- Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- What's up everybody?
It's Oklahoma Road Trip team,
we're back together.
- Missed you guys.
- Daniel, how's the Wichitas?
- Oh, man, we can't wait
to be back on the road.
- Yeah, we really can't.
And hey, as you know, it's
our job to show you Oklahoma
and inspire you to travel
when you're ready to travel.
- So as we get back on
the Oklahoma Road Trip,
we're gonna give you all the inside tips
of how to travel safely
and enjoy this great state.
- And hey, whether you're
ready to get out of the house
or not, might as well
take a virtual road trip
with us right now.
- Let's go.
- Party on.
- Let's go.
- [Narrator] On today's Road Trip,
we'll take you to lunch in Alva
and explore Alabaster Caverns State Park
in Freedom. So come along.
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This is the Oklahoma Road Trip.
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From Fairview, the team
heads north to Alva.
Our first stop of the day is lunch
at the local favorite Taco Village.
- I grew up what I would
call a cheese enchilada kid.
I was a cheese enchilada kid.
And now I'm a cheese enchilada adult.
- The enchilada's phenomenal.
I mean, I'm already on my last bite.
Yeah, I think I inhaled it and I'm about
to inhale the rest of everything.
- We come here because it's yummy.
Of course, we love the food.
The nachos are delicious,
the enchiladas, taco salad.
It's just kind of home.
It's homemade, you need to come try it.
- So Jason's getting back in line.
- I need to purchase one more
singular cheese enchilada
'cause that was really tasty.
- Okay, I'm glad you liked it!
- Thank you for your yummy food.
- You're welcome!
- It was awesome.
- Yeah, super good.
- That cheese enchiladas was incredible.
Like I want several now.
Oh my god.
- That is really good
- Oh, here again.
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- [Narrator] From Taco Village,
the team heads west through Freedom
and onto our next stop of the day.
- Alright, we are down in the cave
at Alabaster Caverns I'm with Kim.
Kim, first of all, tell me a
little bit about this place.
- This is the largest
developed gypsum cave open
to the public in the world for touring.
You're welcome to touch
as you go through very different,
does not stop the formation
of this Alabaster Caverns.
But you see the alabaster
as you walk through
that's how it got the name
Alabaster Caverns. It's a form of gypsum.
And then you see the crystallized form,
which is the purest form
of gypsum, called selenite.
We have 200 acres on the park itself.
We have four hiking
trails. We have camping.
We have a gift shop,
and then we have what we call wild caving.
With a flashlight, this
is all you would see,
which is quite a bit
really with one flashlight,
but total darkness, you can't
even see your hand in front
of your face.
- Hightower?
- Jason?
- I mean, you coming?
- Jason?
- I'm in the devil's kitchen.
- I'm going to the light.
- Hey, tell me what you
just saw back there.
- It's like a tight little
corridor, super cool.
We see the gypsum flakes in the walls.
It's really awesome.
This little run here, it's just rare.
It's like a 50 foot little hallway.
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- [Narrator] After taking the guided tour
through Alabaster Caverns,
the team was inspired to do a
little exploring on their own.
The state park also offers wild caving,
where visitors can explore four
of the park's primitive cave sites.
- We're going on a hike, we're hiking!
We are gonna actually end up
going towards one of the caves,
that you can wild cave in,
because we wanna see what it looks like.
- Are we lost?
- Listen, okay.
She said...
- This is the trail she wants us on.
- This is the road.
- Alright, Lace, take us to the place.
- I feel lost already.
We haven't been on this hike.
- We haven't even left the parking lot.
- We're gonna go this way.
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- Oh, wow!
- Wow.
- We are hiking down into Owl
Cave at the Alabaster Caverns.
As you can hear there's
an owl in the background.
You can actually get a permit
and go spelunking down in
here which is pretty awesome.
To my left, the hole
continues into the unknown.
- This is awesome.
- You wanna go?
- Let's get out of here.
- So I had no idea that
cave was almost a mile long.
It is phenomenal.
- If you haven't been
to Alabaster Caverns,
spelunking to the cave,
you're missing out.
- I feel like that was
an awesome experience.
And if you haven't done it you should.
- It's freaking beautiful.
Oh my gosh,
there's crystals all
over the walls and algae
in the middle of the darkness, so awesome.
- If you're an adventurer,
or you just enjoy life,
or you can breathe, Alabaster Caverns.
(upbeat music)
- On today's episode, the team
explored a few of the places
that make the Freedom and
Alva areas so special.
First, we stopped for
lunch at Taco Village.
This local favorite has
been serving the city
of Alva for decades.
We recommend their cheese enchiladas
and nachos. Next, we made our way
to Alabaster Caverns State Park.
This park is home to the
world's largest gypsum cave
open for touring.
Guests can enjoy guided
tours of the cavern,
as well as a variety of other amenities
like hiking trails and campsites.
The State Park also offers wild caving,
where guests can enjoy spelunking
in the undeveloped cavern systems,
and can even cave camp overnight.
And the next time you're in the area
or visiting any other
Oklahoma destination.
Be sure to share your photos
with us using the #RoadTripOK
and remember to grab your free copy
of our 2020 travel guides.
Join us next time as we take you
to the Great Salt Plains State Park,
do a little crystal digging
and eat some tasty barbecue.
We'll see you then.
(upbeat music)
