Think of Oklahoma and I remember barreling down the Will Rogers Turnpike and visiting the former world’s biggest McDonald’s.
No offense, but I was happy to keep on barreling towards Texas. I suspect most Chicago-area people who’ve been that way think similarly.
Marcus Bobb, senior tourism manager for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, gets it.
“People think of the western part of Oklahoma and wonder, `Why would I want to go there?’ ” he said last Saturday as his booth was swamped on opening day of the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show in Rosemont.
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma would like to introduce a different side of Oklahoma, the nearly 11,000 square miles in southeastern Oklahoma, an area known as Choctaw Country with mountains, rivers, lakes and woodlands.
“How beautiful,” is how Bobb put it.
There’s fishing trails, hiking trails, scenic country, ATV trails and hunting ranches.
Before I die, I hope to drive the 54-mile route on the Talimena National Scenic Byway and just explore the area on a multi-day trip.
The beautiful area is also entwined with the history of our county. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is the third largest federally recognized tribe. The area contains the second largest reservation in the county.
You can plan a trip at choctawcountry.com.
Not sure why, but thinking of Choctaw Country reminded me of a conversation with George Desort in 2013 at the Chicago premier of his film, ‘‘Fifty Lakes One Island.’’
The film is a very personal one and much more than just the beautiful wild scenes on Isle Royale, the famous wilderness island on Lake Superior.
It explores the nature world viewed against the context of the thoroughly modern one. That led Desort and me into a discussion on whether it is better to live in the modern urban world and escape to the wild world or live in the wilds and make occasional forays to town.
To me that is one of the core questions of the outdoors. Are you out there and come in now and then or in here and go out there for a break?
Three times in my life I’ve tried living out there and coming in when necessary: Hiking the southern portion of the Appalachian Trail, hiking the Tuscarora/Big Blue Trail and living in a cabin for several months trying to write a Mennonite detective novel (and getting nowhere).
Reality is that I’ve lived my life in here with forays out there.
Back from the ethereal to the show and the potentially infinite game.
At the booth of Jay Buckley’s Baseball Tours, the oldest (43 years) and largest of baseball tours, Robert Cunitz, who hosts baseball tours, explained some of the basics. Each trip has two hosts and generally 40-45 visitors. The Chicago and New York areas have about 10 tours each and the Phoenix area has several.
I forgot to ask what he thought of my bright idea for combining a fishing and baseball tour. My idea (free for the taking) would be a Midwest Baseball and Fishing Tour. Think stops in Milwaukee (Milwaukee River, Lake Michigan), Chicago (Chicago River, Lake Michigan), St. Louis (Mississippi River blue catfish), Detroit (St. Clair smallmouth bass, walleye or muskie) and Cleveland (Lake Erie walleye or smallmouth).
Never mind my nonsense, details for Jay Buckley’s tours are jaybuckley.com.
My wife is into the supernatural, so I was pulled in by Maria Schmidt at the Mysterious Adventures Tours booth. She gave me the lowdown on the Castles and Faeries Realms to Ireland tour at the end of April, which sounded exactly like something my wife would love and I would dread. So I forgot to mention it to my love.
Other trips this year are to the Czech Republic, New England, Scotland, Japan, Greece, Romania, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Apparently, the supernatural is universal.
A piece of trivia: Schmidt is the founder the National Ghost Hunting Day, Sept. 27 this year. She and her husband Bob also support historical preservation. Details are at mysteriousadventurestours.com.
I’m not a big-time birder, but Texas is a major birding destination with an economy of housing and guides catering to birders, so I stopped by the Visit Brownsville booth. It goes on my list of places to visit.
The Gladys Porter Zoo is famous for its breeding of endangered species. There’s Resaca de la Palma State Park, where I would like to see a green jay (they intrigue me).
Plan a trip around Brownsville at visitbtx.com.
Traveling should expand your mind and introduce you to new ideas, things and places. Ultimately, it should give better understanding of and empathy for others and other places.
