As you drive through Texas, no visit to the Lone Star State is complete without a stop at a Buc-ee's. On the outside, they look like the worlds largest gas stations. The New Braunfels, TX location is nearly the size of our own West Side Walmart.

They're huge, but on the inside things get a bit weird. Full restaurants, different areas of shopping set up like a department store, and the cleanest bathrooms you can find on the road. It's not like any other gas station in America.

A couple of years ago, Buc-ee's did the unthinkable... they built and opened locations outside of Texas, and that instantly started the talk about when they'll be moving into Oklahoma.

I mean, it would make sense to see some of these major travel centers serving up those epic brisket sandwiches somewhere around OKC... it's one of the busiest cross-country travel routes in America, why wouldn't they break in and do their thing?

If you haven't noticed, Oklahoma can almost be split up along boundary lines based on gas station chains.

Up in Northern Oklahoma, you have Casey's. It's a bigger than normal gas station type place, but not along the same lines as Buc-ee's. Increasingly across much of rural Oklahoma, a chain called Hutch's is starting to really expand.

The Northeast is full of Quik-Trip's - QT's for the locals... they were always famous for their drink selections. On-Cue is mostly the OKC and metro area chain. Rumor has it they have an agreement not to invade each others territory.

Down in SWOK and along the highways, you'll find our local EZGO's. Finally, who hasn't stopped into a Love's at some point or another? There's really no rhyme or reason to where they're located, but it's as if every time nature starts to call on the road, there's a Love's somewhere near.

I'm sure there are other smaller regional conglomerates too, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. It begs the question, where would a Buc-ee's fit in?

You and I talked last year about how awesome it would be if Buc-ee's finally made that trip North to OKC or somewhere along the I-35 corridor, and not too long after that, the rumors started flaring up. I even heard it from my Northern Oklahoma family members that they were expecting a Buc-ee's... but here's the thing you have to remember. During 2020, people were so bored that we all seemed to find joy in starting harmless rumors about stuff.

New Buc-ee's were rumored to be built in Norman, Yukon, Bricktown, Guthrie, Tulsa, Ardmore, and the most recent announcement I've seen was El Reno... to the prankster's credit, they actually created a website for it that has since been taken down. Knowing how 99% of people just believe whatever they read on Facebook, people took it hook, line, and sinker.

The long and short of the Oklahoma Buc-ee's legacy is that there is no plan to expand Buc-ee's into this state anytime soon. They are expanding and building new locations all over, but it's in places where the metro populations are greater than our entire state's population.

Does it mean Buc-ee's will never get to Oklahoma? No. Maybe they'll go public and hit that Wall Street beat where you have to constantly expand until it's time to file for bankruptcy... Time will tell, but for now, no Buc-ee's for the Sooner State.

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Often called the Grand Canyon of Texas, it's easy to feel small when surrounded by the towering land. Palo Duro offers stellar hiking and biking, camping, and even cabins to plan more of a family or lovers getaway. Explore it on foot, on wheels, on horses, etc... Cap off the day with an authentic taqueria meal in Amarillo, if you can stand the smell. They don't call it "Cow Town" for nothing...

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