Tag Archives: Oklahoma

2017 Tulsa Boat Show

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Saturday morning after my haircut I drove to the Tulsa State Fairgrounds to see the Tulsa Boat Show. Lots and lots of boats.

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I stepped up to MarineMax’s area to look around and a real nice salesman, Wes asked me about my camera and what I do with the photos. I showed him my blog on my cell phone and he seemed very interested and told me to take as many photos as I wanted to. So I did. They have some very nice upper end boats.

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Deluxe accomodations and fixtures.

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And even a separate space below for the kids, or the crew, or for guests.

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The bathroom was kind of small so I couldn’t get everything but I liked the sink. Anywho, if I ever get a gazillion dollars and a hankering for a nice boat I am going to see Wes at MarineMax. A really nice guy.

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There were all kinds of boats there.

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Huge outboard motors. These are taller than I am.

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I love the bass fishing boats. I used to have a lot smaller version when I lived near Lake Conroe in Texas. They feature platform seating like above and an electric trolling motor so you can work your way along whatever feature you are fishing. Lots and lots of fun.

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Pontoon boats are popular. They can be great for puttering around on the lake.

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There were some gigantic RV’s. Tulsa doesn’t have an RV show any longer so they horn in on the boat show This unit is beautiful. I have no idea how one would drive that down the road, or really how you park this thing.

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it does have an out door television.

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Inside is nice with nice furnishings and a fireplace.

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Big kitchens,

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Nice bedrooms

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Large bathrooms. Yes, this one had two.

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This is more my speed.

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I love the little ATVs.

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This is my favorite. A retro look trailer. This is like what our family of five camped in when I was a kid. Kind of cramped but you know having a dry place is nice when it is raining when you are camping. I’ve seen some miserable people trying to cook on a Coleman stove when it is raining.

Skywatch Friday – A Noon Walk and a Full Wolf Moon

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I got away from work for a little while Tuesday at noon and drove to nearby Gilcrease Museum. I didn’t go into the museum but I went for a walk on the adjacent city park, Stuart Park. There was a sign there to be on the lookout for a bobcat and to report sightings. So that kind of perked my interest. I didn’t see any bobcats but I did take a few photos. It was very warm, almost 70. This is after being 4F on Saturday morning. Now we are supposed to have an ice storm on Saturday. Oh well, this winter if you don’t like the weather just wait a little bit and it will change.

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And then last night when I got home I noticed the moon was almost full so I got my trusty camera out and took a shot. It is the Full Wolf Moon, or almost full I guess. I love taking shots of the moon. I have dozens of them. I don’t know why, it doesn’t really change does it. I imagine I’ll be taking lots more as time passes.

I’m linking this post with Skywatch Friday. Come join us. A new link starts Saturday at 2:30PM Central Time (US).

Our World Tuesday- New Year’s Edition

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Found me a nice suspension bridge at the nearby Ray Harrel Nature Park. All great nature parks have nice bridges, right?

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I love railroad tie retaining walls. The look all old school and woodsy. They end up kind of blending in and becoming part of the landscape.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday.

 

Shadow Shot Sunday – New Years Eve Walk at Ray Harral Nature Park

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Logan and I went for a little hike on New Years Eve. He had his wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago and he was supposed to be quiet but by NYE both he and I were pretty owly and needed some fresh air and walking time. I have a hard to shake sinus infection and so I haven’t been doing much either.

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So off he went!! He isn’t into running much but he was pretty restless. We went to Ray Harral Nature Park in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa. I kind of like it. It has lots of trails and not very many people. By planning your route you can get a couple miles in by varying the loops available.

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The woods were grey but I did find a cardinal hiding from me in the shadows for a bit of red.

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I finally catching up with the kid. There is something about pedestrian bridges that I love. I alos feel compelled to tilt the camera. For some reason it seems more interesting.

How about you? What do you tilt the camera for?

I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday today.

I wish everybody a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

Fences Around the World – Oxley Nature Center

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I went on a run at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center this week. I have taken off the whole week between Christmas and New Years and the weather has been quite mild. Unlike other parks around town, Oxley has their trails extremely well marked some even with gates like this. I’m a Forest Service kid and I love this type of construction. And, who can resist checking out a trail called the “Meadowlark Prairie Trail.”

And I am donating a free shadow selfie at no extra cost.

I am linking this post with Fences Around the World

as a PS I am ashamed to say that I have subscribed to Photoshop for over a year and just this week have been figuring out how it works. I had always discounted Lightroom before but I have learned it is an integral part of the whole process. You do the easy edits in Lightroom and then pass the photo easily on to Photoshop. And then you can pass it back. Easy Peasy. Plus I have some of the Topaz Filters and have learned that the they are easily integrated into Photoshop as well. In the photo above I used I used a free Nik Filter from Google. They made them free in March of 2016 and they are very powerful. Anyway, they are integrated into Photoshop also.

I feel kind of dumb but having a little time to study things shows me that I have been wasting a lot of time. Better late than never I guess.

Skywatch Friday – Pond Reflections

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My favorite go to 3 mile walking/running loop is Lafortune Park just a few miles from the house. The trail goes around a golf course, tennis courts, and a playground, and by a several ponds so there almost always moments to rest a little bit and snap a pic or two. I’m always wanting to yell “You the Man!” or “In the Hole!!” at the golfers but never have, probably never will. I used to work with a guy who when we played golf with the CEO of our employer would say, when the CEO hit the ball, “Oh my gosh, look at the ball go!!” He even said it when I hit it, or whiffed it as mostly the case. I always thought it was funny.

Full Moon

We were celebrating my wife’s birthday yesterday and when we got home I noticed that we had a full moon. So I dug out my trust Canon SX40 Superzoom and took a few pics of the moon. I an one of them through Topaz Textures and then uploaded onto my Ipod Touch and used DistressedFX to further process the image to bring out the features of the moon.  This moon doesn’t have a cool name like some of the other moons. It is called the Long Night Moon.

Skywatch Friday

Our World – Philbrook Gardens in the Winter

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Saturday I dropped the kid off for his Comedy Improv Class and headed up to the Philbrook Museum to walk around a little while. It was their free second saturday promotion going on inside so I went outside to the gardens  to get a little air and breathing room. I went to the bottom of the hill and shot back up to Villa Philbrook. I never get tired of the view and in the winter it seems a little crisper even on a cold overcast day.

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This is the reverse view. I never get tired of the tempietto and its reflection but I pulled back the shot a bunch to take in the patchwork of colors, textures, and patterns.

I just love that place.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday

Our World – A Run on Turkey Mountain

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Saturday morning started out cool with a chance of rain. I thought about putting up the outside Christmas lights on house but I don’t like doing that in the rain. I don’t mind running in a light rain though. I have the gear for it. So after dropping the kid off at his Improv Comedy class I headed to Turkey Mountain. There was hardly anyone there.

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It was kind of a dreary gray day, just the way I like them, and so off I went with a vague desire to do about five miles plus or minus and take some new trails. The big well used trails are fine but I love the fainter seldom used ones also. As you can see there were lots of dry leaves on the ground. The squirrels were having a field day running around in them making a racket.

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I take it as a point of honor to never (well almost never) turning back on a trail because it disappears or requires climbing up or down a cliff. This trail ended up requiring it. It is at the far north end of Turkey Mountain and I had to climb down a steep hill and then climb back up out on the other side of the draw. Oh well. Slows me down but I’m not in it for the speed.

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I saw only one bicyclist and very few other people the whole time I was out there.

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I guess that somebody lost their camo hat and some other person picked it up and stuck it on a tree. I always wonder who besides a hunter needs camo gear. When I’m out in the woods, I want to be seen.

Being out in the woods in nature is a great escape. Maybe I’ll do the lights on Sunday. The Cowboys aren’t playing you know.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday.