One of the reasons we decided to include Oklahoma during the first year of our 5 year, 50 state road trip was so we could visit some friends who’d moved to Oklahoma a couple of years ago.
They live on the eastern side of Oklahoma, with Tahlequah being the city closest to them (they live in a pretty rural area). Tahlequah is the capital of the Cherokee Nation, so we were looking forward to learning more about both Native American history and their current life.
As it turns out, we didn’t experience as much as we’d hoped as we were more focused on spending time with our friends. We did find some fun stuff to do in Tahlequah though, so here’s what we got up to.
Del Rancho
Our first stop was Del Rancho for lunch. Del Rancho is a chain restaurant, but each one is independently owned. I’m not sure if this is a feature at all Del Rancho restaurants, but once you know what food you want, you place your order over the phone.
We’d heard about Indian tacos but had never gotten to try them. I therefore ordered an Indian taco for lunch which is listed on their menu as a Tahlequah taco. This consists of a fried bread base, chili and beans, lettuce, cheese, onion and tomato.
The photo doesn’t do justice to how enormous this thing was. The bread base was so substantial that I had to leave a fair bit of it. It was tasty though and I’m glad I finally got to try it.
Cherokee National Prison Museum
After lunch, we headed to the Cherokee National Prison Museum. The museum is based in what was the only prison located in the entire Indian Territory at the end of the 19th century.
As you might notice in the photo below, the Cherokee language is widely prevalent in Tahlequah. Road signs, businesses, etc. are all displayed in both English and Cherokee. The symbols of the Cherokee language were created by Sequoyah in the 1820s and are still used today.
It’s an interesting museum that tells the history of law and order in the Cherokee nation. It was also fascinating to learn how Cherokee law evolved and worked alongside the law applicable in the rest of the US.
The Cherokee National Prison Museum only costs $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students, so it’s definitely worth checking out on a visit to Tahlequah.
Cherokee National Capitol
After leaving the prison museum, we made our way up Muskogee Ave and passed by a square which had several things to see.
The most prominent of those was a brick building which served as the Cherokee National Capitol from 1870 to 1907.
Statue Of Liberty Replica
To the right of the old capitol building was a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty provided by the Boy Scouts of America.
Historic Markers
Also in that same square were a couple of monuments relating to a couple of pieces of Oklahoman telephone history.
The first monument was placed there as it’s where the first telephone in Oklahoma was connected for service. The monument reads as follows:
The other telephone-themed monument is dedicated to John Brian Stapler.
Start LAN Center & Internet Cafe
One block up from that square is Start, a video game and internet cafe seemingly aimed at teens, but open to anyone. Now, Shae and I are sadly no longer teens, but our friends were looking after a couple of teens that day. We therefore all headed inside and discovered an incredibly cool location.
Start has dozens of computers where customers can play video games. The pricing was pretty good too – it costs $6 an hour, but you can buy an all-day pass at the weekend for $20.
The nice thing is that there were loads of sofas where teens could hang out without having to spend money, so it’s accessible for every young person no matter what their budget.
I’d not experienced Virtual Reality yet, so I paid $6 to enjoy 20 minutes of gaming. I chose a game where the two controllers worked as light sabers, having to hit colored blocks as they came towards me to the beat of whatever song I chose. It certainly made Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen and Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi much more intense!
Sam And Ella’s Chicken Palace
After a few hours in Tahlequah, we headed back to our friends’ place, but not before picking up a couple of pizzas from Sam And Ella’s which is apparently the go-to place in Tahlequah. Just don’t let the restaurant’s name put you off (say their names out loud 😉 )
Final Thoughts
Shae and I enjoyed our afternoon in Tahlequah and hope to return in the future as it seems like there’s a lot we missed out on. There’s the Cherokee Heritage Center, Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum, a nice park and more.
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