In part 2 of my Pawhuska recap, I’m going to share the remaining details about the trip my sister and I took a few weeks ago. If you saw part 1, I shared all about the food! The food really did deserve a post all its own. We did, however, do a few more things than just eat ;).
We stayed at the Frontier Hotel, a historic building right in downtown Pawhuska. It’s directly across the street from The Mercantile, and really was less than a block away from everything we wanted to do except visit the ranch. The building, called the Triangle Building, was built in 1915 and has housed many businesses since then. It resembles the Flatiron Building in New York City. In 2017, the renovation began to make it a hotel. I LOVE historic homes and buildings, so this was such a fun place to stay. The lobby area seemed to have a full renovation, and it was elegant and welcoming. The staircase was the focal point of the lobby, and it was absolutely beautiful. Transom windows and original wood trim were other features that I loved. Our room had a kitchen area with a large refrigerator, a loveseat and chair to use while watching television, and a bathroom addition with a tile shower.
There were some unique shops downtown, and of course, The Mercantile was our focus. It had a big variety of Pioneer Woman dishes, platters, and bowls. There were also cookbooks, a giant collection of salt and pepper shakers, tools and gadgets, bags, toys, t-shirts, candles and more. We spent time both days we were there looking around the store and buying our share of souvenirs. The restaurant was located downstairs around the corner from the main store. A trip up the wide staircase took us to the bakery and coffee shop upstairs. You can see views of those in my first blog post about Pawhuska.
There were also other cute boutiques and shops that we went to including a store that had boots for all occasions and another that had funny, quirky items! (see below) We visited shops that had art by local artists; there were several that had such cute clothes; some had home decor; and everyone was super friendly. Of course, I didn’t record the names of them and have a horrible memory, so you’ll have to take my word that there are several cute, fun shops to peruse.
Each afternoon, we sat on a comfy couch in the Dry Hollow Bar, where we enjoyed a drink while taking in the stylish atmosphere. On the brick wall that runs the length of the bar, there were cowboy hats hanging about a third of the way down, and there were multiple seating areas that made us want to stay awhile. At the bar, there seemed to be local cowboys winding down from the work week in their cowboy hats and boots. Monica and I sipped drinks, talked and laughed, and were able to have great sister time. There was also a sweet dog who kept everyone company. He belonged to one of the bartenders. She told us he enjoyed coming to work with her!
On Saturday morning, we took an hour+ walk around the neighborhoods that surround downtown. Again, I LOVE historic homes and wasn’t disappointed by some of the homes we saw. Yes, I was the random stranger standing in front of people’s homes taking pictures. I hope they didn’t mind! Lots of houses caught our attention, and we saw one that was in the middle of a renovation. It will be a show-stopper when it’s finished. There were so many different styles; that is one thing I love about neighborhoods that have older homes. These homes were not cookie-cutter! We also saw a neat book exchange box on one street-what a great neighborhood idea!
Probably the highlight of the trip was taking a tour of the guest house where The Pioneer Woman episodes are filmed. It’s free to tour; all you have to do is stop by the counter at The Mercantile and get the driving directions the day you want to visit. It took us close to 30 minutes to get there, and it gave us the chance to see a little more of the surrounding area as well as lots of Drummond land. About 6 miles of the trip were gravel road, but we didn’t mind! The tour was self-guided, and we were able to walk through the entire guest home. There were several bedrooms and en suite bathrooms, a dining and living room area that are just out of camera range, a large professional kitchen on the end of the home, and what impressed us the most-a storage room that had shelf upon shelf of Pioneer Woman platters, bowls, serving dishes, and appliances that can be pulled for use when filming! There’s also a small pantry right behind where filming takes place, and we were both scared to death by a fake snake that was in there. Apparently, it’s a running joke to place it around the house. It was sooo worth the drive out to get an up-close look at where filming takes place.
Lastly, here’s a look at what we wore. We knew we would be walking lots, and we also knew that about half of the trip was going to involve rain, so we kept it very simple. We chose loose, comfortable pants and tops the first day. My top came from Amazon; the cropped jeans are several years old and from JC Penney. Monica’s top and pants are from Beall’s. On day 2, we each wore a cute cap sleeve summer sweater. Mine came from Amazon, and Monica’s came from one of the shops in Pawhuska!
I’ve already decided to take Tylar to visit Pawhuska when she moves closer to home. It is a charming town with great food, friendly people, and plenty of things to do to fill a weekend. I know she will love it!
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