I was in the area of Meridian and SW 59th today (just north of the airport near Golden Palace) and noticed that the row of new hotels in that area were quite occupied.

Given that it's a weekend I found this surprising, but then again I don't really have a basis for that judgment except for my theory that business traveler hotels are usually only busy during the week.

Anyway, I'm just curious what attraction/event/employer brings people to that area. If it was mid week then I'd assume they were all FAA contractors. Maybe it was all somehow related to school starting up? (Not sure how...just a guess)

I hope these visitors weren't misguided by our many hotels that advertise "close to OU" or "close to Frontier city" when they are on the opposite side of the metro. LOL.


(And let me close by saying that there are plenty of reasons for people to visit our great city. I am just curious what brings them to specific pockets of our city)

I was in the area of Meridian and SW 59th today (just north of the airport near Golden Palace) and noticed that the row of new hotels in that area were quite occupied.

Given that it's a weekend I found this surprising, but then again I don't really have a basis for that judgment except for my theory that business traveler hotels are usually only busy during the week.

Anyway, I'm just curious what attraction/event/employer brings people to that area. If it was mid week then I'd assume they were all FAA contractors. Maybe it was all somehow related to school starting up? (Not sure how...just a guess)

I hope these visitors weren't misguided by our many hotels that advertise "close to OU" or "close to Frontier city" when they are on the opposite side of the metro. LOL.


(And let me close by saying that there are plenty of reasons for people to visit our great city. I am just curious what brings them to specific pockets of our city)

Those are the hotels in close proximity to the airport... they stay relatively full.

Several of the hotels have contracts with airlines, both for pilots and layover passengers. Plus there's tons of horse show business in that area. So it's hard to say.

I-40/Meridian tends to draw:


Fairgounds events attendees/exhibitors/participants (there are several events this weekend including a pretty big barrel race event)
Attendees of events at hotels themselves (a number of properties have significant on-site event/conference space)
FAA/airport related
I-40 stopover guests
Price-conscious visitors to the city at large (rooms here tend to be below-market rate; especially in older properties)

Wife is a manager at one of the downtown hotels. She was surprised at the frequency her hotel gets of European visitors that are part of Route 66 tour groups, so there's that.

I do know that the FAA has students for weeks at a time so they do stay in OKC over the weekend.

Funny you should mention Route 66, my friend Chris, from London said Route 66 was on the top of her list along with the Grand Canyon and the Mississippi river. So of course we visited the round barn and drove East quite a way on 66. We also went to Albuquerque and Route 66 is pretty nice there. Oh, and we did go to the Mississippi in Memphis and visited the Grand Canyon as well. Then the Florida Keys, New England, New Orleans... Ok, getting out of hand and off topic. Sorry.
C. T.

Yes, especially during summer months every day we see people from places like Germany, Sweden, The UK, Taiwan, China, India and from all over Europe and Asia. Most of these trips are loosely - or heavily - organized around Route 66. They make it all over the city - including museums, shops, restaurants and EVERY major district - putting money into our economy with little outlay/services required from the City of OKC and its taxpayers.

OKC are largely blissfully ignorant to the massive positive impact visitors make to our local economy. Locals sit in a place like RePUBlic or The Mule or Waffle Champion and when they look around they THINK they are looking at neighbors when in fact they are often seeing people from all over the country and in fact the world.

For the record, tourism is the third largest industry in Oklahoma and growing rapidly.

Yes, especially during summer months every day we see people from places like Germany, Sweden, The UK, Taiwan, China, India and from all over Europe and Asia. Most of these trips are loosely - or heavily - organized around Route 66. They make it all over the city - including museums, shops, restaurants and EVERY major district - putting money into our economy with little outlay/services required from the City of OKC and its taxpayers.

OKC are largely blissfully ignorant to the massive positive impact visitors make to our local economy. Locals sit in a place like RePUBlic or The Mule or Waffle Champion and when they look around they THINK they are looking at neighbors when in fact they are often seeing people from all over the country and in fact the world.

For the record, tourism is the third largest industry in Oklahoma and growing rapidly.

I had an onion burger at sids in el reno with a young couple from Canada who were on what they called "the great American road trip" they were spending a few weeks driving Route 66.

I was in Europe last summer and met a couple who both said they wanted to rent a big truck and drive Route 66. It's an extremely popular thing.

My employees talk to people every single day who are on this roadtrip, stopping in OKC, no exaggeration. Usually multiple groups.

About 3 or 4 years ago, I was meeting a friend at Lucilles in Hydro. It's somewhat restored to what it was in yesteryear. My friend had car trouble so I waited for a couple of hours. Over those coupe of hours I met 3 couples that stopped by for pics. They were from Paris, Madrid and Italy. They were all making the trip from Chicago to LA. They all had the Route 66 Museums in Clinton and Elk City as a stop to visit.

Our family has had exchange students from Germany in high school, and they recently came back to the U.S. after their college graduation. It was really interesting to hear what they wanted to see. State parks, natural monuments and "American" things such as Route 66 were on their list vs. some of the more cosmopolitan cities.

I spent some time in Finland about 7 years ago and they were still running 'Get Your Kicks' on Route 66 TV show with Buzz and Todd on the local stations.

Our family has had exchange students from Germany in high school, and they recently came back to the U.S. after their college graduation. It was really interesting to hear what they wanted to see. State parks, natural monuments and "American" things such as Route 66 were on their list vs. some of the more cosmopolitan cities.

I took a few years of German in high school. One summer one of my classmates hosted a German student. Near the end of his stay they asked what he wanted to do that he hadn't done yet. He said he wanted to see the Grand Canyon. They had to explain to him that the Grand Canyon wasn't exactly next door. Europeans have little concept of how large the U.S. is.

Europeans have little concept of how large the U.S. is.That condition is not limited to Europeans. Many folk on the East Coast have no concept of how large the wide open spaces where we live actually are -- and that failing goes both ways. When I spent a couple of months on TDY in New York, back in the early 60s, I was amazed to discover that some of my co-workers commuted to the office every morning from two states away! And when, on a visit to Boston years later, my hosts took me to re-trace Paul Revere's route, I discovered that it was a shorter distance than I had driven every day when going to school at OU!

Similarly, we in this area have difficulty realizing just how tiny and cramped Europe really is. Such differences in basic assumptions may be a huge contributing factor to the rise of suspicion and distrust on all sides!

That condition is not limited to Europeans. Many folk on the East Coast have no concept of how large the wide open spaces where we live actually are -- and that failing goes both ways. When I spent a couple of months on TDY in New York, back in the early 60s, I was amazed to discover that some of my co-workers commuted to the office every morning from two states away! And when, on a visit to Boston years later, my hosts took me to re-trace Paul Revere's route, I discovered that it was a shorter distance than I had driven every day when going to school at OU!

Similarly, we in this area have difficulty realizing just how tiny and cramped Europe really is. Such differences in basic assumptions may be a huge contributing factor to the rise of suspicion and distrust on all sides!

For comparison, the Northeastern US (PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, & ME) contains 161,900 sq mi of land and has 56 million people, while just itself England (not the whole UK) contains 50,300 sq mi of land and has 55 million people. Oklahoma is bigger than England by 19,600 sq mi!

OKC is a popular stopover destination for cross-country travelers on I-40 and always has been as far back as the Route 66 days. In fact prior to the arrival of the Thunder that is probably what the city was most known for at the national level (other than tornadoes and the 1995 bombing).

My guess would be that they are on the way to Pawhuska, in the Osage Nation. Legend has it that they are replacing pumping units with windmills and have a General Store that can't be beat. Of course, one has to make a detour off of The Mother Road, but that's par for the course. Ain't it? =~)

If they--The Mysterious Visitors--go just a little to the northeast (via a scenic drive) they can see Bartlesville. And the only Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper anywhere. (not counting the Gold Dome and the Adjacent Tower (knockoff) at Classen and The Two-Three).

Visitor Tip: From the top of the Price Tower you can almost see Tulsa. On a clear day. And after that, a swing by a classic burger joint a few blocks to the north, a visit to the Old Depot, a look at what an Oil Magnate's House is supposed to look like and a visit to his "Country Home": Woolaroc.

The Visitors will almost certainly want to camp at Woolaroc. This is not possible. No camping, no permits, no kidding.