This little town is home of Ree Drummond & her family. AKA the Pioneer Woman! She has a cooking show that I love to watch on Food Network where she cooks for her family & friends primarily at her lodge/ranch. She also has a blog that I follow which you can check out HERE & a vintage kitchen/dishes line that is sold at her mercantile store & at Walmart. I might just be a little bit obsessed with her.
My friend Kenzie & I picked a day this past winter to make the 3 hour drive to have lunch at her café, shop in her store & tour the lodge where she films her Food Network show. Today was that day & we couldn't have been more excited!
We woke up early & were on the road by 7am...can you tell we are excited??
It was a super fun drive down to OK with lots of girl talk, Kenzie being our DJ & a couple of pit stops along the way. We arrived in Pawhuska around 1030, found a place to park & got in line at the Mercantile to have lunch.
When we arrived there was a line out the door & around the block which I am told is the norm for this place ALL day long. However we didn't care how long the wait was...we just drove 3 hours to get here so we were happy little clams to sit & wait. Actually we only waited for 45 minutes until we were seated which wasn't too bad.
Once inside we were giddy taking it all in & then had the hard decision to pick something to eat off of the amazing menu.
We opted for the spinach/artichoke dip with pita bread as an appetizer which was dee-lish! It was a difficult decision but I ended up ordering the Marlboro Man sandwich & it didn't disappoint. Kenzie ordered the White Chicken Lasagna & she said it was pretty much the best thing she had ever eaten.
After an amazing lunch, we went over to her general store where there was fabric, linens, dishes, kitchen utensils, children's books, cookware, soaps, clothes....you name it she sold it.
Pretty much in love with her dishes!!
After shopping in her general store we made our way upstairs to the bakery.The whole upstairs was an awesome sitting area where you could enjoy a treat from the bakery while sipping on coffee all while admiring the view of downtown Pawhuska out the windows.
Next we made our way 25 minutes down the road to tour the Pioneer Woman's lodge where her Food Network show is filmed. While making our way we passed the Drummond Ranch where Ree's husband, brother-in-law, father-in-law & sons work the cattle on their 433,000 acre ranch.
Nothing but brown fields for miles & miles! Once you get off of the asphalt road you drive on gravel for several miles & I'm not going to lie - it is a rough ride! The whole time we were worried we would pop a tire & unfortunately there was a car on the side of the road who had developed a flat tire. We decided that this route to the lodge was probably not ever used by the Drummond family!!
We finally made it to the lodge & the view was breathtaking...even with the grass in it's dormant state.
The lodge sits up on a hilltop so it was pretty breezy but still beautiful nonetheless. Also, you can see a gravel road in the middle of the pic. We later found out this is the road that the family takes back & forth to their home. Of course - we figured they didn't travel that horrible, rough gravel road everyday.
After looking through my pics I realized I didn't get a pic of the actual lodge so here is one I took off the internet so you have an idea what it looks like as you pull up to it. 
We had so much fun touring the Pioneer Woman's lodge, ranch & store but sadly it was time to head back home. We made one last pit stop before leaving Pawhuska & were on our way back to Kansas. Of course no trip to OK is complete without a stop into Braum's ice cream.
What a fun day trip with my work bestie Kenzie! Looking forward to being able to take my mom here this summer. This little day trip to see the Pioneer Woman's mercantile & ranch is right up her alley!!!
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