On a lunchtime geocaching expedition to a not great area of Tulsa just to the west of downtown Tulsa on West Admiral I found this gem of a building. It looks abandoned but there is a shiny mail slot in the door to the right and a city garbage container to the left. This looks like it used to be stores below and apartments or offices above. I”m trying to figure out what it used to be. I love mysteries like this.
Topaz Textures – Color Blast
Last weekend’s weather in Tulsa was downright Springlike. Warm, dry and sunny. Heather and I went hiking in shirtsleeves, meanwhile our son was on his school trip in Breckenridge negotiating lots of snow.
So how is the weather where you are?
Tulsa voters will get their chance to secure Turkey Mountain Wilderness Area‘s future on April 5 this year by voting for a huge bond issue that includes $6 million for purchasing land from private owners. Land that almost got turned into an outlet mall last year. The public rejected that proposal but the land is still privately held and zoned for smaller development and it is only fair for the owners to be compensated and they are willing to sell at their acreage.
Turkey Mountain is a hodgepodge of land owned by the River Parks Authority, the George Kaiser Family Foundation and private landowners. Park users have the run of the place and we need to start moving toward consolidating the ownership and management. We don’t need to wake up one day to see a gas station going in.
So I’ll be at the polls on April 5 voting for the bond issue.
Previous Posts on Turkey Mountain
An Update on Turkey Mountain and Helmerich Park
Simon Properties Withdraws Proposal to put an Outlet Mall on Turkey Mountain
Topaz Glow – Fin and Feathers
Oxley Nature Center is built on some land nobody else wanted. Just north of the airport, wrapped by Bird Creek, and right next to the police department shooting range, nobody likes it except hikers, families, trail runners, geocachers, and photographer, not to mention deer, squirrels, snakes, lizards, ticks, fish, and lots of birds. The marshes of Oxley is what gives wildlife its space against us humans. I’ve been out here and have seen deer run across the marshes and swim the sloughs and leave guys like me trying to get good pictures behind.
The marshes give Oxley a lot of its mystery. I used Topaz Glow to emphasize that mystery. I like how it brought out the reflections of the trees and the texture of their bark.
Heather and I wanted to go hiking on a warm sunny Winter afternoon and we decided to on the north side of Tulsa to Oxley Nature Center to avoid the crowds that show up at Turkey Mountain on nice days. The successful fight to save Turkey Mountain from developers really aroused the public’s interest in the park and I’m happy that so many people love it but there are other parks in Tulsa to go and hike, run, bike, and whatever you want outside with a lot less people. Where you can get a little elbow room and hunt for a parking space.
Oxley, adjacent to the also hikeable Mohawk Park is a little more structured and has a interpretive center with staff to help you with planning your hike. And it has hours of operation and such but if you just want to show up and hike or run, just park and do what you want. Check the link for hours of operation, maps, and such.
So on a day where Turkey Mountain was a little crowded (only at the parking lot, you get a quarter mile from the parking lot and the crowd are diminished considerably) Heather and I found a hiking spot and took off on a circuitous route. Sure we saw other people but just every now and then.
So don’t let crowded parking lots deter you from spending time outside.
We say several deer right close to the parking lot. I haven’t seen a deer on Turkey Mountain in years.
So we were just moseying along at a leisurely pace. Our son is on a school trip to Breckenridge and of course we stopped every time he texted us.
And we had a great time. Over four miles all in all.
As far as what was going on in Breckenridge, here is a selection of some of the pics Logan sent Heather.
This was from the bus ride as they were getting close to town.
The condo they are staying in and reportedly doing lots of “hanging out” and “relaxing” when we ask him what he is doing.
And it sounds like there is an ice sculpting contest or exhibition going on so this is one of the sculptures.
And this has something to do with dragons. Anyways we miss the boy and are glad to be able to hear from him.
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Leake Park in Tulsa on a warm sunny Winter Day (up in the 70’s)
The kid has gone with his senior class to Breckenridge, Colorado. We do have proof of life via text messages that he has survived the long bus trip, the snow, and the new surroundings and such. Far cry from when I was a kid where when we left we left and nobody ever thought about calling home or anything. No news was good news.
Heather and I are going places that Logan can’t stand (Bass Pro and Academy) and eating food he won’t eat (sushi) and staying up late without worrying about him but we already miss him and hope that he is having a good time. When we ask him what he is doing we find out that he is “hanging out.” When we ask if he is having a good time we find out “yes.” I’ve taught my son too well I think.
So today, more stuff the kid can’t stand, we are going hiking. What about you? What do you do when the kids are gone? I mean that you can share on a G rated site. Well, maybe PG.
I finally got my drone. It is just a toy. So sorry, no HD camera to peek into your window or hellfire missiles to mess up your terrorist plots.
Just something that goes bzzzzzzz and so far is beyond my capability to control. I am going to have to go to a bigger space so I don’t have to worry about it crashing into my neighbor’s yard.
The main issue is that the instructions are incomprehensible. It is like it was written in one language and translated and retranslated into a few more languages to where the end result is incomprehensible.
But have no fear, I’ll figure it out.
I’d love to get a “big drone” one of these days with an HD camera. I’ve seen some incredible footage from the air.
I saw the orange glow in the western sky so I grabbed my little Nikon AW110 point and shoot and took the elevator up to my old floor in my office building and went over to my old cubicle and took a few shots of the western sky with the Arkansas River. I never get tired of this view.
This is [photo of the Arkansas River as seen Turkey Mountain on the river’s west bank. The river is quite full due to recent rains. You can’t hardly tell it but the other bank is south Tulsa. If you look close you can see cars and a couple high rises on the horizon.
I used a new app on my Ipod Touch called Stackables to edit this photo. I tried to give it a kind of a 19th century wilderness aspect to the photo. The photo was taken with with Nikon AW110 point and shoot. I posted it on Instagram a week or so ago.
The number of editing apps and their capability is exploding. Many are free and most are $3 or less. Incredible time for us picture takers is what I say. I’m wondering when we are going to see high quality cameras with downloadable and updateable apps and wifi capabilities. Many cameras now have many different effects available but they are not near as good as what is available on portable devices. Many cameras have wifi capability but I can tell you I have two cameras with wifi and it is very clunky working with them.
Oh well, for now I’ll just keep on doing what I am doing.
Linking with Digital Art Meme today
Lunchtime Monday was cold but I grabbed my camera and went walking for just a few minutes. I got to what I call the “Old Chamber of Commerce Building” and took a photo of some of the Bas Relief sculptures on the facade. They are in kind of an art deco style and there lots of images in the panel. The one above of a mother and child is my favorite.
Right next to it is a depiction of Tulsa’s role as the “Oil Capital of the World” way back int eh day. It’s got and oil well obviously as well as refineries, pipelines, tank farms, trucks, railroads, and airplanes.
I went walking around the corner over to Holy Family Cathedral and saw this door labelled Porta Sancta. Of course, not being Catholic, I had to google it and it has to do with Pope Francis declaring a Jubilee Year of Mercy where believers are to learn about and practice mercy in the daily lives. The Porta Sancta has to do where a believer who meets certain requirements can receive an indulgence where an “..indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven…” It all starts by going through the door which is open at certain times. The church’s web site describes it.
I don’t really understand it but you know, we could all use a little a mercy in our lives right and we could all practice a little lot more mercy also toward others. (And by the way if I’ve got any of this wrong, please let me know!)
And then it was time to get back to work.
What did you do today?
