Life is full of surprises. Now there’s an understatement, as anyone who is 50 will tell you. But we’ve found that the states we visit are often overflowing with surprises. Case in point – Oklahoma.

I expected tumbleweeds, cowboys, oil rigs, and thick steaks. I did not expect Frank Lloyd Wright. But there he was — or his beautiful building anyway — in the middle of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Yep, that was a bit of a surprise.

Frank Lloyd Wright is yet another example of American genius. His beautiful buildings deeply influenced art, architecture, and the American lifestyle. But did you realize that only one of his buildings is a skyscraper? He designed several skyscrapers, but only one has been actually constructed — and it sits in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

During the 1950s, a Bartlesville oil and chemical magnate decided to build his company’s headquarters with style. The result was the Price Tower, 19 glorious stories rising out of the Oklahoma plain. So, here’s the best part: some of the spaces in the Tower have been converted into a hotel. We were able to spend the night in a Frank Lloyd Wright building! How cool is that?!! Answer: beyond cool. In fact, spending the night in a Frank Lloyd Wright building just might be the epitome of cool. It is also very heartening to note that something four years older than Bill and I is considered wildly cool.

The Price Tower is built on a cantilever design, which I don’t completely understand, but was illustrated in a handy book in our room.

Frank Lloyd Wright referred to the Price Tower as “the tree that escaped the crowded forest”. This is because the building has a 42-foot deep “tap root” foundation, plus a central core with four elevators that serve as the “trunk”, and the outside of the building is covered with copper, aka green “leaves”. Plus, being planted in Oklahoma, this building escaped New York City’s forest of skyscrapers.

Did I mention that sleeping in a Frank Lloyd Wright building was extremely cool? You might want to make your reservations.

And while you’re in Bartlesville, be sure to visit Murphy’s Steak House.

As everyone in Bartlesville knows (and the sign says), Murphy’s is home of the World Famous Hot Hamburger: a gigantic, open-faced hamburger served with french fries and — here’s the world famous part — Gravy Over All. Hope you’re hungry.

While you probably don’t associate famous architects with Oklahoma, I’ll bet you do think of Will Rogers and this state. We visited the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma and learned a little about his life.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the other museum nearby. Oh darn.

So, back to my original expectations for Oklahoma. Some of my stereotyped ideas came from watching a live performance of the musical, Oklahoma, earlier this year. Ever since then, whenever we mention this state, Bill breaks into song. Loudly. And off-key. Thank goodness we’ll soon be finished with Oklahoma. Anyway, we did see plenty of oil rigs.

And although we didn’t see thick steaks, we did find thick hamburger. But as we drove along I-44 and routes 20 and 75, we saw very few tumbleweeds, and even fewer cowboys. At one point, we saw a cowboy-type guy riding an ATV rather than a horse. What’s next – a cowboy on a Segway? Now that would be a surprise.

41. Oklahoma
An oil rig