Category Archives: Oklahoma

October, Osage County – Signs

This past Saturday I traveled up to Osage County, Oklahoma to run a race on Frank Phillips old ranch, Woolaroc (“Wood Lakes Rocks”). Afterward I drove over to the old oilfield town of Barnsdall. Turned out that Barnsdall had some nice old signs.

Barnsdall is the birthplace of Anita Bryant. Everybody calm down, I know that she became controversial but she has been gone some time now. It always fascinates me where people come from. I’m always asking where people are from. Except for people from Texas. If people are from Texas that is pretty much front loaded in the conversation. They will not ask you where you are from though, they figure that if you are from Texas you’d of already told them, and they don’t want to embarrass you in case you are not from there.

Anyway, Barnsdall claims fame to the world’s only Main Street Oil Well. Here is the sign.

And here is the well.

I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble. But I don’t think the well is operating any more. In fact it hasn’t produced in decades. I have access to databases that tell me that it is no longer an oil well. Also they say it is the only “Main Street” oil well. I worked in the San Andres field in the Permian Basin of Texas. They had wells drilled in several streets. That’s right, they just took over the whole street. None of the wells were on “Main Street” though.

Hey you know who else is from Barnsdall?

Yep, Clark Gable lived there for a few years when his father worked in the oil fields. I’m telling you Barnsdall is a good place to be from.

Barnsdall turned out to be a good place for sign photos.

The original name for Barnsdall was “Bigheart” it got changed about a hundred years ago.

The downtown area had some old buildings and interesting signs.

Barnsdall is a nice little town with a lot of history. For one thing it is where my employer, ONEOK, got started way back on October 12, 1906 with a pipeline that moved gas from the Barnsdall area to Oklahoma City. The company history is wild and wooly reflective of the booms and busts of the energy industry. I love it. Check out a slightly outdated version here.

Oh, by the way, Where are you from? I’m from Espanola, New Mexico originally. My parents lived closer to Santa Fe but Dad called around while Mom was expecting and Espanola was birthing babies cheaper. Kind of set the tone for my whole life. I’ve been looking for deals ever since.

Signs, Signs

First Annual Woolaroc Pioneer Woman Wet T Shirt Contest

Saturday, I ventured up to Frank Phillip’s ranch in Osage County (You know old Frank, the guy who started Phillips Petroleum Right?) to run in the Woolaroc 8K road race. Woolaroc is an acronym for “Woods, Lakes, and Rocks) and is the name that Mr. Phillips gave to the ranch. He is long since passed but there are lots of animals and a museum of art on the property.

I did my typical antics. I love taking pictures of people taking pictures. I was too late here, but I caught them looking at the image on the LCD screen.

I just took one picture of the race. You lose a lot of time taking pictures during a race, and it was raining. So I took just this one with my Ipod.

When you finish the race, and eat your banana, and get your Powerade they allow you into the museum for free. Not too many runners were in the museum and that is a good thing because a shocking thing was going on. The First Annual Pioneer Woman Wet Tee Shirt Contest. Sponsored by RHOC, the “Real Housewives of Osage County”. They are a wild bunch, nothing like the RHOK (“Real Housewives of Oklahoma”) who spend their time in churchly duties such as prayer, hymn singing, Bible study, martini drinking, and sewing clothes for the poor.

The RHOC ladies organized the event and got the services of four judges.

Frank Phillips himself, of course it is his place, so you gotta ask him right?

Geronimo made the trip from Fort Sill.

(Will Rogers by Bryan Baker)

Oklahoma’s favorite son Will Rogers agreed to be a judge.Man, wouldn’t you like to hear what he thinks of Paul Ryan and Joe Biden?

(Sugar for the Trail by Joe Beeler)

And they picked a cowboy because, well because this is Oklahoma and you have to have a cowboy and Garth Brooks was busy. The problem was the cowboy was caught in a compromising position with one of the contestants (who yeah big surprise, if you know cowboys) who was obviously trying to influence his vote. So they were both disqualified! The lady reminds me of Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke. I don’t know about you but my childhood was ruined when I realized that Miss Kitty was a hooker. Well, I’m digressing. Sorry.

Well, I won’t go through all the contestants. You know Pioneer Women were not known for their beauty generally,except to their husbands and kids.

So without further adieu, here are the winners. The 3rd runner up!

(Pioneer Woman by Bryant Baker)

A quite attractive, nice young woman. Her bonnet and boots are especially fetching don’t you think. Nothing like a woman who knows how to tie leather laces nice and tight.

(Pioneer Woman by H.A. McNeil)

The Second Runner Up, very lovely, even with the bare feet. I have to tell you though that the axe she carried was a little intimidating. You can see that her son likes her, a lot!

(Pioneer Woman by Arthur Lee)

The Runner Up featured a typical pioneer woman’s dress that protects her from the hot Oklahoma sun in the summer and our snowy, windy, cold winters. Plus she was exceptionally modest as her dress covered her completely down to her ankles. It is such a shame that young women these days seem to have this need to show everything they have.

(Pioneer Woman by James E. Fraser)

You know the winner had a lot to do Saturday and saw what she needed to do to win the contest and just went ahead and did it. She had to go get groceries, pick up some dry cleaning, clean the house, and cook dinner so she went All In, or maybe I should say All Out. I think the judges rewarded her pioneering spirit and her willingness to just cut to the chase.

So, do you think the judges pick the right woman?

I’m linking up with my friend Impulsive Addict’s Talk to Us Tuesday.

Signs – Wagon Wheel Road

Road Sign in far western Oklahoma, Roger Mills County, where there are more cows and gas wells than there are people.

Signs, Signs

The Tree That Escaped From the Crowded Forest…

The Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is the only Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper actually built. Frank Lloyd Wright called it “The Tree that Escaped from the Forest.” It was occupied in 1956.

The building is 221 feet tall with nineteen stories. It was conceived as a mult-use building with offices, apartments, and shops. These days it has an Art Center on the ground floor, a hotel, and a restaurant and bar.

The tree metaphor is reflected in its design. It has a very strong central core and the floors are cantilevered from that core. The exterior is not load bearing and consists of copper and glass panels. These are the “leaves” of the tree.

The building has lots of details like window shades and terraces.

The design of the building was recycled from an abandoned 1929 housing project in New York City that was abandoned because of the depression. When the Price Tower opened in the mid 50’s many considered its design to be outmoded. What was in fashion at the time was the International Style buildings such as the United Nations building in New York City.

For some reason as a fifth grader in Price, Utah, long before I even knew where Bartlesville, Oklahoma was I read about the Price Tower and was really interested by it. I think I was interested because the name of the building was the name of the town that I lived in.

Fast Forward a dozen or so years and I’m on a job interview trip with Phillips Petroleum Company. The lady from HR is driving me from the hotel to the office. I see the building and said “Is that the Price Tower.” She told me she didn’t know except that it was supposed to be famous. I about choked and said, “Yeah it’s famous, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was his only skyscraper.” I couldn’t hide my dismay that she didn’t know about the building. People skills have never been my strong suit. She said, “How does somebody from New Mexico know that?” What I wanted to say was “How does somebody who works in the building’s shadow not know it?” I stuffed those words down though. I got a job offer though. I still don’t understand people who are not curious about the world around them.

I don’t know how useful the building is, but it is beautiful. The copper patina makes it look like a turquoise tower in some light.

Our World Tuesday

Road Trip to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

Saturday a week ago,son and I loaded up the car and headed down the highway to Oklahoma City.

We pulled off the turnpike at Wellston and drove down Route 66 to Pops near Arcadia to get us a soft drink. Pops has almost every kind of soft drink known to man. We bought two each. Usually we only get one but it was hot that day. We drank one and put the other in a cooler we brought along just for that purpose. So we could drink something cold on our way back.

Don’t ask my why I always get some sort of Black Cherry soda at Pops. I’m a Diet Doctor Pepper guy usually. Diet Creme Cherry flavored if I can get it. Don’t judge me. I always like diet Orange Crush.

Next stop was the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. We love this place, just love it. It will always be the Cowboy Hall of Fame to me though. I’ve been going here ever since I moved to Oklahoma twenty six years ago. It has really changed over the years.

One of my favorite places is their big banquet hall. They have five massive triptych paintings by Wilson Hurley. Together they are called Windows on the West. They are huge and spectacular. My employer has a Wilson Hurley painting in the lobby. I saw him there some years ago up on a step ladder touching up the painting.

(The Leader’s Downfall by William R. Leigh)

The museum is cram full of Western Art of all types.

They also have lots of other exhibits about life in the west for cowboys, soldiers, and regular families.

Ronald Reagan belongs in the Museum. I’m assuming that George W. will be there one day. His dad, George H. won’t nothing wrong with him, he is just not western. Barack Obama won’t be there either. I mean you either have it or you don’t. I grew up in small towns of the west with cowboys, I had many western friends, some of my family are western. I don’t have a western bone in my body. I don’t have anything against it, its just now me. But I still like this Museum.

They have a great rodeo exhibit. They explain all the events and have a mock up of a rodeo arena, great fun.

They have a great section on the west in movies and television. That is Kirk Douglas above.

SuperPizzaBoy’s favorite is Prosperity Junction a western Town. He really liked the pulpit in the church.

A mock up of an early day classroom. I hate to admit it but this is how my class rooms in Price, Utah looked like when I was a kid. Inkwells in the desk and all. At least we didn’t use the inkwells.

Early day bank.

I caught him bellying up to the bar. Kids!

I love this hat exhibit. Tell you what though, when I first saw it it reminded my of a tank full of jellyfish. Is there such a thing as Cowboy Hat Jellyfish?

With that, we loaded up, grabbed our second sodas from Pops and headed back home.

I just love road trips, have you been on one lately? Tell us about it.

OurWorld Tuesday

Skywatch Friday – Something New Out on the Prairie

Used to be that what dominated the sky in western Oklahoma were grain elevators like this one in the town of Geary.

The farmers are still growing lots of wheat in Oklahoma but they have also leased their minerals to the natural gas producers who have brought new features to the landscape.

Late afternoon, Canadian County, Oklahoma, drilling rigs trying to tap the Cana Woodford Shale formation for natural gas.

Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday – Don’t Miss It for the World

(Northwest Oklahoma, April 2012)

Wordless Wednesday

Skywatch Friday – Lone Mountain

Lone Mountain in northwest Oklahoma looking with a canola field in the background..

The mesa to the left of the mountain is Gloss Mountains State Park.

Here is a closeup.

Here is a closeup from the State Park .

I elected not to do any geocaching because of this sign, and I was the only one in the park, and I was 40 miles from the nearest hospital.

Maybe next time, if I can get you to go with me.

Skywatch Friday

Our World – Leedey, Oklahoma Tornado Monument

Work took me way out to western Oklahoma last week to the oilfield and ranching town of Leedey. I got there a little early and so checked out the local city park.

In amongst the war memorial and playground was a seemingly friviolous steel structure. It was twisty and turney (that is a word here in Oklahoma) and had Christmas lights on it and several everyday objects.

It turns out that it is not frivolous at all. It is a memorial to the six people who died in a tornado that hit Leedey on May 31, 1947.

What a memorial. Apparently it was built by school children aged seven through eighteen during art classes. I think the monument is a tribute to the kids as well as the victims of the storm.

And guess what there was a geocache hidden right nearby named “Leedey Park” placed by kbaldeagle and Jeritexas.

(I actually don’t think this is the real jail.)

Another sight in town is the Jail. It seems pretty secure although they have a little work to do to get it up to standard. If you are a person that likes to engage in criminal behavior, western Oklahoma is not the place for you to be.

Our World Tuesday

Christmas 2011

Yogi here with a Christmas report from Oklahoma

It was dry, sunny, and warm!! You can have your White Christmases, you really can. For me I like the warm sun.

Christmas Eve we spent at Nana’s house. Here is mother and daughter. I like that dynamic flip in Sweetie’s hair.

We brought our three mutts to mix and mingle with Nana’s two mutts. It was mutt mania Christmas Eve especially when Sweetie broke out the treats.

After an excellent meal of tacos and tamales courtesy of Nana and a nice long relaxed visit, we went home and watched “A Christmas Story” in our jammies. SuperPizzaBoy loves that movie and laughs hard. It’s fun watching him. Sorry, no pj photos folks. I don’t think SuperPizzaBoy would mind, Sweetie would. Anyway, after the movie he went off to bed and then Santa came (wink, wink, to all the parents out there). Santa ate the two gingerbread cookies and was nice enough to leave a note.

Next morning, coffee and more gingerbread cookies. I know I said no pj pcs, but you know I lie a lot. You can tell when I’m lying. If my lips are moving, I’m lying.

Nana and I showing off our favorite gifts, hand knitted scarves from Sweetie.

Ginger, got a hedgehog. Notice the wild eyed neurotic look. The hedgehog never did give her any milk, and Ginger tried all day long.

Nana gave me two cameras, a special fisheye film camera on the right, and an old Kodak Brownie on the right. She gave me some 120 film for the Brownie, the shutter worked, I cleaned up the lens as best I could and snapped a few pics outside. If I can find a place to process the film, and if there are pics halfway presentable I’ll share them. The fisheye camera will be interesting I know the flash is powerful. I took a pic of Sweetie and she reeled. I think I could stop the Russian Army with the flash. It is powerful.

Sweetie worked hard preparing a variety of tasty dishes, I smoked some chicken quarters and a turkey breast and we ate very well. We had a coworker of mine who joined us. It’s always nice to have somebody join our foursome.

We missed being with the rest of my family who gathered at my Sister’s house in Colorado Springs.

And now, the dishes are picked up and cleaned up and we are resting.

I hope that you and your family had a great Christmas!

YogisDen.us

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