USA Travel Guide

I’ve been playing favesies with the coasts the last few days, but wouldn’t you rather celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Heartland (come on, Hallmark, you know you want a piece of this). So this morning we’re heading way inland to the oft enlightening and always surprising Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Valentine’s Day Packages in Tulsa, Oklahoma
A southwestern city with uptown ambitions, we like Tulsa, Oklahoma a lot. Like nowhere else in the state (that we’ve found, at least), art, culture and fine dining come together in Tulsa and give the whole scene an unexpected cosmopolitan flavor. Stay right, and you can live it and love it yourself.

The Mayo Hotel
Why not a little boutique luxury to celebrate this Valentine’s Day in Tulsa. The Mayo Hotel first opened all the way back in 1925, at which time it was the place for the affluent socialite crowd. More than 80 years later, the Mayo has been beautifully restored to its historic glory. A wonderful stay any time, a downright fabulous choice for Valentine’s Day. The package:

Valentine’s Day at The Mayo Hotel
Celebrate Tulsa, Oklahoma Valentine’s Day:

• Luxury accommodations
• Dozen red roses
• Champagne
• Complimentary Valet Parking
• Optional: Add a $100 dining credit to Trula

Learn more about the The Mayo Hotel Valentine’s Day package.

Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills
Sure, you can read up on things to do for Valentine’s Day in Tulsa, OK, or you can just let the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills take care of everything for you. The always-inviting and newly renovated Hilton Tulsa Hotel has got your whole night planned:

Valentine’s Day – Package Two
I don’t know why this is number two. It’s far cooler than number one.

• Overnight accommodations
• Tickets to see Kris Kristofferson at the Mabee Center
• Shuttle to concert, VIP entry to the Mabee Center
• Dinner for two at Legends Grill
• Full American breakfast for two at Legends Grill

Valentine’s Day – Package One
Because hey, Kris Kristofferson isn’t for everybody:

• Special Valentine’s dinner for two at Legends Grill
• Red rose for ladies upon arrival
• Full American breakfast for two in Legends Grill

Learn more about these Valentine’s Day packages at Hilton Tulsa here.

Have a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

Tulsa not convenient? Well, maybe one of our other selections is. Head to the Valentine’s Day Getaways & Packages portal to see all of our coverage.

The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma arrives like a belated Christmas present to all the race-loving boys and girls out there. As the major speedways fall sorrowfully silent throughout the nation, fans turn to this one outrageous January event to gun its engines and make itself a ruckus.

The action is barely a month away, so act fast to get your tickets.

Even the most die-hard fan will admit there’s a little silliness to the Tulsa Chili Bowl, but this is serious business indeed. The maniac teams dump so much power, up to 400 horse, into these compact “midget” cars that they’re more dangerous to drive than just about anything you can put on clay. Fun for the drivers, even more fun for the screaming fans.

The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is the biggest midget car racing event of the year, once referred to as the “Super Bowl of midget racing” by current NASCAR star and former midget racer Jason Leffler. In fact, Leffler is hardly the only NASCAR racer you’ll see. Now matter where they race now, drivers with a history in midget cars can’t fight the call of the Chili Bowl.

Expect a solid five hours of racing every night starting around 6:00 p.m. on the main four days of the meet (Jan 12-15, 2010), with practice rounds open to the public the day before and feature races the afternoon after. That doesn’t mean you have to wait until 6:00 p.m. to have fun, though. During the day, the Tulsa Expo Center hosts a massive trade show thriving with invigorated fans and more than a few industry celebs.

It all builds up to the A Main, a 50-lap, crown-bearing juggernaut worth a whole lifetime of bragging rights. It’s the busiest meet of the whole shebang, so show up early to score some good seats.

If you want to do this thing right, you’ve got to get the multi-day pit pass for $210. You’ll save $30 off the daily prices and get all-day access throughout the event, January 11-16. That’s six euphoric days of engine growls, fumes and high octane thrills.

Once again, the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will be held at the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Public dates are January 11-16, 2010, with daily passes or multi-day passes available (seriously, go multi). Learn more.

I scrolled the hotel recommendations and found a favorite: the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills. The property boasts the largest sleeping rooms in town, free parking (wide lot for trucks/trailers), indoor pool open year-round, and they’re offering a special rate for Chili Bowl attendees. Just as for the “Special Chili Bowl Rate” and you’ll get a great discount off the top and 20% off at the restaurant. Not bad!

Have fun at the 2010 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

With the month more than half gone, it pains me to think that our Halloween coverage must soon come to an end. Oh well, at least next month we have a holiday that’s actually violent.

Just a few hours up the road from the USA Travel Guide offices, Oklahoma City is putting the frights on people with a number of quality attractions, either in town or the surrounding areas. In you live in the area, or if you’re traveling in soon, here are a couple of our favorite haunted attractions in Oklahoma City.

Ultimate Terrors
This classic scare park features three spooky houses, games and concessions, making for a full evening scare affair. Not to mention, they put a good deal of effort into the lore behind the haunts, which always wins points in my book. Before you go, be sure to read The Legend.

Houses include Skull Manor, a moody walk through the home of a deranged family. The manor is heavy on scenes and spooks, but isn’t too gross for those who aren’t in to that kind of thing. Code Blue takes a classic setting, crazy doctors, and leads you on a journey through the grotesque. Finally you have 3-D Chaos, a lengthy maze attraction that jumps out at you in more ways than one.

As a twisted side attraction just perfect for the season, check out “Painball”, a black light paintball shooting gallery with live moving targets (people, of course).

Ultimate Terrors will open back up for business this Thursday, the 22^nd, and stay open nightly through November 1. Haunts are priced individually at $10, or you can buy a 3-house combo for $20 (and you should). Learn more.

The Dungeon Haunted Ride in 3-D
We’ve been to Bricktown before, but now is really the time to go. Why? Because it’s only during the short season run up to Halloween that you can enjoy the Dungeon Haunted Ride pushed to its true potential.

This funhouse-style ride actually runs throughout the year, and it spends half of it as a low-intensity, family-friendly haunted attraction. However, as Halloween approaches, they ratchet up the scare factor, and it becomes one of the coolest haunted rides we know. Awesome set work stands out (literally – it’s a 3-D ride after all), accented by the trippy color scheme and atmospheric effects.

Hurry now, check it out before the season passes and it turns into a cheesy Christmas ride. The Dungeon Haunted Ride in 3-D is open nightly through the end of October. Tickets cost $10.50. It’s a low-rent Web site, but the attraction is nothing of the kind. Learn more.

When you’re not scared for your life, try to relax a little bit. For Oklahoma City hotels, we often stay at the SpringHill Suites Oklahoma City – Quail Springs. We’re always amazed by the prices offered, considering the quality of the rooms along with the free breakfast and Internet. Good stuff.

Have fun!

Yep, our haunted coverage continues to grow! Check out all of our stories at “Top Haunted Attractions in America“.

This is a first for USA Travel Guide. We’ve never covered a gun show before. So, we’re entering the fray on the right foot with the biggest and best gun show on the planet: the Wanenmacher’s Tulsa Arms Show.

Picture it: 4,000 tables and 11 acres of high-quality hardware brought in from amateur and professional vendors the world-over. They come here, because there’s no bigger audience of serious gun enthusiasts, buyers and collectors anywhere else in the country.

The Tulsa Arms Show prides itself on doing it right, something that long-time owner and manager Jon Wanenmacher sees to personally. What does that mean? That means, to put it as smartly as they do, no garbage! No toys, candy, food items, nutritional products, handbags, makeup, hair products, accessories, clothes, t-shirts, bumper stickers, license plates, flowers or “flea market junk”. Just top quality antique and collectable guns, knives and related accessories.

So that’s what you won’t see. What about what you will?

A veritable buffet for discerning collectors, the Tulsa Arms Show eliminates the time sink of small weekend shows with one massive affair. Because the audience is so big, serious sellers are willing to bring out their prized product, including super-rare and oft expensive Henry repeaters.

While collectables and antiques are surely the star of this mega-show, modern tech is on hand as well, and big numbers breeds big competitions, and that means reasonable prices for buyers. Basically, if it’s legal, they’ve got it at the Tulsa Arms Show.

The show takes place at the QuikTrip Center at the Tulsa Fairgrounds. Additional facilities include concessions, food court and ample parking (with shuttle) so that it’s never really a hassle.

The 2009 Tulsa Arms Show will run in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 14 and 15. Regular adult admission is just $10, and that’s not bad at all. Learn more.

One of our favorite Tulsa hotels is also one of the official hotels of the Tulsa Arms Show. Head to the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills and tell’em it’s for the show to receive a great nightly rate with discount at the restaurant and free parking. You have to tell them!

Have fun!

When we think Tulsa, Oklahoma, we think two things: a preponderance of Christian values, and drinking ourselves stupid. Tulsa’s hugely-popular and well-regarded Oktoberfest is decidedly about the latter, and it’s also one of our favorites.

2009 Oktoberfest Tulsa will be upon us in a little more than a month, and we’re giving you this much warning because we wanted you to have time to get your schedule in order. With more than thirty years of polka and pork in its past, Tulsa, Oklahoma surely knows how to put on an awesome German festival.

Revel in the classics: beer, pretzels, accordions, beer, schnitzel, overpriced wooden stuff and beer. Tulsa Oktoberfest is especially acclaimed for its food, which in 2005 earned the “Best German Food” Award by Bon Appétit Magazine. They’ve gone easy on the names, but even if you can’t pronounce what you want, you can rest easy knowing that no matter what, it’s going to taste good.

Just a quick glance at the menu has got my mouth watering (and that’s a shame so far from my lunchtime): smoked bratwurst, polish sausage, kartoffelpuffer, schnitzel*, landjaegar, zwiebelkuchen, Bavarian pretzels. For what the Web site calls “not so adventurous” and I call “boring”, they also serve corndogs, turkey legs, baked potatoes, ruebens, Frito pie and, get this, bratwurst pizza.

Of course, you wash all that greasy goodness down with pint after pint of delicious German beer. This wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without a healthy (or unhealthy) selection of imports and German-style Americans. Beck’s, Stella, Spaten Optimater, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Franzikaner and others flow freely (but not for free).

You’re fed, you’re hammered, now hit the dance floor. There’s a full line-up of cover bands, modern German musicians as well as traditional music acts, including polka. If you’re coordination is suspect, take it easy with a lazy walk around the arts and crafts tents. Oktoberfest Tulsa follows the proud traditions of festival everywhere by featuring hundreds of booths selling one or two cool things and a whole bunch of crap.

2009 Oktoberfest Tulsa will run October 22-25 at River West Festival Park. Adult admission is just $5.00. Here’s the Web site.

Our choice for Oktoberfest hotels in Tulsa couldn’t be easier: the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills. The hotel has been chosen as an official shuttle stop for Tulsa Oktoberfest, so transportation to and from the festival is super-easy and cheaper than parking. From the hotel, the shuttle is only $3.00 round-trip.

The Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills is also offering competitive rates, at only $89 a night. They have a booking link set up for the dates. Book here.

Have fun at Tulsa Oktoberfest 2009!

*This digression is for Dallas-sites. To all my “Big D” schnitzel-lovers out there. There’s a fairly young place over at Lovers and Inwood in Dallas called Neighborhood Services that’s dishes up the best schnitzel in the world as a Monday night special. The place is packed every night, but if you can bear the wait. The restaurant is quite simply awesome!

Oklahoma City may not be known as a world-class tourist destination, but that’s no reason to not enjoy yourself next time you head to the O.K.C. In fact, with the development of the charming Bricktown district in downtown, Oklahoma City is more exciting today than ever before.

If you don’t know the area very well, O.K.C.’s Bricktown District and Canal might surprise you. Vibrant views, attractive architecture, arts and entertainment, a wide swath of dining, teeming nightlife, cool signage, boutique shops and, of course, the canal. It’s Oklahoma’s own mile-long taste of Venice, a sparkling waterway connecting several key downtown destinations like Harkins Theatre, the businesses of lower Bricktown, AT&T Ballpark and the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World.

Rewind: Bricktown is a leisure, business and entertainment district in downtown Oklahoma City. The former warehouse district has been transformed largely over the last decade to cater to locals looking for a night on the town and visitors seeking an unusual attraction. With the addition of the canal, Bricktown resembles San Antonio’s hugely successful Riverwalk, though not nearly as touristy.

The entertainment options are many, though dining and nightlife is the main appeal. The roster features everything from national staples, like Spaghetti Warehouse and Hooters, to one-of-a-kind stops like the oft-awarded Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. Show venues, from the Coca-Cola Bricktown Events Center to the Wormy Dog Saloon, keep a steady stream of evening entertainment rolling through O.K.C. Learn more about entertainment and dining in Bricktown.

Of course, the canal itself is an attraction, but it’s not just scenery. The Bricktown Water Taxi has shuttled guests around the canal since 1999. Whether it’s quick trip across the way or a scenic ride around the neighborhood, this is a fun way to experience the area. Get a taste of the action in the time lapse video below, or learn more here.

Staying? For hotels in Oklahoma City, we’ve had great stays in the past at the SpringHill Suites Oklahoma City – Quail Springs.  Free parking, breakfast and Internet is a big plus, the hotel isn’t too far from the airport, and the all-suite accommodations are perfectly if you’re traveling with a crowd or staying for several days. We like it.

Have fun!

The battalion of summer music festivals is making its march, and this time we’re headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the largest in the Midwest: Dfest.

Dfest is a two-day, multi-genre music festival encompassing over 150 bands and 12 concert stages. Big acts are brought in to headline – The All American Rejects, The Roots, The Flaming Lips, The Black Crowes – but the festival is best known for supporting independent and emerging artists. In fact, its first year Dfest was only 12 local bands and a boisterous group of 150 super fans.

That was 2002. Now heading into its 8^th show, Dfest is predicted to be bigger than ever with acts from all over the world and an expected turn out of 75,000 or more.

We’re all about the music. This year’s incredible line-up includes: The Black Crowes, Cake, Gogol Bordello, Blue October, Citizen Cope, Metro Station, Rooney, Ra Ra Riot, Mates of State, Bassnectar, Ozomatli and way more. For more information, see the performance schedule.

Most music festivals are content just to get people out on the grass; maybe buy a band shirt or two. Not Dfest. One of the most unique features of Dfest is the associated music conference. Connecting industry professionals to emerging artists and those just starting out, the Dfest Music Conference is a candid discussion of the evolving music industry and what new and existing artists have to do to stay afloat in it.

This year’s keynote speaker is actor, singer, speaker and all-around crazy guy Andrew W.K. The conference then moves into an artists series of panels and workshops, keynoted by P.O.D. bassist Traa Daniels, and a business series keynoted by industry veteran and former Ministry drummer Martin Atkins. The conference provides invaluable industry knowledge and genuine networking opportunities for unsigned acts the world over. For more information, see the conference schedule.

But wait, there’s more. Debuting this year, the Dfest Yoga Conference will run concurrent with the music festival and offer lectures, panel discussions and demonstrations for yoga practitioners, teachers and enthusiasts. Renowned yoga and conscious-living experts will run workshops and practice sessions, set to music of course. For more information, see the yoga schedule.

Wow, lots to cover.

Dfest 2009 takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Blue Dome District on July 24 and 25. One and two-day tickets are currently available from the Web site. Music and Yoga conference badges are available separately and require registration; however each includes two-day access to the festival. All seating is general.

For hotels in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we prefer the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills, and we’re willing to make the short trip to the Blue Dome District just to stay there. They’re offering a complimentary airport shuttle and terrific summer rates.

Have fun!

We’re doing amusement and theme parks in a big way this summer, but you know, living here in Dallas, where I have quick access to the esteemed Six Flags Over Texas, has perhaps made me blind to the fact that some people just don’t have the luxury. The state of Oklahoma, for example, has only had one theme park to call its own since 2006.

Fortunately, that park is Frontier City, and better yet, it’s right smack in the state center in Oklahoma City where all Sooners can enjoy an easy drive in. Let’s take a look:

Frontier City isn’t the largest theme-park we’ve featured, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in personality. From the high-caliber shows to the rustic wild west-themed décor to the exuberance of the guests, this park always seems to have a lot to love. Well worth the trip from Tulsa, Lawton, Stillwater, even Arkansas and Kansas.

Of course, if our recent poll is any indication, we know it’s all about the rides (and when you’re the only game in the state, every attraction gets to be ”Oklahoma’s first/fastest/tallest/longest/newest”).

The high-speed, looping Silver Bullet is the must-ride as Oklahoma’s tallest roller coaster and one of its fastest attractions. A recent addition, the Steel Lasso is especially popular because it offers a load of coaster thrills but is still kid friendly (min. height: 38″). For hardcore entertainment, head straight to Eruption, a high g-force jaunt 240 feet into the air.

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Just a couple weeks ago we featured a Living Desert, and today we’re back with a Living Museum which, for better or worse, is nothing like the latest Ben Stiller paycheck.

The Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum is a great opportunity for us not only to get the word out on a top-notch family attraction, but also to finally bring a little love to Oklahoma, long neglected by USA Travel Guide and for that we apologize.

Opened in 1927 in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s humongous Mohawk Park, the Tulsa Zoo was a global endeavor from day one featuring a collection of 35 animals spanning the Earth, including an American black bear and an Indian rhesus monkey. This collection has since grown tremendously to more than 1500 animals across 436 species, many of them endangered, rare or at risk, but the curators have never abandoned the global focus.

Arranged by continent or geographic designation, the zoo features robust habitats housing the animals of Asia, Africa, North America, tropical America and the oceans and islands of the world. The amazing menagerie features reticulated giraffes, lions, zebras, meerkats, chimpanzees, white rhinos, siamangs, Siberian tigers, Asian elephants, African penguins, lemurs and spectacled bears, just to name a few.

One consistently popular attraction (and half of the name) is the North American Living Museum, an unusual four-building complex that features educational museum-style exhibits, some interactive even, to round out an afternoon of animal encounters. Divided among four abundant North American ecological regions – arctic, desert, forest and lowlands – the Living Museum is a chance to learn as much about the habitats as about the animals that call them home. Popular stops include the earthquake simulation, natural walk-through cave and 20,000-gallon shark tank.

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