Oklahoma City was born in a single afternoon. On the twenty-second of April 1889, at noon, thousands of settlers lined up on the edge of the Unassigned Lands and, at the sound of a gunshot, raced in on horses, wagons and on foot to stake claims, and by nightfall a tent city of ten thousand people had grown on the prairie where the city now stands. The Land Run, as it is called, left a legacy of improvisation and optimism that the place has never lost. Today it is a sprawling state capital of more than six hundred thousand people, with a lively downtown, a canal in the old Bricktown warehouse district and an energy that surprises visitors who expect a quiet prairie town.
The Stockyards City district, with its cowboy boot shops, saddlers and steakhouses, is the heart of the cattle trade, and the livestock auction on Mondays and Tuesdays is still a real working event. A different kind of memory is held at the national memorial to the 1995 bombing, where an empty chair for each of the victims stands on a quiet lawn beside a reflecting pool, and it is a place of silence and respect.
Route 66 runs through the city, along streets that were once the main road west, and a good number of the old motels, diners and neon signs survive. A short ride north-east takes you to the Round Barn at Arcadia, a handsome red barn built in 1898 and now a museum, and the towns beyond have their share of vintage gas stations and soda fountains. The ride across the plains from here is wide and open, with big skies and long views.
Fuel and food are everywhere, and the city has a thriving food scene, from barbecue and chicken-fried steak to Vietnamese soup. Wind is a constant, often strong and gusty, and summer heat can be fierce, so start early. Spring brings thunderstorms and, now and then, tornadoes, so check the forecast. Be sure to allow time for the memorial, and for a long, slow dinner.