Category Archives: Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Pearl Jackson Crosstimbers Preserve

Earlier in February on a nice day a group of volunteers from the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition joined staff members from the Nature Conservancy to do some trail work the Conservancy’s newest preserve in Oklahoma, the Pearl Jackson Crosstimbers Preserve in Creek County, Oklahoma, just 20 or so miles from Tulsa. The Preserve, which is not yet open to the public, is 12,000 acres of hickory and oak intermixed with tallgrass prairie. The previous landowners had used fire to control invasive species and the land is in really good shape. The man who donated, what had been a ranch, to the Conservancy gave up fortune in development. Such generosity blows my mind.

So we all met in the Conservancy’s office on the property and got a briefing on the work to be done. The staff had started a rough trail from a proposed trailhead to a sporadic waterfall. So we were going to take loppers, saws, axes, pick axes, and other tools to remove limbs blocking the way and rocks that were on the trail. The trailhead was about a mile from the office so we shuttled people down there in four wheel drives.

My Subaru, with 77,000 miles, finally got a little mud on it as I took people down to the trailhead.

So we took off down the proposed trail doing our thing. I am guessing the trail was about a mile.

The land is gorgeous. Very rocky and extremely old hickory and oak trees.

Down at the waterfall. No water over it today as it hadn’t rained recently.

And here is the intermittent waterway that bring water to the waterfall.

Screenshot_26-2-2026_154413_www.instagram.com pearl jackson work day — Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition Photo

And a good time was had by all. The staff said that they plan to open portions of the preserve to the public but they have a lot of issues to work out beforehand. I’m guessing that it is going to be a least a year or two.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – More Lafortune Park

A meandering stream good for a reflection

Golf course trees good for shadows

https://flic.kr/p/2rVW5dy

The duck pond is for ducks and other waterfowl.

Some pine trees at the Pony League baseball stadium is good for silhouettes

A meandering path is good for three miles.

A High School baseball field is waiting for the season to start.

A jigsaw puzzle looking kind of like the Golden Gate Bridge.

Another jigsaw puzzle with a spectacular bridge and a passenger cruise ship.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Warming up to Icy Reflections

The weather is warming up fast these days. Just ten days ago we had snow everywhere, now it is almost all gone and we have balmy temps. These pics are from a hike about a week ago around Tulsa’s Lafortune Park on their 3 mile path.

My favorite tree at Lafortune Park. It makes for a great photo all four season. I love the reflections as well. We have a little ice in this photo.

And a little bit more ice near the playgrounds.

And at the duck pond.

And a decent sunrise from our backyard. Our little terrier Sadie gets me up every morning for the sunrise.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – On the Move Edition

Me and a friend continue to hike on Turkey Mountain and other places. This is a moon gate leading into The Sanctuary section of Turkey Mountain. I go right through it, my friend goes around it. I don’t know why.

Turkey mountain has maybe nine lakes on it, plus two or three more in The Sanctuary. Anywhere else they would be called ponds. Three interesting things about the lakes (at least they are interesting to me) is, first, that the Wildlife Department stocks the lakes for fishing. Second there is a big colony of beavers on the mountain and they move as a group from lake to lake cleaning out all the fish in each pond. I think that is hilarious. Third, the beavers move up and down the Arkansas River and migrate to and from Turkey Mountain via Mooser Creek which is the northern border of Turkey Mountain. They know this because the wildlife has tagged a bunch of beavers so they can track their movements. I have a feeling that beavers are going to outlive humans.

This is a pipeline for one of my former employers running through Turkey Mountain. Last year another former employer of mine laid a pipeline adjacent to this one but they drilled the little swale you see instead of putting in a span like the one above. Drilling pipelines across tough spots has been all the rage for years. Contractors can now drill across the Mississippi River for large pipelines and hit the other side a mile away within a few feet of their target. They also do it in culturally sensitive areas like ruins and such. They can stand off a few hundred yards and drill way underneath the ruins instead of having to go around. The problem with going around is that you often run into more ruins.

The tree house in The Sanctuary. If you look close you can see a couple of swinging porch benches underneath. A nice place to wait out a rainstorm.

Anyway on this hike, it was almost exactly five miles. That’s my sweetspot.

Switching gears to the backyard. Sunrise!

Mid-day from my front yard looking east.

And a late sunset, looking west.

Later that night, the Full Snow Moon. I love full moons on a clear night.

And a shot from the neighborhood green belt.

I’ve continued working on jigsaw puzzles on my ipad. I love beach scenes.

And a windmill jigsaw puzzle. The windmill is cool and I love the house. except not many windows upstairs. I like the lightning rods though. Random thought, I am sure that windmills get hit with lightning. Do they burn down?

I am linking with Skywatch Friday and Galleria Himmelsblick

Gilcrease Museum Skywatch

A couple weeks ago I ventured out to Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum for a public meeting they were having to get public input on their garden spaces. The museum building is above. It is completed but they have not finished all their displays and I think they are still working on offgassing all the fumes from the concrete’s dewatering, carpet glue, paint, varnish and other chemicals. Things that can be okay levels for humans can be deadly to art. They are opening it in 2027. So now they are working designing the gardens to go in the immediate vicinity of the museum.

The meeting was not held in the museum, it is in an adjacent museum housing all their historical archives. (Among there documents is an original of the Declaration of Independence. They have it on display on July 4th sometimes, and I got to view one year. Big thrill.)

They had a consulting Landscape Architect talk about gardens and their plans for it. I thought it was all very interesting. And he had a model of what they were talking about. I think it will all be very nice. They just need funding. He didn’t say a figure but hey, if you have a Gazillion Dollars you don’t know what to do with give them a call. I’m sure they’ll take it. The Director of the Museum told everyone, “There are no small donations.” Yeah, well, he hasn’t seen mine yet.

After the talk I decided to take a stroll at the park adjoining the museum, Stuart Park. It was closed during construction but is now reopened. Has been for some time.

It’s a favorite of mine. It winds around a couple ponds and incorporates a bunch of sculptures that are going to be relocated on gardens adjacent to the museum.

The museum has several hundred acres and they are going to build trails for bicycling and hiking. They need funding for that as well, in case you have a second tranche of gazillion dollars that you don’t need.

The backside of the new museum from Stuart Park.

The museum has already started a bunch of work. It looked like they had mulched a considerable amount of invasive species. What was left was this sign about leaving the bees alone. You can bet that if you called Gilcrease security they would come running out the museum to save you. Probably now, call 911 instead.

Seeing the park was like seeing an old friend after several years. I loved it.

The views are wonderful.

And I love any type of wood structures. They rebuilt this and others.

I’m looking forward to 2027. They demolished the original museum in mid 2021. I loved it but it was a hodgepodge of various buildings added onto over the years and had an antiquated air conditioning system which is not good for an art museum. The vistor traffic flow was awkward and had all different levels which is not good for disabled people. They then built the new building on the same footprint as the original.

It’s going to be awesome.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday and galeria-himmelsblick

Skywatching at Home

Son Logan drives me around these days. So I get to take photos while he is driving like this sunset in the neighborhood.

Here is a skywatch photo from my front porch

And from the backyard

Another from the front porch looking west toward the sunset

And a skywatch photo from my driveway looking east.

While walking the dog in our neighborhood greenbelt

A sunrise looking east

And a jigsaw puzzle. These look like the Teton mountains in Wyoming.

And the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Along with a peacock.

And a jigsaw puzzle of a cool little cabin in the woods.

And a beautiful lifeguard shack on the ocean at sunset. Ignore the US flag flying in a funny manner.

Over 200 million Americans are going to get hit with a polar vortex in the next day or so. For Oklahoma it is going to be the worst since the 2011 winter storm. Here is an action shot of me shoveling snow in that storm.

And here is an action shot of our Maine Coon Chrissy during the storm. She loved the fireplace. I don’t know how she didn’t spontaneously combust.

I picked her up and took her outside after all the snow fell. You can tell that she was not a happy kitty. I’m glad I had my heavy canvas coat and leather gloves or may not have survived this photoshoot.

I’m linking to Skywatch Friday

To my fellow Americans in the path of the oncoming storm. Stay warm and safe!!

Hiking the Keystone Ancient Forest’s Falls Trail

Me and a friend of mine have been going hiking together Friday mornings for a few months. Mainly on Turkey Mountain but we have branched out to the Mooser Creek Greenway and Oxley Nature Center. Early this month we decided to tackle the Falls Creek Trail at the Keystone Ancient Forest about 20 miles or so northwest of Tulsa. I have hiked some of the trails there and late last year participated in a trail cleanup day there but have never hiked the Falls Trail which is supposed to be very difficult.

So we got to the visitor center and was perusing the map when one the volunteers came out and we talked about the trail. He said parts of it were really difficult and rough but doable. On the map above the Visitor Center is at the upper right hand corner where the yellow and red trail come together. The Falls Trail is the orange trail that loops off of the red trail. The Falls Trail map is kind of scraggly. My experience is that trails that look scraggly on a map are pretty rough on foot.

So we walked down to the trailhead for the Falls Trail and ran into this warning sign. The guy at the visitor center said that they have quite a few rescue calls from the Falls Trail but that is mainly in the summer. He said people head in without water and not properly prepared and run into trouble.

The first mile or so was just winding through the woods but soon enough we encountered rocks and erosion and unstable footing. Onward we went, slowly. My hiking buddy moved way ahead of me as I was tip toeing through the rocks.

Here is a little overhang we encountered. I took a photo of this, and then I guess that I forgot about because I hit my head on it as I was going slowly watching my feet. It knocked me back and I lost my balance and fell on my back. No harm though, I wasn’t going fast so I didn’t even have a headache. I had a big bruise on my back. So I picked myself up and kept on going.

We went along a couple of ravines with some cool rock formations across the way.

My phone camera doesn’t give a good sense of the depth. There was probably about a 30 foot or so sheer drop off from the trail.

There was some water pooled up at the bottom of the ravine. I think the Falls are sporadic depending on recent rainfall.

This is the main falls. As you can see it is pretty dry. There is a pretty good dropoff on the other direction.

Past the Falls the trail was a lot easier. We took the clockwise direction on the trail. Turns out a friend of mine used to lead hikes at Keystone. He told me that most people take the clounterclockwise route to access the falls and then return the same way rather than complete the loop encountering the rough and rocky trails on the clockwise direction.

Screenshot_14-1-2026_94827_connect.garmin.com falls trail screen shot

So we had a lot of fun and enjoyed a scenic and challenging trail. So we’ll have to figure out where to go next.

The Keystone Ancient Forest is owned by the Nature Conservancy and administered by the Sand Springs, Oklahoma Parks and Recreation Department. Check their web site before you go because access, although free, is only open for certain hours per day. It’s a popular place on nice weekend days and their parking lot can fill up so plan accordingly. They have other easier trails to hike if you want to do something not quite as challenging as the Falls Trail. They even have an ADA compliant trail designed for wheelchair access and they have a couple of all-terrain track chairs to ensure access for everyone regardless of mobility issues.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday – A Busy December

December was hard, we buried my brother in Colorado and that was sad. He was a good guy. But we also got to visit my sister and her husband, and two of my top three nieces were there, one of whom had her husband and daughter with her.

We got to see our greatniece, Miss G, skate. A vivacious young lady who although very young is an accomplished skater and we got to see her perform with her ice skating team. That was a thrill for us because they live a long ways from us and we had never seen her ice skate live before. They competed at an event in a Denver suburb. The emphasis is on the team rather than individuals and I was very impressed with the team. They were great. Miss G is a very smart and a natural born athlete.

Back in Tulsa, we had a nice backyard sunrise one morning.

And a strange sign at one of our local water supply lakes.

Stopped by Oral Roberts University to check out the giant healing hands sculpture. The legend is that it you toss a silver dollar up between the hands, then they clasp shut. That was mean wasn’t it. I still like the legend though.

And our small family visited the Tulsa Botanic Gardens for their annual light show. It was wonderful.

I heart Tulsa as well!

And we started going back to church. We hadn’t been since before Covid. Everything was new. I guess that is the way it is.

And part of our Christmas meal. I smoked chicken quarters and pork ribs. Heather cooked a bunch of sides and we had quite a feast.

We went on a family New Years Eve Hike on Turkey Mountain. This is one of my favorite spots. The Lookout Hub on the very highest point overlooking the Arkansas River and south Tulsa. It is ridiculous that NYE was a shorts and tshirt day.

And I went on a few hikes of my own. I’ve found three improvised cedar Christmas Trees. Most people that put them up show up soon after New Year’s and dismantle them. Those that don’t, I dismantle them. I like to have fun but these things don’t age well. Am I getting grumpy in my old age? Probably.

Here is a bicycle flyover on one of the trails. I’ve never taken a bike on Turkey Mountain and I never will. Gravity at my age is not my friend. Can I get an amen??!!

Beach Scene Jigsaw Puzzle — I don’t own the copyright to this.

I’ve done a couple more jigsaw puzzles on my ipad. I love this beach scene.

And I love this scene of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming.

So that closes out 2025. The New Year so far is looking great! More to come.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday – Healing on the Trail

On our trip to Colorado Springs last month when we interred my brother Bob. My sister Ellen suggested we go for a short hike at the Fountain Creek Regional Park where she volunteers weekly in their visitor center.

What a great idea that turned out to be. I’ve been escaping to nature my whole life to get rest, comfort, and rejuvenate myself and this was the perfect park for that. What a jewel, El Paso County has in this park. So the five us hiked a one mile or so loop trail.

They pack a lot in that one mile loop to see.

We saw several mule deer. This butt belongs to one of them. Sorry, that was the best photo I could get.

BIL Irv, found this tiny little geocache (called a nanocache). I went ahead and signed the log even though he found it. Please don’t turn me in to the geocaching police.

“A walk in nature, walks the soul back home” – Mary Davis

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” – Psalm 19:1

“Nature itself is the best physician” – Hippocrates

“I go to nature to be soothed, healed and have my senses put in order.” – John Burroughs

“Allow nature’s peace to flow into you as sunshine flows into trees” – John Muir

So one hike isn’t going to bring anyone peace. It’s a process, not an event and I will always miss my brother.

I’m a big fan of Fountain Creek Regional Park now. Hopefully I’ll be back.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

A Very Merry Christmas Skywatch to You

Today is Christmas, Merry Christmas to you!! This pic is from back in August. My dream is Christmas on the beach one year.

Kodi, the mean Pomeranian wishes you a Merry Christmas. Just don’t try to pet him, or pick him up, or even look at him. Unless you are Heather or Logan, he loves them.

And Lizzy the Christmas Kitty.

And Sadie, the Christmas terrier. She loves everybody, even me. We got her to settle Kodi down and she does. If he gets out of line she flips him over on his back and puts a paw on his chest. Works every time. That’s Lizzy in the background. Sometimes Sadie thinks Lizzy is a squeaky toy but over time she has got more gentle with the cat and now they play pretty good together.

We are not going anywhere for Christmas, just us.

I’m linking up with Skywatch Friday.

YogisDen.us

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