We still don’t have too much Fall Color here in Oklahoma except for certain pockets like I found this past weekend. True confessions I applied a texture to cheat a little bit. I hope that you don’t mind.
Twenty Four Hours in Osage County
Those of you who know me, know that I’m a Geocacher. The Tulsa Area Geocachers have an annual event in the Fall that they have at various State Parks in Oklahoma and this year they went to one of my favorite spots in Oklahoma, Osage Hills State Park up in Osage County. It is a beautiful wooded, hilly location with lots of camping spots and a friendly accommodating staff.
Heather and Logan stayed home. They hate geocaching. Hate might be too mild a word for their feelings about it. So I went by myself.
So it was fun finding the various temporary caches placed by the participants. Some of the people are diabolically clever.
Osage Hills is known for having the remnants of a Civilian Conservation Commission camp built back in the 1930’s to house young men who helped build the facilities still used at the park.
Here is a link to an interesting short blog post about the history of the CCC at Osage Hills. I learned that the camp was active from 1935 to 1941. Its amazing that so much remains 75 years after the camp ceased operation.
Mainly I wandered the trails. I didn’t encounter many other geocachers as I started with the furthest removed caches and worked back and was more interested in taking pictures anyway.
I found the camp dynamite hut. It looks solid enough still, except for the roof.
I loved Lookout Lake. No geocachers here, just fishermen.
Found me a little critter. He told me he wasn’t a geocache.
The next day I got up early and went out to Sand Creek to take some photos. One of the prettist places in the state as far as I am concerned.
And then I drove out to the nearby Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. I always love the wide open spaces with rolling hills and the bison.
I’ve never been able to photograph the feeling of exapanse of this place. It is almost 40,000 acres.
It is huge and goes on forever.
And then I drove down to Woolaroc, Frank Phillips’ (of Phillips Petroleum) country place. Woolaroc is an acronym for “Woods, Lakes,and Rocks”. He has a first class western art museum, a buffalo herd, and all sorts of other stuff that an oil gazillionaire needs.
And a barn for the the critters. I love the barn.
And the landscaping (rockscaping).
And the Native American design motif. I know its cultural misappropriation but I still like it.
And then I went home. But I had a great time.
The Slowest Runner in the World
I went running Wednesday night, I was planning on doing eight miles but it was just so cold and windy that I couldn’t stay focused. I had my camera (of course I had my camera, you know that) and started playing with the timer.
So this was my first take. Hit the button and count to five and turn around and come back except I must have a slow count. As you can see I’m still moving away. Not very far for ten seconds I say. You know, we have a whole industry devoted to fast runners. Every four years we have the Olympics and get really get excited about the fast runners. Well, what about us slow runners, nobody cares. That is not very inclusive is it? There is a whole bunch of us slow runners who are marginalized by society. Sniff.
How about a hash tag like #SlowRunnersMatter. And you folks who say, “Well what you are doing is not technically running Alan” Well, phooey on you. Us slow runners need safe spaces where we don’t have to hear trash like that. Safe spaces where we can feel good about ourselves. And participant ribbons, we need more participant ribbons. (Actually I have lots of those.)
Have I ever told you about my track career? In seventh grade in Eagar, Arizona we had a track team and we were going to a big meet in Holbrook, Arizona and I ran the quarter mile. We lined up and the gun went off and and the race started. I was so slow that I didn’t finish the race. I couldn’t finish the race because you see by the time I got around the track and was headed to the finish line, the officials had lined the kids up for the next heat so they waved me off the track. Yep, that is pretty slow. Can you beat that?
Well I amused myself, an onlookers I’m sure, several more times and called it quits after five miles and change. I hate running in the cold wind.
Take care!
Skywatch Friday – Reflected
This week’s Skywatch is the reflection of a sky. I hope that is not cheating too bad. Sometimes the reflections add a little depth to the sky.
I’m linking with Skywatch Friday
Not Quite Wordless Wednesday
This is the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Tulsa. The mottled shadows are because of a building across the street reflecting light on it. I have taken a bunch of pictures of this building but I’m being told by some of my Instagram buds that they have been hassled by security guards coming out and telling them that they can’t take pictures of it. I’ve been doing it for years. So if I disappear one day maybe I’ve been subject to extraordinary rendition to some foreign country by the Feds. I don’t know if I’ll have wifi there or not.
Come on kids, get in the bus, find a seat and sit down! Lets get this show on the road.
I have a thing for arches. Don’t ask why. I just like passageways of all kinds.
I also have a thing for Mid-Century Modern design. This is at Tulsa’s Woodward Park and is almost completely forgotten, ignored, and not maintained. I think it is a graceful structure. I especially like the large concrete canopy over the courtyard. Lots of shade and you should be safe there in even the worst of hail storms. I’m sure that one day I’ll show up and it’ll be gone.
How about you, what have you been up to?
Shadow Shot Sunday – Linnaeus Gardens Shadows
I dropped the kid off at his Improv Comedy group today at drove up to Woodward Park and it’s fabulous Linnaeus Teaching Gardens. A small demonstration garden just packed with stuff but it is all so well designed that the density works. This time of year they generally have lots of shadows.
This shot had shadows of shadows.
I love the walkway to the Gardens. Lots of different light and textures.
Outside the gardens and inside Woodward Park I found this group of women getting ready for a shoot. I thought they were an elegant group. I hope they don’t mind me stealing a shot.
I saw a cat and called, here Kitty Kitty, and here it came so that is probably his name, right? He was a curious cat. He may even be a watch cat. He inspected everybody who came by. Kitty Kitty quickly became bored with me and walked off with a dismissive flick of his tail.
Have you ever been dismissed by a cat?
I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday!
Skywatch Friday – A Sunset From the Old Office
It’s October and the sun is getting lower so when I left my office I took the elevator up to the 17th floor to my old office. (Which is still empty by the way!!! After almost two years!!!) And I took this photo. If you look not too hard you will see a reflection of my bright red camera. I thought about knocking the window out so I could take the pic without the reflection but I decided not to do so. Maybe next time, but probably not.
The weather is getting milder, the temperatures cooler, and the humidity lower. Pretty soon the leaves will start changing and the various Fall races that I love will happen. Yep, things are looking up.
I’m linking with Skywatch Friday
Wordless Wednesday – Sights of the Tulsa State Fair
Oklahoma Sugar Art Show and Grand National Wedding Cake Competition 2016
One event I try to never miss is the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show at the Tulsa State Fair. it is only two days so if you snooze you lose. This year I couldn’t go Saturday so like a pagan heathen I went Sunday. Lots less pushing and shoving if you you Sunday I found out but there is still a lot of people.
The theme this year was “Mad for Metallics” so there was a metallic theme to the entries. My favorite cake was this Steam Punk themed cake. All sorts of gears and pipes and such.
Here is a detail. Marvelous is what I say.
I loved this gardening themed piece with the butterfly.
And this Winnie the Pooh themed item with the Pooh and the bee hive.
And this was absolutely gorgeous.
And these gears,
And these happy flowers. I wonder if they are a bit creepy though.
And there were a couple of Day of the Dead pieces also. That day is fast becoming my favorite holiday. Now I am sounding creepy.
And a mask, I love masks. There used to be lots of mask entries but they are so fragile.
And a classic beautiful piece.
I love the lattice work. How do they do that?
And a Victorian themed cake.
Our World – Tulsa’s Renovated Central Library Opens
On Saturday the Tulsa Central Library reopened after a three year renovation. They had speeches and presentations and all that. I missed them, but you and I know what they said probably.
I was happy with what they did. They opened the structure up, added lighting, and all sorts of whiz bank technology. They still have lots of books but the emphasis is more on computers and education now. The days of patrons wandering through the stacks looking for books is over. Most of the books I get from the library are digital downloads to my Kindle or Ipad. If I need a physical book I order it and they deliver to the library of my choice. Plus libraries are storing more of their books offsite in non-public buildings. Lots cheaper than using expensive downtown real estate.
They knocked out the center parts of the second and third floors to give the building a more airy open feel. It works.
Plus they have all sorts of new furniture to facilitate what patrons do these days. The old library had tables with chairs and rows of chairs. Many people bring their laptops and so now they can sit in semi privacy with a laptop table and plugs and a place to stow their backpack.
Or they have these cool chairs. I don’t like semi-privacy cuz I like people watching and listening in their conversations. You better watch what you say when you are around me because I have big ears. I like that the furniture has a midcentury modern “feel” to it in tune with the building it is in.
One of the coolest things are these study spaces that they have extended off the second floor onto the balcony. They are climate controlled and have windows on all four sides, three of them to the outside. They are of various sizes and configurations. I think they are wonderful.
And here is a view of one such study space looking to another. I think these are fabulous.
And speaking of the balcony they have opened it up again and there are more seating out there. What a way to spend a lunchtime in nice weather.
They have computers for the regular clientele plus they have computer education rooms of different types. They have literacy education spaces. It is all pretty exciting.
As for the books they have new undershelf lighting. I don’t know about you but sometimes the lighting is dark in libraries the few times that I have tried to find a book rather than order it.
I got all excited, a card catalog!! Alas, it appears to be a catalog of obituaries from way back when. Remember the good old days of searching through card catalogs and making notes with little stubby pencils on little pieces of paper and then going off to find the book. Yeah, I remember those days and they sucked. Give me a digital search any time!!
See that glass and granite building over there? That is where I work, one block away. I’ll be resuming weekly visits to the library to sit and read, people watch, and listen in on your conversations.