Feel free not to like me after I say this, but: I love Monday mornings. I love the New Year. I love birthdays and anniversaries. Why? Because I love any excuse to mark the passage of time, take stock, and point a better course forward. I’m a huge fan of a good New Year’s resolution. Lose weight, get healthy? I mean, great, everyone should, but as resolutions go, it’s a little meh. Drinking more water is a good one; so is walking more.

But what if we thought a little more locally, a little more specifically? Here, in no particular order, are some resolutions—goals, if you will—I have about traveling in Oklahoma in 2024. Ready? Okay!

More Hiking. MOAR, I say!

One of my favorite days of 2023 was when Brian and I hiked the Friends Trail at Beavers Bend State Park on our anniversary. I look forward to more hiking in ’24.

I work out six nights a week, and I try to walk my dog every day. I’ve run three half-marathons and come from a family of pretty intense athletes who put my every physical move to shame. But if I had to name a favorite form of exercise, it’d be hiking. There’s something about a semi-vigorous walk through a wooded area that reeks of magic—spying animals, looking at weird rocks and mushrooms, and listening to the sound of running water you can’t see until BOOM, it’s right in front of you. Hiking combines two things that are great for mental health: physical exercise and nature. Last year while hiking in Beavers Bend, I spotted a woodpecker—a bird I’d never actually seen with my own eyes. This year, I’m going to find a trail as often as I can.

Heart of Parkness

Last year, I visited Sequoyah State Park for the first time, where I got to meet Smokey Bear!

My first two resolutions are a matched set, because the second one helps the first: I want to spend as much time in Oklahoma State Parks as possible this year. I’ve visited more of them than not, but I’m still missing a few from my bingo card—that’s a good task for a year. There are the parks I’ve explored deeply like Roman Nose, Black Mesa, and Beavers Bend; there are the ones I’m still getting to know like Quartz Mountain and Sequoyah; and there are a few I’ve yet to visit—or if I’ve visited them, it was for such a brief time that I shouldn’t count it (Talimena State Park, expect a much longer visit next time). I can knock out my hiking resolution while also exploring all the nature, wildlife, relaxation, adventure, and fun our parks offer. Plus, I need to work my way down the Lookout Kitchen menu.

Less of the usual

The Oklahoma Today staff’s first breakfast meeting was at Scrambl’d in northeast Oklahoma City.

This morning, the Oklahoma Today staff kicked off one of our collective resolutions: We moved our biweekly staff meetings away from our office and into Oklahoma City breakfast joints. We chose to inaugurate this new way of doing things at Scrambl’d, the fantastic breakfast joint opened by Oklahoma City rapper Jabee. (You can read all about Scrambl’d in our January/February issue, on newsstands now). It was my second trip to Scrambl’d, and I was immediately drawn to the Peach Biscuit, because it was what I’d had the previous visit, and it was amazing. But I realized I’ve got a bad habit of doing that: I’ll visit a place, find the thing I like, and rarely venture away from it. In 2024, I promise myself that we’ll spend a little more time exploring menus and trying new dishes.

yes, and?

The biggest “yes, and?” moment I had in 2023 was actually daring to step on the karaoke stage at Ponyboy in Oklahoma City. Twice! Imagine what bravery 2024 will bring.

If I extrapolate that last one out to life in general, I find my final and most all-encompassing travel resolution for the new year: I’m going to channel my inner Ariana Grande and say “yes, and?” The truth is, I’m a deeply introverted guy who really loves his routine, and sometimes, this turns me into a bad traveler. When I’m on the road and tired or hungry—or often when I’m neither—it’s hard for me to engage with new experiences. Partially because there’s a part of me that, no matter what I’m doing, would rather be on my sofa. And that part of me is loud. In 2024, I’m going to ignore it to the best of my ability and search for unexpected, out-of-the-blue, or too-long-ignored experiences and dive into them with as whole a heart as I can. Anybody want to meet me in a parking lot and teach me to juggle fire?

Anyway, that’s how I’m approaching travel mentally this year: With as open and eager a mind (and stomach) as I can. How are you changing your travel patterns this year? No matter what you’re planning, we hope you’ll pick up a subscription to Oklahoma Today. We’re all about expanding your Oklahoma travel horizons here. Just click here to get your subscription started.

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.