Staycation – Day 6 Woolaroc

Our final day.  Saturday morning we had our free hotel breakfast and then happily packed up and checked out.  The La Quinta in Bartlesville was a huge disappointment.  I’ve stayed at La Quintas before so I thought this would be right on par.  Apparently not all La Quintas are created equal.  It was old and run down and there seemed to be some sort of black beetle who had taken up residence in our room.  It wasn’t particularly dirty but I didn’t have that relaxing feeling I should have when I walk into a hotel room.  I think I may have forever crossed La Quinta off my list.

Anyhoo – With La Quinta behind us we headed a few miles out of town to Woolaroc.  It is a little jem of a ranch that once belonged to Frank Phillips where he would entertain important guests…other oil tycoons I imagine.  He stocked it with all sorts of exotic animals (zebra, ostrich, water buffalo, emu, elk, deer, etc.) including a small herd of buffalo.  Animals still roam free and are cared for on the ranch and can be seen living the good life on the drive up to the museum.

Longhorn cattle

Water Buffalo

Mama Buffalo and her baby

If you’re into Native American art and artifacts then this is the place for you.  Even if you’re not the museum is very interesting.  Dear Husband’s favorite memory of the museum is a display of shrunken heads from South America.  They were pretty creepy.  I tried to take a picture but there was too much reflection on the glass.  Sorry.

We visited the museum and petting barn.  There is a lodge where Frank Phillips lived when he was on the ranch but we didn’t get around to seeing that.  It was just too dern hot and Addison was ready to keel over.

There is a snack window that serves hot dogs, hamburgers and a tasty bbq buffalo burger.  Just around the corner from the snack window is a stuffed buffalo that serves as a trash vacuum.  He’ll suck up small bits of paper and coke cans.  Harry was a little apprehensive at first but once he found out it was harmless was in love with it.  Since we got home he has been looking at the pictures on the computer, pointing and proclaiming “buff-bo!”

That’s the end of our staycation tale.

Even though we were only gone for two nights it felt like so much longer.  It was nice to get back home, to our own comfy beds and my own coffee.  But now that staycation is over it’s back to the grind stone.  Back to work for Dear Husband, back to the Wii, back to ignoring the housework.