It is often said that anything relating to Texas is big, but be aware that the neighboring state of Oklahoma has something that even Texans would probably have to admit is grand, even by Texas standards.  I’m referring to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The first thing you will notice upon arriving at the Museum are the exquisitely designed buildings which house the exhibits and collections.

No matter which way you look, you will see beautiful buildings and extremely well landscaped and manicured grounds.  The buildings are modern and airy, and contain well over 200,000 square feet of exhibition, office and auditorium space.

It soon becomes apparent that the Museum collection contains many exhibits of truly grand stature, as you can see from the wing in the photograph above, which contains only one item, a massive sculpture called “The End of the Trail,”  a well known piece of art created by James Earle Fraser for the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exhibition held in San Francisco, California.

The photograph above, taken from inside the building,  gives a good indication of the size of this sculpture.  The children do not come close to reaching even the top of the pedestal on which the sculpture stands.

The grounds of the National Cowboy Museum are gorgeous, with man-made streams, waterfalls, and Koi ponds artfully placed throughout the beautifully landscaped gardens. 

As you stroll through the gardens, you will see many varied sculptures, such as this piece depicting a mare and her foal.

When you reach the spot where this giant (I mean HUGE) sculpture of Wild Bill Hickock Buffalo Bill Cody is located, you start to realize that many of the exhibits at the Museum were created without constraints on size.  I don’t know whether the buildings were designed to be large in order to house the massive exhibits, or whether the exhibits were selected to fill the massive buildings.  Whatever the case, it all seems to work together well.

Inside the Museum are many different wings, each housing a varied collection of themed exhibits, such as this diorama of buffalo hunters contained in the Joe Grandee Museum of the Frontier West.

The U.S. Army Cavalry is well represented in the displays, and again, the exhibits are massive and full scale.

Even the American Rodeo Gallery contains many life sized sculptures and displays, such as this bronc rider seen in the photograph above. 

This finely detailed coat is just one of the hundreds of pieces of cowboy and western apparel on display at the museum.  Each piece on display is of similarly high quality as the coat seen here.

Because westerns, or “oaters” were such a large part of the American culture for those of us who pre-date Generation X’ers, the Museum contains a separate Western Performers Gallery.  Within this gallery is the theater shown above, where you can enter and watch an old western while you rest up for more exploration of the Museum’s many exhibits.

In addition to the galleries pictured in this post,  the Museum has a number of galleries which house a large and valuable collection of fine art relating to cowboys and western heritage.  Because of copyright concerns, the Museum (understandably) forbids photography in these galleries, so I have no photographs to include here.  Rest assured, however, that the quality of the art on display is on a par with the quality of the other exhibits that I have included in this post.

Also there are galleries and wings that are not conducive to casual photography, due to lighting and display considerations.  For instance, the Weitzenhoffer Gallery of Fine Arms contains a collection of artistic, historic and rare firearms, housed in glass display cases which cast reflections making photography challenging, at best.  So too for the Native American Gallery.  There is also a wing of the Museum called Prosperity Junction, which is an indoor re-creation of a typical frontier town.  It is well worth seeing, however the dim lighting makes casual photography difficult or impossible.  Additionally, the Museum includes the Children’s Cowboy Corral, where the little ones can wear western clothing,  build a fire and fix some “grub” at the chuck wagon for their parents.  It is a hands-on environment, and the kids can touch to their hearts content.

All in all, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is a wonderful place to visit when traveling to or through Oklahoma City.  Be sure to allocate enough time to see the Museum in it’s entirety, which could easily take several hours if you like to study all of the displays and enjoy all of the artwork.

Well done, Oklahomans.  This museum is a great asset to your state, and a real treasure for all of us.

Approaching Amarillo, Texas on Interstate 40, one can’t help but notice BIG signs urging motorists to stop in for a meal at the BIG Texan Steak Ranch.  The BIG Texan has been operating in Amarillo since 1960.  Even if you haven’t been to Amarillo, you may have heard the BIG stories about this restaurant, as it’s renown has grown in a BIG way over the past 47 years.  The first time that I visited Amarillo, I wondered what the BIG deal was all about, so I stopped by the BIG Texan to sample their cuisine.

The first indication that you are approaching the BIG Texan Steak Ranch is the appearance of the BIG sign that rises to meet the sky outside the restaurant.  The BIG cowboy on the sign is a stereotype of the long, tall Texan we have come to know in the Western movies of the past.

As soon as you pull into the parking lot, you become aware that something is a little different with this restaurant compared to others you have patronized.  Exiting your vehicle brings you face-to-face with a BIG Cadillac limousine, adorned with the obligatory BIG Texas longhorn hood ornament.

Careful not to show favoritism for any one automobile company, the BIG Texan Steak Ranch also owns BIG Lincoln Continental limousines to compliment the Cadillac limousines.  I counted six BIG white, Texas longhorn equipped limousines sitting in the parking lot, which are used to shuttle customers back and forth between area hotels and the restaurant.

In front of the BIG porch leading up to the restaurant you will encounter a BIG steer replica, which is mounted to a trailer and sits next to one of the BIG Cadillac limousines.  OK, I’ll agree that this place is getting a little weird, but amusing never the less.  Eventually, you will make your way into the restaurant, where you will see an old-fashioned shooting gallery, a gift shop, token-only slot machines, a rocking chair BIG enough to seat both Paul Bunyan and his BIG blue ox Babe, and a western style saloon area.

Finally, just before arriving at the maitre d’ station,  the reason for the notoriety of the BIG Texan Steak Ranch becomes clear.   Almost legendary by now, the BIG Texan presents an amazing offer:  finish eating a BIG complete 72 ounce steak dinner in less than 1 hour, and the meal is on the house.  Fail the challenge, and it will set you back a BIG $72.00, plus possible additional medical expenses to repair your now abused innards!

There are conditions attached to the offer.  First, you are required to pay for the meal prior to taking the BIG eating challenge.  I guess the theory is that if an ambulance has to cart you away after attempting this bizarre feat, the staff will not have to worry about trying to settle the tab with an incapacitated diner laying on a stretcher.  Successful diners will have their money refunded at the completion of the challenge.  Second, the diner must consume the entire meal, which consists of a dinner salad, a shrimp cocktail, a BIG 72 ounce (4.5 pound) top sirloin steak, a BIG baked potato, and a dinner roll.   Fat or gristle need not be consumed, but the staff reserves the right to be the judge in this matter.  Third, don’t expect this to be a private affair.  Should you undertake this challenge, you will be escorted to a table set on top of a stage located in the center of the dining room.  You will be the BIG focal point for the next hour, as other diners gawk, take pictures and video of you eating, and the staff provides running commentary regarding your progress.  Behind you, a digital timer ticks down the time that remains, and by your side sits a lined trash can, in the (all too often) event that you can’t hold down the last bites of your dinner.

This is what a BIG 72 ounce top sirloin steak looks like.  Let’s put this in some perspective.  The newest USDA food pyramid suggests that the proper serving size for lean beef is 3 ounces.  Therefore, to complete the BIG Texan eating challenge, one would have to eat a portion of beef that is 24 times greater that the USDA recommends!  This steak contains about the same amount of beef as 45 McDonald’s hamburgers,  or 18 McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.  Within the information contained in their on-line store,  even the BIG Texan Steak Ranch admits that the 72 ounce top sirloin steak can be expected to serve 8-10 ordinary diners (or one hungry Texan).

Here are a few interesting tidbits of BIG Texan trivia:

Over 42,000 people have attempted the BIG Texan Steak Ranch challenge.

Over 7,000 diners have been successful in completing the meal.

The challenge was completed in 9.5 minutes by former Cincinnati Reds pitcher and BIG eater, Frank Pastore, one of his seven successful attempts!

The challenge is successfully completed by an average of two women per year.

The oldest person to successfully complete the challenge was a 69 year old grandmother.

The youngest – an 11 year old boy.

In the ’60’s, professional wrestler Klondike Bill consumed two of the dinners in the allotted one-hour time.

A couple from Henderson, Nevada have completed the meal at least ten times since 1995, usually finishing in less than 30 minutes.

If you happen to be passing through Amarillo, consider stopping by the BIG Texan Steak Ranch for a meal.  If I happen to be there at the time, you can share a table with me as I attempt to consume a more sensible 12 ounce rib-eye steak.  And I’ll take as much time as I need, thank you.

Out in Ozark, Missouri (just south of Springfield) there is a place called Lambert’s Cafe – the only home of “throwed rolls“, that is well worth a visit, if you can manage to make your way over there during off-peak times.  It is a favorite tourist stop for dining on the trip from Springfield to Branson, so the place is quite crowded on weekends and throughout the entire summer season.  If you can’t manage off-peak times, the food and service will still be great, but there will be a long wait to be seated.

As soon as you are seated, you will notice some interesting things.  For one, there is a huge basket of butter and a roll of paper towels at your table.  Grab a paper towel and make it into a place mat in front of you, because withing moments a “roll-guy” will come around, pushing a cart of hot-out-of-oven rolls that are fantastic (especially with all that butter at the table).  The thing is, the roll-guy is more of a pitcher than a waiter – the good ones will toss the rolls to you from 10 yards away, so heads-up!  Soon after, another server will come around and ladle piles of fried okra on your paper towel.  When your beverage comes, you find that it is the size of a tanker-ship.

Your meal will be served in a large 18″ skillet, which is more than any normal person should really eat, but if that weren’t enough food, other servers now start offering to ladle up fried potatoes & onions, black eyed peas, tomatoes & pasta, etc. and of course, more “throwed rolls”.  If you still are hungry ??? then the waiter will gladly offer to bring you more of whatever you ordered – I can’t imaging anyone ever taking them up on the offer, but who knows?

It’s a fun place, well worth trying out.