75 years ago this month my parents were married and within forty months gave birth to both my brother and me in Pawhuska, the county seat of Osage County which has been made famous in recent years by the Letts play “August, Osage County”, the best seller “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the success of Ree Drummond as the Pioneer Woman. For most of my life visits to Pawhuska (we left when I was about two) were rare and brief, with few stories. That changed throughout the 1990’s with the establishment of the Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve north of Pawhuska and an occasional Osage County probate. So when our nephew, who was abducted from Tulsa County to Texas as a child by my brother, and his better half advised they were planning a Pioneer Woman pilgrimage soon, I couldn’t resist making our own day trip and sharing some favorites. Here’s my nephew doing his Texas thing:
We headed north out of Tulsa on US 75, then west on OK 20, then north on OK 11 into Osage County where we saw pastures like this:
And an oil well on Main Street Barnsdall:
We arrived at the Mercantile, consumed food, and made it out the back door without leaving too much behind:
In years past, before following Dean Ornish, we would always enjoy barbeque at Bad Brad’s:
Instead we sought to nourish our souls at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, renowned for its stained glass windows, especially this one depicting actual Osage who came in contact with the early missionaries:
From here, for a longer day trip, one can head north to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve which we last did after Thanksgiving, 2017:
Don’t miss the city park on the way with mouse-like treadmill for human children:
We skipped the Preserve and headed south on OK 99 to Hominy, look for the Osage scouting party on the ridge line west of town:
Then check out the Cha’ Tullis Gallery on Main Street; always worth what’s left behind.
As always lunch is on me for the first to ID the location of the lady Thinker at the beginning or below—both the same municipality in Texas.
