Family Travel with Colleen Kelly

Colleen K

We just explored Chickasaw Country, Oklahoma as a family destination. Now, how about a trip with your best girlfriends. Dare to take the road less traveled with the girls and explore Chickasaw Country. Located between Oklahoma City and Dallas Texas, this Native American reservation is a unique travel spot for you and your squad in the heart of South Central Oklahoma. I'm Colleen D Kelley and on this special edition of Family Travel, we

Girls

Girls getaway.

Colleen K

In this special edition of Family Travel, girls getaway, I teamed up with my sister Catie and my friends Colleen D and Christina to show you everything Chickasaw Country has to offer like a night out at Blake Shelton's bar and restaurant, Ole Red. Learning about the fearless and powerful women in Chickasaw history. Going hundreds of feet in the air at Turner Falls zipline. Indulging at a real chocolate factory at Bedr Fine Chocolate. Getting down and dirty at Cross bar Ranch or hiking at a stunning waterfall. Ladies, this one's for you. My name is calling Colleen Kelley and when I was single I lived abroad and traveled the world. Then I became a parent and wondered how would I ever travel again? I set out to find a new way to travel and get back to exploring the world, family style. I'm here to guide you on how to get the most out of your family vacation pack your bags and join me, Colleen D Kelley. We're going on vacation. Funding provided by--

Announcer

This show is sponsored by State Farm. When the unexpected happens, State Farm is here to help life go right.

Colleen K

We began the special girls getaway episode at the historic Artesian hotel, located right in the heart of downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma. After Dave entrees at The Fountain Club Bar or sample some of their home style fare at the springs at the Artesian. The Artesian hotel is also a spa getaway and it's just what I needed to kick off the weekend with the girls.

Rhonda

We are very passionate about Serenity spa and what it has to offer to our guests that come here. We're here to touch people in mind, body, spirit and soul.

Colleen K

I need this, so pretty wow.

Rhonda

Hello ladies, welcome to Serenity spa.

Colleen D

Thank you, we

Rhonda

Are you excited?

Colleen K

Yes.

Rhonda

While you we

Colleen D

Right here? Thank you.

Colleen K

Champagne. Here you go.

Christina

Thank you.

Rhonda

Thanks so much for finding the time to do this.

Catie

Mom's getaway.

Colleen K

After we had our refreshments, we slipped into something a little more comfortable and relaxed in their steam sauna. Then it was time to split up for our treatments. Catie decided to go for a hydro-facial, while Colleen D and Christina opted for massages. I on the other hand experienced my very first mud wrap and I felt like a new person afterwards. We ended our day with some manicures and pedicures and wine, of course. Life can get hectic and stressful so sometimes you just have to treat yourself. Ever wished you could see a real life Chocolate Factory? You don't need a golden ticket here. Grab your friends and head to Bedr Fine Chocolates in nearby Davis. Bedr operates both as a manufacturing facility and a vast retail store offering over 75 delicious creations made in-house.

Kay

Yes I'm very proud of being a chocolatier. Well, we're all very passionate about making a product that makes people happy. Chocolate has that quality that just makes people smile. Our top line would be our chocolate covered crisps, our white fudge twists, our

unintelligible

Kay

sensation.

Colleen K

Just to melt away flavors alone, they have-

Kay

Hot fudge. We have raspberry, caramel, peanut butter, strawberry, orange, mints and most every one comes in milk and dark. As a Chickasaw Nation business. We contribute and support all the Chickasaw Nation mission which is to enhance the overall quality of the Chickasaw people. As far as we know, we're the only tribe in the United States that manufactures their own chocolates.

Colleen K

Their restaurant, the Bedr Caf, has two locations in Sulphur and Ada offering deli style sandwiches, shakes, a full coffee bar and of course their signature chocolates and candy. You don't have to go to the farthest reaches of the earth to find a breathtaking waterfall because you can find one right here in Chickasaw Country Turner Falls park in Davis, Oklahoma. It's 77 feet tall, the tallest waterfall in Oklahoma. Turner Falls park also has hiking trails, caves to explore, campsites and cabin rentals. Today we but we adventure

unintelligible

Colleen K

.

Catie

This is like a perfect day for me. I love it.

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Catie

.

Christina

Nice brisk walk, right?

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Christina

.

Colleen K

Nice cross walk, beautiful falls, this is great. I

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Colleen K

.

Catie

Wait for me.

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Colleen K

I didn't think we'd see a waterfall, did you?

Christina

No. I love waterfalls that makes feel I

Colleen D

Every place I go to, you have to touch the water, like oceans, lakes.

Catie

Good, there coming just right there.

Colleen K

While it may have been too cold for us to swim, the park welcomes visitors to swim right there at the waterfall in the warmer months. It's a perfect scenic spot to grab a group selfie, of course.

Girls

Moms getaway.

Colleen D

I kind of want to push you in.

laughs

Colleen K

Come on. When was the last time you climbed a tree ladies?

Catie

I don't need help. I can do this.

Colleen K

Be careful. What are you doing?

Catie

Taking a picture. You have to do this because, as moms, we don You got to have to climb.

unintelligible

Christina

hurry up before I fall.

Colleen K

We then attempted to make our way over to the caves for some exploring.

Catie

How am I now the leader of the group? I

Colleen D

You

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Catie

Go back I don't know how I became the leader. This was not the right way.

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Christina

Good effort.

Colleen K

Even though we took a wrong turn, you can For the ones looking to dig in to some adventure and not mind getting a little dirty in the process look no further than Cross Bar Ranch located just west of Davis in the heart of Arbuckle Mountain. Oh, my gosh. Look at this thing is this what we're doing?

Christina

I think this is what we just signed up for.

laughter

Christina

I

Colleen K

I think we can handle it, let

Christina

It'd be fun adventure.

Justin

Hello, ladies.

Girls

Hi.

Justin

Welcome to Cross Bar. We're going to take you out today and we're going to show you some of the major points in the park. This is one of the largest off-road parks in the center United States so there's a lot to see. We have Lookout mountain that you can see probably 25, 30 miles. This was a historic mining area, there was several different mines throughout the park, there was actually an old town down to the north section of the park.

Catie

We're beginners. Tell us about the different levels here.

Justin

The machines that we're going to put you in can basically handle anything on this park. Some of these machines are a lot more advanced and can really do some major things. We

Colleen D

How fast do they go?

Justin

We will do close to 100. Out here I've had it up to around 80 so it'll go as fast as you want to go.

Colleen K

Are going to see any animals?

Justin

Yeah, right now it's deer season, so there's a lot of bucks moving around on the park. There's a lot of turkey out here. There's a lot of quail, there's a lot of road-runners. Haven't seen any bears yet but every once in a while we've got a Sasquatch that's safe right around that corner or a Big Foot. He'll pop out every once in a while, but I think he's tame, so it should be fine there.

Colleen K

All right. You're about to have four women on the road. Hope you can handle us.

Justin

I've taking my wife all over this park and she can handle it just fine, so we'll make sure you all are having a good time.

Colleen K

All right, perfect.

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inaudible

Justin

and we'll get going.

Colleen K

You're going down. Eat my dust.

laughs

Catie

Are you ready? Here we go.

Colleen K

Spanning over 6,500 acres, Cross Bar Ranch offers trails for jeep, rock crawler, UTV, ATV, and dirt bikes for all skill levels. The property started out as a working cattle ranch, but is since been transformed into an adventurer's paradise.

engine noises

Colleen K

If you're looking for some fun and some friendly competition, Cross Bar Ranch is the place to go. Just prepare to get a little down and dirty.

Christina

So, pretty. That was great. How does it feel always being second?

Colleen D

Well, you have to win here and there.

Colleen K

Okay, you won at something.

Colleen D

Yeah, I win in cuddle.

laughter

Colleen D

Where is this again?

Colleen K

This is the Arbuckle mountains and this is called Lookout mountain. It's gorgeous. They say you can see for 50 miles. It's true.

Catie

We made it to the top.

Christina

All right, let's shut that down and go through there, right?

Colleen K

Yeah, I think I'll go and hit the town. Clean up first. Let's do it. All right?

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Colleen K

. Cross Bar Ranch isn't just for experienced riders, speed junkies, or the boys. We are living proof that moms can play too.

Catie

Girls' night out.

Colleen K

After our adventurous day, it was time for a girls' night out. We made our way to Ole Red, a restaurant, live music venue and retail space located at near Tishomingo. The themed entertainment venue was inspired by Oklahoma native, Blake Shelton. Whose hit song, Ole Red, give the space its name. Okay, Blake Shelton was backstage. Did you see him?

Christina

Really?

Colleen K

Yeah, he was. I mean, it was a cut-out out of him.

laughter

Colleen K

It totally counted for pictures.

Christina

All right, this is great. I'm so happy we're here, should we toast?

Catie

I'm sad this is my last night because you guys are going to have so much fun without me.

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Catie

.

Colleen K

I know, we're sorry you're leaving. We'll send you pictures.

Catie

Thank you.

Colleen K

To Catie.

Catie

Oh, no. To the girls.

Colleen K

We decided to start out with some delicious appetizers

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Colleen K

.

laughter

Colleen K

. Including one of my personal favorites, fried green tomatoes. I'm sorry, but we're in Oklahoma and fried green tomatoes, you have to have one. Everybody grab one.

Christina

I love the fried green tomatoes, they're fantastic.

Charles

Hi, ladies.

Catie

Hi, how are you?

Charles

Great, how are you all doing?

Catie

Great.

Charles

Hope you're enjoying our dinner tonight.

Colleen K

Yes.

Charles

Good.

Catie

Music's amazing.

Charles

That's right. We're all be dancing later.

Colleen K

We're on a little girlfriend getaway.

Charles

Oh, really?

Colleen K

Yeah.

Charles

Yeah, just a special occasion or--?

Colleen K

We just needed a time and we've got kids, we're busy, so we just made it happen.

Charles

Well, you have come to the right place.

Colleen K

In September of 2017, the venue opened with a performance by Blake Shelton and a block party that drew over 10,000 people.

Charles

This is Blake Shelton's restaurant. He lives here. When Blake wanted a place where he can just pop in, play the guitar, have a burger, visit with the local people. There wasn't a place like this so he built it, here we are.

Colleen K

He built it in his hometown.

Charles

Yes, that is correct.

Catie

That's pretty incredible.

Christina

People who'd never been to Chickasaw Nation, what its so special about it? What do you think, in your opinion?

Charles

What the Chickasaw culture brings to this area. It's a great, rich culture with a lot of history and what they do for the community and the people in the community, really brings everyone together. I think for me, living here-- it's a special place. Then we get to see wonderful people like you.

laughter

Charles

.

Catie

We're having a great time, thank you.

Charles

Thank you very much. I'm going to let you enjoy your dinner. I'm going to get out of your way. Thank you so much for coming to see us. Have a great night.

Christina

We will. Bye.

Colleen K

While we opted for dinner and music at Ole Red, many tourists and locals alike like to try out their luck at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in nearby Thackerville. Just north of the Oklahoma-Texas boarder at interstate 35.

Stephanie

WinStar really offers like trip-around-the-world for all the visitors. We have themed plazas with cities and restaurants unique to those locations.

Colleen K

WinStar opened at 1991 first as a bingo hall and today, they boast more games than any other casino in the world.

Stephanie

We have cabanas to rent, so for girls weekend or moms weekend, that would be excellent to come up and just grab a cabana and get your girlfriends out there and enjoy the sunshine in southern Oklahoma.

Colleen K

The WinStar World Casino and Resort certainly lives up to its name. I'd like to propose a toast. To girls we got. Taking time for ourselves

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Colleen K

.

Christina

Having our friendship is very important to me so, here's to our friendship.

Colleen K

To the girls. Want to flex your creative muscles? The Artesian Art Gallery, located across from the Artesian hotel in the heart of downtown Sulphur, is an artistic space for creating, appreciating, and sharing fine art. Featuring an art gallery, customer spaces, a reception area, and a retail space.

Mark

Art is- it's one of the essential thing that people need to do. They need a way to unleash their creativity. A way to allow people to understand who they are and art gives that opportunity. We offer everything, from painting, to pottery, ceramics, silk painting, textile work. It's really a very wide range of classes we offer and we also offer classes ranging from young kids to over senior adults and kind of everything in between.

Colleen K

The three of us arrived for our painting class and after suiting up in our aprons, we were ready to begin.

Sadie

Have you guys ever done a painting class before?

Colleen K

I haven't.

Sadie

You had once? Okay. It's really a fun experience. Today, we're going to be painting pumpkins. I want you to put your initial inside at the end.

Colleen K

What if you're not good painter?

Sadie

If you're not a good painter, that is absolutely okay. This class is for all skill levels. The image for today is not going to be very advanced. They're going to have a small color palette and you're going to have simple shapes to get us started.

Christina

Okay, great. Perfect.

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Sadie

I'm excited to see what you guys come up with.

Colleen K

Thank you. You don't have to be the next Picasso to have fun at the Artesian Art Gallery and I certainly wasn't. What are you making now?

Colleen D

I'm mixing orange with the yellow to make the orange lighter.

Colleen K

That's too much work for me.

Colleen D

You're going to win the contest.

Colleen K

Of the best one? I think this one. How's that look?

Christina

You're getting there.

Colleen D

It looks like an orange moon in the night sky.

Colleen K

That's what it's suppose to be.

Colleen D

Someone will be able to make out what it is.

laughter

Colleen D

.

Christina

It's terrible.

laughter

Christina

.

Colleen D

That's horrific. I'm sorry. I've known her since I was 10, so I'm telling her the truth.

Colleen K

Now that all of us are finished, it was time to pick the winner. I think, first of all, both of you have the artistic talent, for sure.

Colleen D

Mine is the simplest.

Christina

Yours is better.

Colleen K

Okay how about this, how about if you two tie.

Christina

Okay that makes sense.

laughter

Christina

.

Colleen K

We're all C's.

Christina

Yes, very nice.

Colleen K

In the spirit of celebrating a lady's weekend, we're exploring Chickasaw women in history and their role in the Chickasaw community.

LaDonna

When we're talking about the matro-linial aspect, what we refer to is people being related to each other through the mother side of the family. We determine who our lineage is, who we are related to, it determines our clan system and it determines our social obligation, but it also determines our roles within our tribe. Chickasaw women's role was raising the children by helping the children to learn our cultural ways and that's usually through stories handed down from generations to generations. One of the people that we can look to following in this strong woman role is a person such as Te Ata.

Colleen K

Te Ata rose to fame in the early 20th century performing and sharing stories of the Chickasaw culture in the United States and across the world during her 60 year career. She eventually went to perform on Broadway and in 1939 was invited to perform at The White House by Franklin D. Roosevelt himself.

LaDonna

When the United States and the state of Oklahoma had outlawed all of our cultural events and so at a time when our identity was trying to be crushed out, out of that came Te Ata. When we see somebody like Te Ata going out there and performing and telling our traditional cultural stories, making that kind of strides in this world then you realize that there is hope for the Chickasaw people and in showing the world our Chickasaw identity.

Colleen K

We headed to one of the best places in Chickasaw country to get your adrenaline going 777 zip at Turner Falls zip line. Towering over 300 feet in the air, you'll zip backwards 777 feet each way, across Turner Falls where the views are unbeatable and where else can you say you zip lined above a water fall hundreds of feet in the air?

Christina

Are you scared? Oh, my God.

screaming

Christina

.

Colleen D

My goodness, that's going to be us.

Colleen K

If you lose the nerve or it seems too much for you, there's no pressure, feel free to enjoy the reaction of the riders or the beauty of surrounding Turner Falls.

Colleen D

Yes, I'm not doing that, I'm out.

Colleen K

You're out?

Colleen D

Yes, I'll go be your supporter friend, take video, picture.

Christina

Are you sure?

Colleen K

That's good, take the picture, we're in, your ready? All right, let's go. We want to end this weekend with a bang so what better way than a zip line, are you ready?

Christina

Ready.

Colleen K

All right, coming?

Colleen D

Good luck with that.

laughter

Colleen D

.

Colleen K

Thank you, let's go. Be sure you take some good pictures. We need to prove to our kids that we did this.

Christina

Of course. We're only doing this once.

Colleen K

I'm here for you.

Christina

Okay sounds good.

screaming

Christina

.

Colleen K

I don't know maybe we wont do it.

Steven

Here we go ladies just come stand on the plate together.

Colleen K

Okay. All right Colleen D, this is where we leave you.

Colleen D

Good luck.

Colleen K

Good bye.

laughter

Colleen K

.

Steven

All right, all you got to do for me is sit back and raise your arms straight up okay. You got no worries

inaudible

Steven

.

Colleen K

Really?

Steven

Yes. You don't even need a helmet, we're all good.

Colleen K

Just sit and enjoy the view.

Steven

Yes, sit back and enjoy the view. It's a bird eye view.

Colleen K

Thanks for watching this special edition of Family Travel in Chickasaw country, I'm Colleen D Kelly. We'll see you next time. Oh, my God, here we go.

screaming

Colleen K

. That's pretty wonderful.

screaming

Colleen K

.

Christina

Where are you going to go?

Colleen K

Coming back is

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Colleen K

.

screaming

Colleen K

. We did it.

Christina

I need a

unintelligible

Christina

and a bag.

Colleen K

The ladies and I had quite the girls' getaway while here in Chickasaw country. We indulged in some decadent treats at Bedr Fine Chocolate, took in the sites at Turner Falls on our group hike, braved the muddy trails of Cross Bar Ranch, celebrated a girls' night out at the Blake Shelton inspired Ole Red. Learned about some inspiring women in Chickasaw culture and took dare devil zip line ride over Chickasaw country. We hope we've shown you all the unique experience Chickasaw country has to offer for the girls looking to breakout and getaway. Funding provided by--

Announcer

This show is sponsored by State Farm. When the unexpected happens State Farm is here to help life go right.

Colleen K

For more information on upcoming destinations and projects visit familytravelck.com, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and check us out on Snapchat. We'd like to hear from you. re in these machines on the straight,