Monthly Archives: March 2012

Sunday Bridges – Clearing Up

The storm is breaking, the sky is clearing.

Time to get photographs of your boyfriend baiting his hook. It might work better if he turned to face her?

Sunday Bridges

Camera Critters – SHHHHHH!!

You don’t want to disturb Mama.

Something about a dove just gets me, maybe it’s those big eyes? Or their gentle demeanor.

Late breaking update!!

I’m finding out that baby doves are called squabs.

Camera Critters

Skywatch Friday – Watching the Skywatcher

I went on a business trip to western Oklahoma yesterday. I took pictures of drilling rigs, compressor stations, pipelines, grain elevators, wheat fields, and horses. This three were they only ones that took any notice of what I was doing.

Skywatch Friday

Graffiti Wednesday – “Permission Zones”

A “Permission Zone” is a surface that graffiti artists have permission to practice their art.

To my knowledge Mad Mike’s Liquor Store near 11th and Mingo is the only Permission Zone in the Tulsa area. Almost every square inch of the store and an outbuilding are covered in graffiti. Even the power poles and dumpsters are decorated. I’d have to say though that the quality of the work to this uneducated eye is uneven.

Some of the images are really evocative.

Some are really puzzling.

SuperPizzaBoy and I found this image disturbing.

It is all fascinating to me. I’m still trying to get my head around graffiti.

Graffiti Wednesday

Graffiti Wednesday: Graffiti-by-Permission (jenx67.com)

Frisco 4500 – Route 66 Village

True Confession Monday today. Mine is, I have a thing for trains. Route 66 Village in west Tulsa has just the one for me. The Frisco 4500.

Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1942. It is huge! 500,000 pounds! I found this locomotive during a geocaching expedition three years ago. It was parked in a remote area north of downtown as it was being restored by volunteers. It has since been moved to its present location for display. It is a long term project of the Sertoma Club of Tulsa. See SuperPizzaBoy? He is almost 5’11” (I can still take him though!) and is dwarfed by the wheels of the locomotive.

They also have the Murray Hill, a solarium lounge car built in 1929.

They have an oil tanker and a caboose.

And what they claim is the world’s largest oil derrick.

Route 66 Village is a great stop on old Route 66.

Check out Our World Tuesday

2012 Snake Run

Today I ran in my second Snake Run. I love it.

The walk from the parking lot to the starting line is about half a mile and good steep climb. It is its own warm up and the woods are beautiful this time of year. (I’ll say that regardless of the time of year.)

Race Director, “Trail Zombie” (aka Ken) gave us some pre race instructions on how the race is marked and just what the deal is. Most races have a set distance and you try and minimize your time. This race, the time is set at either three hours or six hours and you try and maximize your distance. Fun, fun, fun.

It was kind of chilly so some people brought their snuggies. I wish I had thought of it.

TZ should have spent some time explaining what everybody was wearing. Remember the late 70’s when women wore leggings? Well men have them now. What’s the deal. I felt really under dressed without my snuggie and my leggings. I guess that I’ll have to go to the running store and get me some leggings.

So the women don’t wear leggings, I guess these are “armings.” Is putting them on called “arming” and taking them off called “disarming.” Going without is “unarming.” Oklahoma is about to be an open carry state my tea partier representative tells me. My tea partier state senator doesn’t talk to me. I don’t blame him.

Nice view of downtown. Turkey Mountain is an urban wilderness, so the city surrounds it.

I think Maytag is a sponsor of the race. This appliance actually still works. Honest!

Trail races are fun and the food is great. They have it on the course, not just the end.

This is the crew that counts how much you ran. They have a four mile loop and a half mile loop. So you just run yourself silly until time is up.

These are the awards. This is also what Okies look like to our President. He came to Cushing (oil pipeline capital of the USA) to announce his approval of a project that didn’t need his approval. The state GOP went nuts trying to outdo each other expressing how sorry it is. Some of us Okies thought our elected officials could have been a little gracious to O.

This is the award I won, in fact awarded myself two.

This is also what I got, muddy feet. At least I didn’t fall. I do have a little booboo on my right knee. I kept asking people if they noticed it. They didn’t, so I’m looking for a little blogging sympathy.

And I got a nice medal and a brand spanking new tee shirt!

What did you do today??

Walk in the Street: Studio Space

I love the red brick, the red door, and all the windows in this place. Plus it has a bench out front.

Walk in the Street

Skywatch Friday – Evening Run

It’s been raining off and on for days. The weather broke Wednesday evening just in time for my weekly Wednesday night run on the Arkansas River trails here in Tulsa. I love daylight savings time as it means that I don’t have run in the dark!

Skywatch Friday!!!

Graffiti Wednesday

My blog friend Jen has been posting on Wednesdays about graffiti that she finds in and around Oklahoma City. She has spent a considerable amount of time learning all about the subject. She has become quite passionate about the subject and I love reading about her trespassing and running down trains in order to document good examples of graffiti.

When she started posting about graffiti I was a little apprehensive. To me a lot of it is vandalism with paint as opposed to an art form. Although I have to admit many of the practitioners have talent and I wonder why they haven’t been more productive with their talent.

(This isn’t graffiti, it’s a commissioned mural.)

With Jen one gets insight, summaries of research, access to deep thinking, insights, and great photography. Me, you just get snapshots, and a link to Jen!

Above is the worst possible graffiti. On a rock face on my beloved Turkey Mountain in Tulsa. Ughh.

I ventured to the Elm Creek Tunnel discharge into the Arkansas River. I had two purposes. One was to check out the graffiti, the other was to find a geocache hidden there. I find some graffiti, I have yet to find the geocache.

Lets just say that the most of the talent of the graffiti artists here is still rather undeveloped.

They are pretty good sloganeers though. I bet you didn’t know sloganeers was a word. Try it on Words With Friends if you get a chance. Let me know how it works for you.

I’ll have to do some more research to find the vivid examples that my friend Jen finds.

I like this sentiment, but the art needs a little work.

Tulsa’s storm drain system also fascinates me apparently we have a very extensive drainage system that attracts urban explorers from all over. Below is a video of a party that was thrown about a half mile into the tunnel in 2010. Personally, I think those attending the party are nuts. Attending the party in ankle deep water in the dark?

So, I’ll be on the lookout for a lot better examples of graffiti. My dream of unifying graffiti blogging and geocaching is getting off to a rough start.