There’s an Oklahoma Driving Rule Nobody Teaches You

If you’ve lived in Oklahoma long enough, you learn about backroading.

You don’t really learn it from a map. Somebody just shows you a road that gets you around traffic, cuts across town, or saves you from having to deal with whatever mess is happening on the main highway.

It’s one of those things you just pick up.

Oklahoma Backroads Don’t Always Save Time

Of course, backroading doesn’t always work out in your favor.

We found that out Friday.

Taking the Backroads From Wichita Falls to Denton

We were headed down to Frisco, Texas, and my co-pilot decided we should take the scenic route.

I use the term “scenic” loosely.

We ended up somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, Texas, taking pretty much every incredibly narrow back road between Wichita Falls and Denton.

It was actually a pretty good time. We had the music going, we were talking, and there’s something kind of nice about getting off the interstate and just seeing where the road takes you... I’m just not entirely convinced it saved us any time.

Not that it mattered.

Oklahoma Barbecue Has a Brisket Problem

We eventually made it to Frisco and had some brisket.

Really good brisket.

The kind of meal that reminds you that Oklahoma just doesn't know how to make brisket.

On the way home, I got to pick the route. We took the highway and made it back in what felt like record time.

Of course, by then the Friday evening rush had mostly cleared out, so I’m not going to take all the credit.

Still, it proved something I’ve learned about Oklahoma backroads.

Sometimes they’re a real shortcut, but they're almost always a real adventure.