Looping the Loops at Chandler Park Wilds

IMAG0830

I think there used to be small farms in the area. There are remnants of old roads and residential power lines.

Wednesday night for a little change of pace I headed back to the wilds of Chandler Park. The privately owned, not posted land, west of the park in west Tulsa. Turkey Mountain gets kind of crowded this time of year. Not so at Chandler.

IMAG0833

The area is up high on a hill and there are lots of natural rock formations. It looks almost like it was built that way. Many people call the area “the lost city.” I think it would be a great place to hide some geocaches. Plus if I were a snake I think this would be like a snake resort area.

Chandler has lots of trails but there are no armies of volunteers out picking up trash. The trails are utility rights of way and ATV trails.

IMAG0834

Sometimes I think I take too many photographs. Especially when I’m on an unfamiliar trail and the sun is going down. That is what I do though, take photographs.

It sure is nice though. I never see deer on Turkey Mountain any longer. I saw three Wednesday. I didn’t get photos of them though.

IMAG0836

I’ve been down there before!! From the other direction. Connecting segments, learning the area.

The wilds are huge and a little intimidating. This is my third outing and I’m learning the area as I go. I am doing it by piecing together loops including new routes and old routes. So doing it after work is a little intimidating because I am just kind of guessing what turns to take. I would sure hate to be out here after dark on a trail I haven’t been on before.

IMAG0842

I’m a sucker for reflections of trees.

There are all sorts of creeks and sloughs with water that have to be navigated.

IMAG0840

So what was it? A horse maybe? A mutant critter from the nearby Compass Point Landfill Superfund site?

And you see sights that you would never see on Turkey mountain. I am not sure what kind of critter this is but he has been picked clean.

IMAG0847

Getting dark and I’m a ways from the car, but hey, lets take another photo, and another, and one more.

Finally when it got dark I found that I had guessed right and got on a trail I had been on before. A successful loop guess!

IMAG0848

I just simply cannot resist a smooth single track trail winding through the woods.

I just love finding new trails.

IMAG0856

I headed back to my car and passed Tulsa’s world class superfund site. The long forgotten Compass Point Landfill. An area where way back when the owners let everybody pretty much dump anything they wanted into a former rock quarry. Refinery wastes, tires, chemicals. Just chuck it in and don’t worry about it.

IMAG0859

I got back to the ball fields at Chandler Park. They weren’t playing baseball, there was a group of people working with their dogs.

IMAG0855

Miller time!! Or Hoptometrest Double IPA time. After I get home of course.

Anyways, I was one happy camper. Learning Chandler Park bit by bit.

Are you learning anything new?

Digital Art Meme – Kwan Yin Sculpture at Tulsa’s Tam Bao Temple

Buddhist Sculpture Kwan Yin - glow squiggly lines ii 82%

I went on a lunchtime geocaching adventure in east Tulsa last week and on the way back to the office I saw a huge sculpture so I pulled off the road and took a photo of the statue. I would have got closer but a dog came bounding out and although friendly acting decided to move on. It turns out that the sculpture is of the Buddhist bodhisattva, Kwan Yin, who represents mercy, compassion, kindness, and love in the Buddhist religion. The sculpture is located at Tulsa’s Tam Bao Buddhist Temple.  The sculpture was erected by the Temple to express their appreciation to the people of Oklahoma and United States for the hospitality extended to the Vietnamese refugees who came here after the Vietnam war.

It is 57 feet tall and made of granite and is beautiful. I used Topaz Lab’s Glow software to add some texture to what was a flat blue sky.

The following is a short (1 minute plus or minus) documentary on the sculpture.

I live for serendipity. Don’t you?

Linking with Digital Art Meme

Rat Rods! at the Starbird Car Show

_DSC0089

I went to the Daryl Starbird Car Show here in Tulsa a couple weeks ago and I learned something new. I’ve learned the term “Rat Rod.”

_DSC0067

Rat Rods are like hot rods only with no chrome, rough or nor paint, and just generally look kind of homemade.

_DSC0063

Wikipedia talks about Rat Rods being a reaction to the pretty show hot rod show cars of today that are meant to be shown and not driven.

_DSC0077

Rat Rods are often associated with Rockabilly or Greaser culture. They are supposed to be a throwback to the hot rods of the 1930’s to 1960’s. I love them. They have that Mad Max home built slopped together look about them. The safety people among us are going nuts I’m sure. Exposed exhaust pipes, drive belts, and fans. Whoops there goes your fingers, please don’t bleed on the cars sir.

_DSC0058

Apparently conventional hot rodders loathe the rat rods. I just love controversy like this. Reaction and counter reaction, yin and yang. I’ll be looking into this more.

What about you? Have you ever heard of rat rods before?

Post Oak Challenge Quarter Marathon

DSCN5283

Sunday I ran the Quarter Marathon Race of the Post Oak Challenge. A series of distance races over two days at the beautiful Post Oak Lodge in the hills north of Tulsa.

DSCN5287

A nice view of downtown Tulsa.

It was my first trail race since I hurt my knee last September and my longest race at about 6.55 miles since then.

DSCN5289

One of the grand young men of trail racing in Tulsa, Trail Zombie.

Usually I lope along and take lots of pictures and sample all the food and beverages and chat and visit. This time I sensed I might get an age group award so I hit it hard. Well, for me I hit it hard. I still walked a lot.

DSCN5290

Trail Zombie’s TATUR Cantina at the race. The best aid station out there. All I had was a fireball shot.

Starting about a mile and half into the race I fell in with a group with good pace for me. We’d break up at the aid stations and then reform later on.

DSCN5292

Heading up the Hill from HEll.

All the races go up the “Hill from Hell” a very long hill that doesn’t ever quite quit. I walked a lot of it.

DSCN5294

The finish line!!

IMAG0828

The preliminary result was that I got second in my age group. I was handed later on the third place award.

post oak challenge results

Turns out the final result was that I got second!! I don’t mind though. Also note that there were only three of us guys in the age group. The way I look at it is that the rest of the age group in the Tulsa area were still in bed, or drinking coffee. Or maybe they were running the half and and full marathon’s today.

Anyways I’m thrilled with my little wooden mislabeled trophy.

Turkey Mountain Cleanup Day and the George Kaiser Family Foundation Purchases the Simon Malls Tract

Over 120 people of all ages showed up  for the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition‘s Winter Cleanup Day on a beautiful Saturday morning. We picked up trash, lopped off limbs, seeded, and shaped trails for several hours this morning.

DSCN5281

I worked with John and Faith on the lower portion of the blue trail. I had some loppers (that is what I call them) with me and I was exhausted at the end of a mere two hours. I left them to go fetch Logan and they were still going strong. I like pruning branches in the woods. When I prune at home I have to bundle everything up just right for the city to pick them up. Up on the mountain I just toss the branches I cut deeper into the woods.

DSCN5280

And a week ago we got some great news on the future of Turkey Mountain. The George Kaiser Family Foundation has purchased the 60 acres on the west side of the mountain that was slated to be developed by Simon Properties into an outlet mall. The foundation owns another 200 acres of land on the mountain and the new tract will be used to expand the footprint of the public wilderness area.  It is a win/win. Simon Malls decided to build the mall on a more appropriate site and the private landowners of the 60 acres got paid for the value of the land that we users of the mountain enjoyed at their expense.

So it has been a great week for those of us that love Turkey Mountain.

Keep Turkey Wild!

 

Related articles

Running Hills Where There Are No Hills

DSCN5266

Last week I had a lot of fun running hills at Turkey Mountain with Trail Zombie, Clint,and Lea. This week I couldn’t run there because by the time I get off work it is dark and I don’t like to run hills by my lonesome in the dark. The days are getting longer though and daylight savings time starts March 13 so it won’t be long.

DSCN5267

So I went running on the flat lighted trails of Arkansas River Trails system. So I used whatever hills I could find and looped back around them. Places like bridges, overpasses, and underpasses and whatever small hills were available.

DSCN5268

So I didn’t get 900 feet of elevation, I only got 41 feet but it is making me think how I can add a lot more elevation to my river runs. One thing is that you can see from the photo above that downtown is elevated quite a bit above the river so I might figure out a loop up and back. Tulsa’s infamous “Crybaby Hill” loop for the Tulsa Tough bicycle race is a loop that starts on the opposite bank above and goes behind the light colored condos just to the right. 

DSCN5270

That ought to add some elevation.


What about you, are you looking for any hills to climb?

Wish me luck I’m running my first trail race Sunday morning, the quarter marathon segment of the Post Oak Challenge,  since I banged up my knee last September running the Escape From Turkey Mountain Race.  Check out my 2015 Post Oak Challenge. The quarter marathon is kind of kiddy race because we won’t go up Holmes Peak like the other races do. That is today (Saturday) and I am helping out on Turkey Mountain Cleanup this morning and Heather is teaching a class today at the gym and Logan needs to get to and from his musical rehearsal. You folks with families know all about shuffling things around.

Skywatch Friday – Downtown Skies

Tulsa Skywatch

This is a view of downtown Tulsa. My favorite part of it is the reflection of my Nikon Coolpix AW110 against the building to the right. Used to be I’d worry about it and now, I’m like hey that is the way it is. There is lots of other things wrong with this picture but what is right about it is the tall building against the funky sky and the reflections of the western sun in the windows.

I also love it for the tower of the building to the far left, the 320 south Boston Building. Legend has it that the tower was designed to dock dirigible airships back in the 1920’s or so. I love that legend even though there are skeptics who say otherwise.  I say pooh on the skeptics,

What about you, do you have notions that the skeptics don’t like?

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

 

2016 Daryl Starbird Car Show – Ford Model T Skull Bucket

_DSC0898

I love the yellow and purple… and all the chrome, don’t you??

This latest weekend was the latest installment of the Starbird Car Show here in Tulsa. The event is just mind boggling. There are hundreds of cars on display and they are almost all one of a kind in one or another and the display of creativity, craftsmanship, hard work and pride that the owners put into their machines is just amazing. I took hundreds of photos but don’t worry, I’ll spare you.

_DSC0896

The spoiler and those big ole wide tires…

The guys that build the machines are car guys. I am not a car guy but I know several. I hardly ever pop the hood on my own car let alone do anything to the car. My Dad taught me how to do all the now obsolete skills. Change the points, adjust the timing, gap the spark plugs, all that stuff. All that has gone by the wayside now. But there are still lots of people who modify engines, change transmissions, put in new rear differentials. Others who do their own body work and have learned wire welding and how to paint. I salute them.

_DSC0897

So, is that a legal turn signal. Have you ever had a skull wink at you?

The cars at this show are done by the professionals and dedicated amateurs who have poured hundreds of hours into these creations.

_DSC0900

The small little death’s head on top of the headlight. Does your car have that feature?

I hardly ever miss the regular Tulsa Car show held in the Spring of the year. The cars are great but are not very distinctive. All the sedans look like Toyota Camry’s in my opinion. Nothing wrong with that mind you but I like looking at bright colors and outrageous designs.

_DSC0899

Well, I don’t think it gets good mileage and the tank is rather small. I think it will get you a quarter mile which is long enough.

Anyways, you may wonder why I take hundreds of pictures of great and unique cars and yet show only pics of one car. Hey if you figure it out let me know and then we will both now. I am just simply overwhelmed so I decided to just start with one of my favorites.  I’ll be doing other posts on this cars and dribbling out on Instagram as time goes by.

So, have you seen a car you like lately?

Getting Schooled on Hill Repeats

DSCN5204

This week instead of doing my weekly run on Wednesday, I did it on Thursday and I did it earlier on Thursday than what I normally run. The wind was howling and the air was full of smoke from all the wild fires due to the dry conditions. You can see how hazy the air is. I decided to run on Turkey Mountain. The trees stop the wind cold up there. I ran into Ken (aka Trail Zombie) and Clint,  a facebook friend who I have never met before, Ken asked if I wanted to go do some hill repeats, so I said sure and so we three along with a lady named Lea went off to do hill repeats.

DSCN5208

TZ, Lea, and Clint headed toward the lower yellow trail.

After a warmup loop on the red trail we went up what TZ calls Leadville. It is about 300 feet in a quarter mile and it is brutal. I’d like to say I ran up all the way. I didn’t run any of the way but my heart was pounding by the time we got up on top.

DSCN5211

TZ and Lea headed down “I Want My Mommy” Clint is already out of sight and I was carefully picking my way down.

I Want My Mommy is pretty darn steep. You can see TZ and Lea way ahead of me. Then we went a few feet and came back up to the top of the mountain on another trail. Clint and TZ are both on a Strava climbing challenge and they hitting the hills hard and they are good at it.

DSCN5216

Finally we headed back to the parking lot. Running hills is hard work but fun with you are doing it with people. I had an excellent workout.