Comfort Zone: Warm Welcomes Across Oklahoma

I spend a lot of time writing about travel, but what I don’t write about is how anxious it makes me. For the first time in my thirty-five years, I’m going to Disneyland this week (with my mom and eight-year-old niece). I should be excited, but instead there’s a small cannonball of dread occupying my gut, especially when I think about all of the packing I haven’t done yet.

When I was younger, we’d take short trips during the summer: Lawton and Houston to visit relatives, Arlington to go to Six Flags, Branson to do whatever one does in Branson. But most of our vacations featured a lot of yelling and, even worse, quiet seething tension. The last family trip we took, my dad, my two younger siblings, and I waited for hours at Cracker Barrel outside of Dallas after my mom left us there. As an adult, I can understand that you just need to decompress alone sometimes, but twelve-year-old me genuinely thought we would have to hitchhike back to Edmond until my mom finally showed up with a bag of Burger King and no explanation.

Large, inviting beds at NOUN Hotel in Norman greet weary travelers. Photo courtesy NOUN Hotel

Little did I know when I applied for that Oklahoma Today internship fourteen years ago that I was about to embark on a career that would require A LOT of travel. For the first ten years or so, I felt that nausea ramping up each time I made arrangements for work trips. Once I arrived at my destination, 99.9 percent of the time I had an experience I would treasure forever. I watched elephants do yoga at Endangered Ark in Hugo. I rode horses all day and slept in a covered wagon under the stars at Robbers Cave State Park. I watched as wild mustangs frolicked in the hills of southeastern Oklahoma at sunrise. I spotted my first painted bunting and alligator in the same day at the Red Slough Wildlife Refuge. But each time I embarked on these adventures, I always worried about finding my destination, getting there on time, asking the right questions in order to write a good story, and all of the things that could potentially go wrong.

As I prepare for this out-of-state-trip, I realized how different I now feel about traveling my home state. For the September/October issue, I stayed at the lovely NOUN Hotel in Norman. For the upcoming November/December issue, I spent a night in an adorable gnome home in Stillwater, which you can read all about in our cozy overnights feature. Neither of these ventures gave me any anxiety—though, even if they had, the ridiculously comfortable bed at NOUN and the warm hospitality owner Page Provence gave me at the Stillwater Airbnb surely would have melted that away.

While the Robbers Cave State Park no longer offers the wagon experience Karlie wrote about, guests to the park can still rent a stay in an upscale covered-wagon overnight. Photo by Lori Duckworth / Oklahoma Tourism

There’s something about Oklahoma that puts me at ease. Sure, I know the roads better now, and I trust myself more to handle any issues that may come up, but it’s something more. Visiting with most of the Okies I’ve met is like spending time with your quirky, fashionable aunt; caring grandparent who refuses to let you go hungry for a second; or that cousin who has stories that’ll turn your hair white and make you laugh until you cry. I’ve stayed at dozens of places, from mom-and-pop bed and breakfasts to boutique hotels, and I’ve always felt like a welcome guest. In my experience, Oklahomans just want to share their little slice of paradise with other nice, friendly folks. They’ll go above and beyond to make sure you have a good experience.

I’m sure I’ll have a great time in California, but I know I’ll breathe a little easier when I’m back with my people.

Written By

Karlie Ybarra

Managing editor Karlie Ybarra loves to explore her home state—and meet many of its animal citizens—any chance she gets.