We said goodbye to our sweet little dachsund mix Ginger today. She lived a long time and was well loved but she had multiple ailments.
She was always all-in when it came to family activities.
And she always had something to say about a lot of things.
And she put up with a lot!!
We miss you Ginger and will never forget you!!
Saturday I ventured up to the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch near Oolagah, Oklahoma where the annual Wiley Post/Will Rogers Fly-was taking place. The event is to remember the day that Wiley Post and Will Rogers died in an airplane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935.
Wiley Post was a famous aviator back before World War II. Among other things he was the first pilot to fly solo around the world. He discovered the jet stream and was the inventor of the pressure suit used in high altitude flying.
Will Rogers is like Mr. Oklahoma. He did everything, vaudeville, movie acting, broadway star, comedian, author, newspaper columnist. He had all sorts of quips including his most famous, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” He was born in Oklahoma near Oolagah and was a member of the Cherokee Tribe.
This fly-in has been going on for some time. I read an article that this is the 35th year.
Anybody is welcome to fly-in to the 2000 foot grass airstrip. They were all single engine planes including a news station helicopter that landed for a short while
The planes were all older, some of them hand built by the owner/pilots and they were all extremely small. Not too many younger pilots present. They all looked to be in their 60’s and above.
I loved the art work on some of the planes. They went from nice and innocent.
To a more worldly theme.
And everything in between.
This is my favorite. You ever see a more shapely bee butt?
Back to the aircraft.
There were a few biplanes.
This is one of the hand built ones.
Another view of the bumble bee.
Some of the planes had the huge soft tires and it looked they could take off in just a few hundred feet.
There were well over a hundred airplanes there. They come in and land kind of early and starting around 11 am they head out. I asked why and was told it’s August, it’s hot, and none of these aircraft have air conditioning. Okay, I get it. Last time I attended, I lolly gagged around and got there just as everybody was leaving. Don’t be that guy!!
Because of the Covid situation I didn’t tour the house on the grounds. The Ranch is great the rest of the year and has hardly any visitors so show up and take a look. The home is wonderful and is decorated in period style.
I am linking this week with Our World Tuesday.
This week has not been a good one for picture taking. We are getting our son ready to go back to college and working with contracts getting ready to freshen the house up a little. So I am off into my archives. I searched for photos taken in August.
This is Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. A regular 18 hole golf course, par three course, little league and Pony League baseball fields, Tennis Center, Memorial High School, a Library, Gardens with fishing ponds, and wrapped up by a three mile walking path. If I had a dollar for every lap I have run or walked on that route, I would be a major thousandaire.
Two years ago in August I visited my sister Ellen, working as a Seasonal Park Ranger at Yellowstone Park. We had a great time. The forest fires out west that year made for great sunrises. (and sunsets).
And of course we visited Old Faithful, and she blew off a steam to a big crowd.
A workover rig on a recently fracked well in western Oklahoma a couple years ago. Not too much drilling or fracking going on right now!!
Morning sky over some horse stables north of Tulsa. Son did therapeutic horseback riding for years at this place.
I am linking with Skywatch Friday – come join in!!
I went for a walk last week at Tulsa’s Gathering Place. A huge public, privately funded, free park built right next to the Arkansas River. I’ve been there a bunch of times and I am still trying to get my head around it.
It has a bunch of different facets to it. One of the things I like is the beauty of the place. From the native, sustainable plantings the landscaping. It’s a great place to hang out. No cars are allowed in the place, the parking is all in the periphery. So be prepared for walk. They do have handicapped parking closer in though.
Who says Tulsa doesn’t have a beach?
I love the Koi Pond. The park is a mixture of high energy and serene.
The native plants make for low maintenance and low water use. It also makes for critters that live in the planting areas and other critters who feed on the critters, like snakes.
There are all sorts of areas to sit and visit, while maintaining social distancing.
The main draw are spectacular play structures. They are huge. Designed and built in Europe, they are unlike anything I have ever seen.
Other times, like on winter mornings I have climbed and clambered and used the slides. I’m not really into that when kids are present though. It’s for them.
The structures are complex and interconnected and there are multiple ways to play on them.
And great exercise to, sliding down the tubes is fun, but you have to climb up to them.
I loved their boat with the sail.
They had their water/hydraulics feature working. It had never been working on my previous trips. You have hand operated pumps, valves, dams. You can make the water go this and that. Talk about fun!!
And then off by itself is the sensory garden with all sorts of things to look at, touch, feel and make noise with.
So you can go from the busy and noisy to isolated and quiet easily.
And make your own music!!
One of my favorite places is the Lodge. It looks like an expensive resort.
I love the woodwork and the midcentury modern vibe with the furniture. Masks required!!
They have a great big fireplace that is just the place on cold winter days. And wifi and a snack bar.
So, this is just a sampler. They also have a boat house where you can rent canoes and kayaks. Bicycle and skateboard parks, and lots of sports courts, cafe’s. Play areas for smaller children, lots of rest rooms. And guess what, no admissions fees, no parking fees, no nothing. They are open 9 am to 8 pm seven days a week. Check out their web site for more information. The home page has some great drone video footage of the park.
I am linking with Our World Tuesday – Come join in!!
We are still having nice skies along with a lot cooler weather. Yesterday morning I walked outside to get the paper and was greeted with a great sky. (And yes, I did use a filter, I hope you don’t mind).
I’m still flying my drone, mainly in periscope mode. The above video is an example. I just take it straight up and the gps in the drone holds its position. I couldn’t take it too far up because of windy conditions in this video.
Earlier, I got it higher and took some pics of the neighborhood and sky. I used a filter on these because otherwise the items on the ground were black.
Another view looking soutwest showing the local elementary school.
And straight west, one can see clouds starting to pile up.
And straight north across the greenspace.
And we had a Full Moon the other day. Since it is August, they call it the Sturgeon Moon. I love full moons, what about you.
Prior to the Trump Rally in Tulsa way back in June some local community members went out and painted this mural on Greenwood Avenue. Now the local community and the city are trying to figure out what to do with it. Many people would like to keep it but the problem is of course what keeps other groups from painting streets with their own messages. I’m hoping that they can keep it somehow.
I’m linking with Skywatch Friday
Sunday morning, before anybody got up, I ventured out to do some geocaching out of Town. I went through the city of Mounds and stopped to take a photo of this building which looks to be unoccupied at the moment.
What got my attention though was this mural on the side of the building. I checked out the web site and it looks to be not very active right now. It was state sponsored organization and I imagine that funds got cut. But the mural survives and I love the handprints.
At a nearby cemetery I found this little angel. I like hanging out in graveyards. I get a sense of peace there.
I found this really old marker. Eliza A.N. What’s up with just initials for a last name. 1822-1907 – A lot happened in the world during that time. A mystery!! I tried googling a little bit but couldn’t find anything.
Here we had three crosses put up on fenceposts. Some sort of trinity type thing. I think this is fairly recent.
Close by a long forgotten hibiscus is growing up among poison ivy.
Anyway, that was my little outing. I’m linking with Our World Tuesday.