travel Suggestions Requested

If you are coming north on I-35, coming out of Baja Oklahoma, you might want to spend a little time here in the Sooner State. Oklahoma City has completely revamped their downtown area, turing the old warehouse district into a tourist/entertainment area, called Bricktown, complete with canal. What used to be a very wide river that had to be mowed for lack of water is now the Oklahoma River with great water activities. (Three dams have turned this into a great area.)

The National Western Heritage and Cowboy Hall (formerly the Cowboy Hall of Fame) is a great place to spend a whole day. In that part of town also are the Firefighters Museum, Omniplex (science museum), and a fabulous zoo.

The major attraction in Oklahoma City is the Bombing Memorial and musuem. This is on the site where the Murrah Federal Building stood before Timothy McVeigh and friends blew it up. They have done a tremendous job down there and the museum is huge. They also have put in the National Terrorist Reserch Center there.

oldchief> Yes, I'm headed up I-35 from central TX.

Prior to your post, I had browsed a tourist guide for OK and Bricktown was in it. We'll put it and the cowboy museum on the list.

I used to be stationed at Ft Sill many moons ago. I do remember that there is nothing in the state of OK to block the wind.

From OK, I am headed to Wisconsin. I noticed that the most direct route is the turnpike. Is that a toll road? If so, are there any alternatives to getting thru the state without having to pay tolls

I tried responding earlier but it is not showing up so this might get posted twice. The answer is no, or maybe.

We go to Duluth, Minnesota every other year, where my wife is from. We go straight up I-35 to Wichita, KS, and then take the Kansas Turnpike (I-35) to Emporium and then angle over to Kansas City.

If you take I-44 across northeast Oklahoma and then across Missouri to St Louis it will be hard to avoid the turnpikes. Oklahoma now has more miles of toll road than any other state. I-44 from OKC to the Missouri state line is all toll road. From OKC to Tulsa is the Turner Turnpike. From Tulsa to state line is Will Rogers Turnpike. The charge is per axle. A two axle vehicle (either a car or a motorhome) is $3.50 for each turnpike. If you are towing it is considered one vehicle so the cost goes up. For me driving the coach and pulling the towed it is four axles and the cost is $8.00 for each turnpike.

The only alternative is to take old Route 66. It runs parralell to I-44 but is two lane and goes through all the small towns. It is a nice drive if you have the time. On I-44 it is about a six hour drive from OKC to state line at 65 mph.

oldchief> Yes, I'm headed up I-35 from central TX.


From OK, I am headed to Wisconsin. I noticed that the most direct route is the turnpike. Is that a toll road? If so, are there any alternatives to getting thru the state without having to pay tolls