On our way from Missouri to Texas we decided to spend a weekend near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, now famous thanks to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. We found a wonderful site in the Birch Cove Core of Engineers Campground and would definitely go back. After spending several weeks near airport, vehicle, and train noise in St. Charles, the peace and quiet of the country was just what we needed!

When doing our research, we found that it was best to get to The Pioneer Woman Mercantile, or The Merc as Ree likes to call it, early on Saturday morning. We wanted to have breakfast there, and knew that with COVID still going on, early was best. We got to The Merc at 7:00 a.m. and were seated fairly quickly. The restaurant is part of the entire store, so we were able to look out on the merchandise for sale while we dined on sausage gravy and biscuits, with home fries, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Delicious!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After a filling breakfast, we took a look around the shop. Upstairs is the bakery, where we were told if we wanted anything we should get it while it was in the case. By 10:00, most everything would be gone! We passed on the baked goods, but did purchase a magnet, t-shirt, and one of her famous plastic wrap holders. (This is a very useful tool in the kitchen, because you can put any plastic wrap you want in it! It’s made of sturdy cardboard, much better than the box plastic wrap comes in from the store.)

Our next adventure took us to the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. This was quite a drive north of the town, and much of it is on gravel roads. Just our luck, too, they hadn’t had much rain and we drove our white truck on very dusty roads! The Preserve is the largest protected remnant of tallgrass prairie left on earth. This is literally where the buffalo, or bison, roam! You can drive the 15-mile loop around the preserve and see if you can find them! We drove quite a while, and finally did. Just driving around the loop is beautiful. The wide open spaces allow you to see for miles.

After our morning adventure, we drove back into Pawhuska to the car wash to make our truck white again! We noted that there were definitely more people at The Merc and were glad we’d gone there first.

We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing at our campsite and walking around Birch Cove.

• 

• 

• 

If you’re ever near Tulsa, head north to Pawhuska. You won’t be disappointed taking this little side trip!

Jennifer Skinnell is the author of the Hope Springs Romance Series, available on Amazon. Click here for all the details.