The shocking 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City left this Midwestern metropolis, as well as the rest of the nation, stunned and horrified. Five years later, the healing process took a positive turn with the dedication of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, 620 N. Harvey (tel. 888/542-HOPE; www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org), an outdoor park honoring the victims of that national tragedy, as well as a museum that tells the story of the bombing, the 16-day recovery effort afterward, and a Gallery of Honor that holds a photo and personal object of importance for each of the 168 victims.
The Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Indiahoma (www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/wichitamountains) is over 59,000 acres of preserved land where you can see bison, Rocky Mountain elk, and white-tailed deer, plus 240 species of birds, 64 species of reptiles and amphibians, and enough plant representations to keep a botanist busy for a mighty long time. Tours of the refuge are available, as well as opportunities for rappelling, fishing, rock climbing, and camping.
Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his groundbreaking home architecture, but you might not know that he also lent his talent to the building of one 19-story skyscraper during his career. This building became the Price Tower Arts Center, 510 Dewey Ave., Bartlesville (tel. 918/336-4949; www.pricetower.org), one of the few institutions in the country focusing solely on architecture and design.
