Tag Archives: Bicycling

Wildlife on the Arkansas River

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I went on a bike ride the other day. I saw this bald eagle. Very far away almost past the limit of my camera. Two years ago I was quite sure that I had never seen a bald eagle in the wild. Since then I have seen lots of them.

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And nearby a brief of White Pelicans. They are beautiful and comical at the same time.

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And one of the big loners of the world, a Great Blue Heron. In some places, like on a beach, they are almost social with people but usually they keep their distance.

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And I focused on a random pile of rocks and sure enough there were some basking turtles. They use up all the rocks and dead trees in the river.

And switching gears, our little Kodi, the Pomeranian graduated from puppy school!!

Here is what he was best at, the thirty foot treat run. He’s really been a good dog and we love him.

That’s about it this week. I am linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.

Circumnavigating the Arkansas River Trails

Way back on March 22nd, the wind and rain died down, the temperatures came up and I went on a bike ride. I wanted to to the Tulsa RiverParks loop of the Arkansas River which is a lot harder for now than it used to be because they have closed off part of the west bank trail due to construction of a new bridge and dam across the river. They divert the bike traffic out to Route 66 to share the road with dump trucks, oil haulers, and all sorts of other non-relaxing vehicles not to mention a crappy road surface. I’ve done it twice already since the construction started and it is not a nice ride on the detour. But hey, I wanted to do it anyway. So I strapped on my cheap gopro clone on my bicycle and headed out.

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About a mile into it I almost had a collision with these two unhomed guys. They were coming in fast on an ill-timed left turn. Luckily I saw them and stopped. I already had one collision on the riverparks trails a couple years ago and it took me months before I could get on a bike again. I wasn’t mad at these guys and they were apologetic, they just got themselves in a jam.

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I got on the west bank and started going south. My strategy was to ride into the wind on the outbound leg so I could return to the car inbound. You can see from the flag how stiff the wind was. So I didn’t fight the wind, I was just moseying south.

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And then had to leave the trail where it was blocked and head west on this sidewalk. Luckily there was nobody coming east. If there is someone has to give since there is not enough room for two bicycles or if a mom is coming with a stroller. I almost yield the right of way.

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So I got to Route 66 and was planning on riding the sidewalk south, but no go!! Big construction project going on. Oh well, I crossed to the other side of the road.

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They had four lanes of two way traffic squeezed down to two lanes and the bike lane is goine. See that truck. He’s in my space!! Luckily there was a decent sidewalk for a short ways.

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And then I was able ride on the business parking lots adjoining the road.

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I got south of the construction and crossed the highway and came upon my favorite part. The road that the oil tanks use going to and from the refinery. Share the road guys!!

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Another truck right going intot he refinery.

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I brought one of my good cameras along and got a picture of the refinery. I know a little about refineries, being a chemical engineer and all. Mainly what you are looking for here is TST’s. TST stands for “Tall Shiny Things.” Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Other parts of the refinery have LRO’s which stands for “Large Round Objects.” You keep following my blog you are likely to learn a lot.

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I always like this enclosed bridge over Mooser Creek.

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I stopped for a bit of geocaching here. I’ve looked for it before and and haven’t found it yet. The hint is “This cache rocks!!” Only chemical engineers have a worse sense of humor than geocachers.

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And then on past the sewage treatment plant.

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And then the long trudge up the trail to the lower parking lot of Turkey mountain.

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And then we get to coast across the river to the east bank.

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And then, flying north back to 21st street where I started. The wind was at my back and it felt like flying.

16 miles and change. It was a nice ride.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Bicycles, Bridges, and Skies

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I went on a ride on Tulsa’s Riverparks trails the other day. It was hot but I had lots of water and you know when you ride you make your wind. I stopped at the Gathering Place and checked out the new pedestrian bridge under construction. It is going to be done sometime next spring. I’m looking forward to it. It has it’s own web site here.

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Here’s the old bridge from the other side of the river here. It was a railroad bridge up until the 60’s or so and then was later converted to pedestrian bridge. When the Gathering Place was done, the city suddenly decided the old bridge was unsafe and proceeded to tear it down. Many of us felt a little played but I’m not too upset. I think the real reason was that the low water dam just downstream was obsolete and was being replaced. I think the construction of the new dam would destabilize the old bridge. So that is why I’m okay with the new bridge plus it will tie-in better, than trying to make the old bridge work, to the Gathering Place on the east side of the river.

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Also looking across the river is Tulsa Power Station. An old natural gas powered electric generating plant still in service. It hardly ever runs.

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From the other side of the river looking downtown here is where I worked for years before I retired.

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And of course I have to take pictures of construction equipment. This is working on the riverbed. It looks like they are putting up structures in the river. The construction site is protected by a huge cofferdam as the bridge and the new dam are built.

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And about a mile upstream is one of my favorite views, looking at the arches on the 21st street bridge.

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And five or six miles downstream photos of some of my fellow bicyclers. This woman has an ebike. They are pretty popular. I know people of average fitness that can go 50 or 60 miles on them. They’d be nice to have but I like something that doesn’t plug in.

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And a conventional road bike. Lots of really in-shape people on the river!

And here is my bike. A hybrid type with a big soft seat and big tires. I’m looking for a smooth ride.

I’m linking to Skywatch Friday. Come join in!!

Skywatch Friday – Outside Time!

I got it all on this week’s post, Gardening, Hiking, Bicycling, A Plea for Help, and a Musical Finale! Are you ready? Lets get started!!

Earlier this week I went to Turkey Mountain. We’ve had a lot of rain and they want people to stay off the trails when its muddy. Kind of like your Great Aunt Grace telling you to stay on the plastic runners. Or at least that’s what my Great Aunt Grace would tell me. Anyway I first checked the Monarch Waystation. Lots of green stuff there and few blooms.

I’m no butterfly but if I were I guess I would be digging into whatever these flowers had to offer. My botanical ID skills are woeful. I do know that these are yellow blooms. Enough Gardening, and now Hiking!!

And then I got back in my car and drove up to the upper parking lot. Ordinarily the I would have gone up the trail but I was rationing my energy because the temperature was over 90F and the head index was almost 110F. Anyway, I started down the Snake Trail to go explore the NW side and see if there were any new trails out that way.

The Snake Trail is pretty decent. When I take first time visitors to Turkey Mountain, before the new trails were started, I took them on Snake because it was relatively flat and not very technical (in other words breaking your ankle was unlikely). Turkey is going to have a mixture of old and new trails. The terrible erosion prone, non sustainable trails will be blocked off to allow the ground to heal.

I got up close to the YMCA and headed east and soon came to some new trail that I had not seen yet. So I jumped on it and went a couple hundred yards or so and saw that it was not yet open. I thought it looked a little rough. Anyway I got off it and got on a parallel old trail.

I emerged on what is called the Powerline Trail and went back to the parking lot. Powerline is difficult. It gets kind of technical and really steep and has several false ridges. I guess you could call it Heartbreaker as well. It is in full sun which makes it extra fun on a hot sunny day. But hey I made it. I guess you already figured that out because I wrote this post.

And now the Bicycling Segment!!

Thursday morning, I got up, skipped yoga and took my bike out on the other side of the Arkansas River to ride the paved trails. That hill you see on the other side of the river is Turkey Mountain. Don’t be giggling or laughing at the Mountain. We don’t have too many in Tulsa.

On the south end of the RiverParks trails is a Native American Tribal owned casino. The trail squeezes in betweenn casino and the river. Somebody, maybe the tribe has been doing some “Riparian Mitigation” on the riverbank and it is bearing fruit. I never noticed these trees before. I love it.

On the north end I stopped at the south end of the Gathering Place. With better weather people are taking their toddlers there and they let the kids migrate into the bike lanes. I don’t blame them, they are new to the trails and don’t understand. Anyway, when the new people I just cut my ride short and go back. Better than risking hitting somebody. But I stopped and smelled the roses

Do I look like I need help? Well I do!! Come volunteer at the Tulsa Ironman race on May 22nd.

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Last year I volunteered on the running segement on Sunday afternoon. It was fun and easy. I just handed out water and gatorade to the racers for several hours. These men and women are amazing athletes. The Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition gets paid for the volunteer hours they provide to the event. Check here to get more info if you are interested.

And the musical section of this mess of a post. Featuring a hot mess herself, Miranda Lambert. I got her new album Palomino and am loving it. She is a good singer and has quite the sense of humor.

That’s about it folks. I guess I had some sky photos in here somewhere. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join in!!

Skywatch Friday – Different Ways of Catching Rays!!

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Sunset a few weeks ago captured with the drone.

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And an opposite sunset looking to the northeast

I’ve rediscovered “tiny planet” apps. They take a photo and wrap it around itself.

I went on a bike ride on a glorious, windy, sunny, kind of cool Wednesday. I took the Katy Trail from Tulsa to Sand Springs to avoid the mobs of spring breakers on the RiverParks trails. It’s an old railroad that has been converted to a trail.

And a vantage from a high spot.

And turned 45 degrees to the refinery across the Arkansas River.

A late afternoon skywatch shot. After weeks of boring skies I’ve been busy.

A sunrise early in the morning.

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And the old drone pilot himself.

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We had a full worm moon on Wednesday with just a very light screen of clouds in front of it. I love full moons.

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I am continuing to do jigsaw puzzles on my ipad. I love them. I love this Caribbean scene.

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And this street scene. It takes me days to do these things. I don’t mind though it is very relaxing.

Anybody else getting their vitamin D on. I love being outside so much.

I’m linking to Skywatch Friday. Come check it out. Lots of great posts from bloggers all over the place.

Skywatch Friday – The Sun! At Last!

The cold, sleet, ice, and snow went away so we have been able to go outside and it is liberating. I’ve been on a couple bike rides. I’ve been retired for a year and a half and I still feel guilty taking off on a bike ride in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Most days feel like the first day of summer vacation when I was a kid. They days are just full of possibilities.

Oklahoma history is different. One of my recent bike rides took me by this old cemetery in the middle of suburbia in south Tulsa. It is the Rentie Grove Cemetery named after the family that owned the property. The Renties were freed black people who were slaves owned by Creek Indians who brought them along to Oklahoma when the Creeks were forced to leave the southeastern Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.

We’ve been taking on our dogs on daily walks during not too bad weather. We have a one mile route that takes them by many of their “friends.” They and the friends give each other a good barking. A side benefit is good views of the skies with trees. Yep, powerlines but hey that’s part of it.

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With the better weather I’ve been launching the drone more. This is a sunset at 50 meters.

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And this was another day with a lower elevation. No, I wasn’t spying on the neighbors. I just liked the view of the sky.

I’m crazy about Route 66. It’s quite a history of the country and Oklahoma has more Route 66 mileage than any other state. This is a sculpture installation on the Riverparks Trails called “Where East Meets West” showing the conflicts between the old and the new, horse drawn wagons vs new fangled gas powered cars.

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I am seeing a ton of homeless people in Tulsa these days. From what I understand it is a nationwide thing. I don’t have any answers but am glad to know that Tulsa is decriminalizing homelessness. If you call the police non-emergency line they will send out people to try and get people services rather than just rousting them out or putting them in jail.

My mother-in-law gave me a camera that my father-in-law owned. It is a 1960’s model Pentax SLR. It doesn’t work but I took it to a good camera shop and the guy said it looked like it is stuck mid-cycle. He was going to have the mechanic look at it and give me a call let me know if it can fixed.

I’m hoping it can. My father gave me his Canon film camera from the 60’s and I love the feel and heft of it and the action is smooth as silk. I have high hopes for this Pentax.

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I finished another jigsaw puzzle on my ipad. I’m really slow at these things and I love working them and love the finished photos. When you finish it the puzzle lines vanish and you can save the image.

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I am thinking and praying for the Ukraine.

That is it for this week’s Skywatch post. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Check it out!!

Closing Out 2021

I love the time between Christmas and New Years Day. The days leading up to Christmas are all in a rush especially if somebody in the family gets ill. Afterwards you can relax a little bit hopefully. I took advantage of one bright, sunny, day and went on a bike ride.

One of my favorite trails is alongside a turnpike on one side and fields and farms on the other. I ran into a mutt and jeff combination of horses.

You got the little one, all cute and fuzzy.

And the older one, both looking for something better to eat than the dry grass on offer.

I got to the end and rested a bit in the shadow of a billboard.

When I came home, this guy was waiting for me. iNaturalist tells me that this is a Coopers Hawk. He was using our mailbox as an observation perch. We have lots of squirrels and bunnies in the neighborhood and he was looking to eat one of those cute little critters.

Hey you know, cute little critters don’t live forever and hawks have to eat to right?

Are you on instagram? If so, are we following each other? My handle is @yogiab. These are my top nine posts for the year. I love instagram.

Do you live close to Tulsa? Come join in the First Day Hike and Scavenger Hunt on Turkey Mountain. It was supposed to be New Year’s Day but we postponed it until Saturday, January 8th from 8 am to 5 pm. Check out this facebook post for the details. We are hiding the above repurposed jewel boxes for people to find. They are going to have various Turkey Mountain stickers and key rings to find. There are also going to be a bunch of tee shirts hidden on the trails for people to find.

Do you like the cd cases. I repurposed them and designed and printed new covers and the liner notes are the Leave No Trace seven principles. I hope that I am not spoiling the surprise. The RiverParks Authority posted the photo on their website so I figured I can post my own photo on my site.

That’s about it for now. I wish everybody a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2022. Take Care!

I am linking with the following memes. They are all fun so check them out!!

Saturday’s Critters hosted by Eileen.

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 hosted by the Magical Mystery Teacher.

And Our World Tuesday hosted by Lady Fi

Our World – Beaching Good Times

Heather and I are on vacation this week. We are down in Orange Beach on the Alabama Gulf Coast. It’s our happy place.

Here’s my bride during our bicycling adventure at Gulf State Park. We rode 16 miles and it was great. Hardly any other people and some great trails.

It has three really nice lakes with marshes and it is incredibly gorgeous.

It’s also a great alligator habitat. We saw this momma and two babies chilling out by the trail. There are also “several” types of venomous snakes according to Park. Two years ago I went geocaching at the park while wife and son went parasailing. I had a great time but my head was on a swivel looking around.

We are right next to a beach bar. No bull, they had a rodeo last weekend. The condo was full of cowboys. They are the most polite people you will ever meet. They also like to party hard.

Saturday the beach was hopping between the cowboys with their hats on in the water and a bunch of happy, good natured people celebrating their football teams, LSU and Alabama seemed to be the most popular and playing incredibly loud tunes on their speakers that they actually rolled out across the beach on wheels. They also were celebrating their favorite presidential candidate.

Sunday, we basically had the place to ourselves. The cowboys went on to their next rodeo and the partiers went back to work and school.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday. Join in the fun.