can confirm smoke house and church. their ancestors were living The adjacent Cherokee Heritage Center also houses a in Cherokee tribal lands and museum with rotating exhib- establish recognized ties to the Nation without all the its and a permanent exhibit benefits of citizenship. on the Trail of Tears.

Any visitor wanting to Beyond educating visiresearch his or her Cherokee tors to Cherokee history, the ancestry should “go back as Heritage Center serves as a far as you can with your famresearch center for anyone ily tree,” Tehee says. wanting to trace his or her The Cherokee museums Cherokee ancestral roots. and Diligwa are open year“Most people come here round, but summer is alive looking for a way to trace with activities that culminate their ancestry back to the Labor Day Weekend.

Dawes Roll,” says Candessa

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JUNE 22, 2014

Eureka Springs offers great getaways in three-hour drive to Ozark Mountains

By Kevin Armstrong Special Sections Editor Head for the hills.

That might just be your secret to a perfect getaway weekend that’s only a three-hour drive from Tulsa.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is carved from the limestone bluffs in the Ozark Mountains. The town’s natural springs provide a soothing calm that many believe leads to healing the body and soul.

The village’s serenity provides a magnetic draw for artists from all over the globe. Watching these craftsmen work has, in turn, drawn visitors for a century.

Eureka Springs is home to almost 100 bed-and-breakfast establishments as well as five historic hotels predating 1906.

One of those choices is Cliff Cottage Inn, owned and operated by Sandra Smith.

Smith, an author and artist herself, sailed the Pacific Ocean alone for seven years, before deciding in 1992 to settle in Arkansas.

She purchased the Cliff Cottage, built in 1880, renovated it and opened her inn.

Over the last two decades, Smith has built or acquired four adjacent properties.

In all, she has eight bed-and-breakfast suites spread among the five cottages.

“It’s the interesting people who live here,” Smith says in explaining why she loves Eureka Springs. “There’s a saying here, ‘It’s the place where misfits fit.’ I love that.”

Smith is an accomplished chef who not only prepares but delivers her breakfasts.

Another lodging choice is The Brownstone Inn. The original structure was built in 1895, and it has housed various inns over the years. Businessman Joe Edwards purchased the property in 2012.

Edwards opened it as an inn with five guest suites. It does not serve breakfast.

“It’s an old limestone building that was once used for Ozarka Bottling,” Edwards says. “It’s a beautiful old structure. ” He also likes that’s it’s a short way from downtown but right on two trolley lines.

“It lets you go to town, then leave and have space to yourself,” he says.

While Smith’s and Edwards’ inns cater to adults, Eureka Springs offers plenty of family-friendly accommodations.

A favorite among visitors is the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks. It hosts reunions, conventions and weddings, but its signature feature is the outdoor pool with a waterfall and an outdoor TV screen.

“Just before dark, we drop a 10-foot screen and show family movies, “ says Inn of the Ozarks General Manager Randy Wolfenbarger. “Some of our guests take fried chicken down to watch the movie.”

That fried chicken is what made famous the inn’s restaurant, Myrtie Mae’s, as far back as the 1920s. Some form of lodging has operated on the property since 1914, including Best Western since 1976.

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JUNE 22, 2014

TULSA WORLD SUPPLEMENT • 7

Whoosh

It’s the sound of skirts as young women swing ’round in a centuries-old dance of their Scandinavian ancestors. With its lively festivals and traditional foods, there is no place like Kansas to experience the heritage of the Heartland.

800.2.KANSAS · TravelKS.com

Lindsborg

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ROAD TRIPS

JUNE 22, 2014

Fourth of July is a time for road trips, long weekends and time spent with family and friends no matter the distance you must drive to join the festivities. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

Get here easier.

Avoid the lines, get a PIKEPASS.

Faster. Safer. Easier.

PIKEPASS.COM