Bucket List Road: Miami

After a decade at Oklahoma Today, Editor-in-chief Nathan Gunter is filling in the spots he's missed with his series, Bucket List Road.

Corners are tough. Corners are where, in my house, dust and dog hair pile up, light struggles to find a way, and things go uncared-for. We stash things in corners; yesterday, rushing to answer a ringing phone, I stashed my guitar in one corner and my can of LaCroix, for some reason, in another. As far as I know, both are still where I left them and will be until my next deep cleaning day.

But you should pay attention to corners, because sometimes, good things lurk in them. The corner is the best part of a birthday cake or a plate of brownies, after all. Or more to the point: Some of my favorite places in Oklahoma are in its corners. Black Mesa, so far up in the Panhandle’s northwestern corner that it almost doesn’t qualify as Oklahoma, is a true gem of a place, and if you’ve ever read Oklahoma Today before now, you know how much we love McCurtain County in our far-southeastern reaches.

And though my journeys up Interstate 44 have taken me through Oklahoma’s northeastern corner, I’ve rarely taken the chance to stop and look around. I remedied this in February when I spent a full day and night in the first east-west stop on Oklahoma’s Route 66 itinerary: The town of Miami (pronounced my-AM-uh for the uninitiated), situated just south of the Kansas border and just west of the Missouri, is a corner place absolutely worthy of a visit. I just wish I’d gone sooner.

First, if you like public art, Miami has enough to keep you busy the entire trip:

As a huge fan of Oklahoma City muralist Jason Pawley—I can see Cultivation, his mural that graces the cover of this year’s state travel guide, from my office window—I was stoked to see several of his murals throughout Miami’s downtown alongside wall-sized works from artists all over the state. Not to mention the sculpture garden outside Security Bank & Trust and Osborn Drug.

Speaking of Osborn Drug. It's not exactly the kind of place that draws in visitors from miles around, but visitors from miles around would be remiss not to step inside, because this drug store is a wonderful twenty-first century example of the classic small-town drug store, with, yes, a pharmacy but also gifts, food, clothes, and all manner of other life essentials and fun items. I wandered around in there for more than half an hour taking it all in.

But I couldn’t stay long, because just around the corner was Chapters, one of the most enjoyable bookstores I’ve been into in awhile.

Please take this time to praise me for my financial restraint, because Chapters is the kind of place I’ve been known to do some major damage to my credit rating without a single whisp of regret. Luckily, I managed to escape with just a copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and a cup of Starbucks coffee, which they brew on site. Newly caffeinated and with the thrill of shopping behind me, I ventured over to the historic Coleman Theater for a tour from one of the wonderful Friends of the Coleman who are on-hand daily to escort visitors and share the story of this incredible Depression-era architectural masterpiece:

My tour guide was Karen, who not only told me the most lovely stories about the Coleman, its founding, and its rehabilitation (I won’t spoil them for you, because I want you to go) but also let me hear the Coleman’s famous organ playing.

Before leaving, however, I stopped into The Shoppes at the Coleman, where I instantly fell in love with everything at Flint Creek Bath Co., especially these Osage shield bath bombs:

Stepping through the inner door of the space, I found myself in j. bae boutique, where owner Jordan Harrison introduced me to her awesome dogs and all the adorable items she carries, many for kids and babies and many of which she makes at her in-store sewing machine:

She also introduced me to her absolutely adorable shop puppy, who tried to eat my face, but that’s okay, because PUPPY:

My revels nearing their end, I knew I had one more must-visit Miami destination before I could leave town: I had to eat at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger.

A Route 66 original since the 1960s, Waylan’s long has held pride of place as one of the state’s most famous hamburgers. Since the onset of COVID, the restaurant has been take-out only, so if you go, know that you may be in for a wait of up to thirty minutes. But heck—y'all wait that long for Ted’s Escondido on a Tuesday night, so I don’t want to hear it, because Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger is the burger that is the burger:

If you remember A&W restaurants back in the day before they were genetically spliced with Long John Silvers, you may have some idea about what a Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger is like. The meat is rich and well-seasoned, the bun and cheese are perfect, and the lettuce, tomato, and onion were super-fresh, even for February. The only problem you may have is how you’re going to drive home with all that deliciousness just a recent memory.

You can read about a few more amazing places to visit in Miami in our “Street View” column in the May/June issue of Oklahoma Today, which is out now. But the next time you feel like visiting an Oklahoma town that is utterly charming, never-ending fun with a mega dash of truly inspired public art thrown in, don’t let the distance to Miami deter you: You’ll be glad you visited this corner.

Written By

Nathan Gunter

A sixth-generation Oklahoman, Weatherford native, and Westmoore High School graduate, Nathan Gunter is the magazine's editor-in-chief. When he's not editor-in-chiefing, Nate enjoys live music, running, working out, gaming, cooking, and random road trips with no particular destination in mind. He holds degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of Oklahoma. He learned how to perform poetry from Maya Angelou; how to appreciate Italian art from Terisio Pignatti; comedy writing from Doug Marlette; how to make coconut cream pie from his great-grandma; and how not to approach farm dogs from trial and error. A seminary dropout, he lives just off Route 66 in Oklahoma City.