I saw a bumper sticker the other day I just have to get for my Jeep. My nieces (and anyone else who's ridden any distance with me) will appreciate it as well. It says, "I'm not lost, I'm just exploring." My ability to "explore" are the stuff legends are made of.

Recently, I started exploring my home state of Oklahoma. And, by explore, I really mean explore this time. Actually, my son, encouraged me to do this. He said he wanted to know as much as possible about his home state before he took off on his own traveling adventures across the country. What's to know, I thought? We've lived here most of our lives and been and done just about everything.

But as we started looking for things to do, I realized maybe I didn't know my state as well as I thought I did. For someone who loves to discover all the touristy and quirky places in new cities and states, this came as somewhat of a surprise. For example, how could I have missed the Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary in Broken Bow? They let us feed tigers and lions, pet lemurs, hold a baby kangaroo, cuddle a fennec fox, play with a baby bobcat, and much more. We had one of the most incredible interactive experiences with wild animals of our lives. I learned and did more at this little wildlife sanctuary at the end of a dead end road than I ever have at any of the big zoos I've visited.

I took my son to see the famous Red Round Barn on Rt. 66 and we discovered Pops near Arcadia. How could I have missed a place that sells over 400 kinds of soda? And, seriously, how could I miss a place that has a 66 foot tall soda bottle sitting outside the store? Sodas from different countries, from my childhood, and made from everything imaginable are all right there. And, they make a pretty good hamburger, too.

Oh, and I even lived in Noble, OK for awhile and had never eaten, until recently, at Kendall's Restaurant on Main Street and almost missed finding the best chicken fried steak in the south. And, I've ate a lot of them, so trust me, I'm kind of an expert on that. And, the complimentary cinnamon rolls at the end of the meal that melt in your mouth are worth the drive there, I don't care where you live.

So, I started wondering what else I'd missed in Oklahoma. My first impulse was to go to each and every town in Oklahoma and write about it. Then I actually saw a list of each and every town in Oklahoma and decided that might be a bit much. But, I think it's possible to at least visit each county and see as much as I can. There's only 77 of those in Oklahoma, so that might be doable. I'll post what I find here, so check back and come along for the ride! And if you know of something in your area I should check out, leave me a comment and I'll try to get there.

Copyright 2010 by Gail Claunts. All rights reserved. No copying without prior written permission by author.