Skywatch Friday – Spring Storm
The first Spring storm clouds of the season were pretty spectacular Tuesday night. They didn’t get to Tulsa and I was glad that they were over there and I wasn’t. At the bottom right of the photo is the first redbud blooms of Spring that I have seen this year.
Wednesday night was a different story. Their were a series of storms that spun up in the Oklahoma City and Moore areas and came up the turnpike to Tulsa and hit right around quitting time. A trailer park in the suburb of Sand Springs got hit and caused many injuries and one fatality as well as extensive damage. Heather and Logan were at home and I decided to stay at work. Being on the road is the worst place to be during a tornado.
My office is a beige box in the interior of the building so I stayed there instead of going out side and taking pictures. I did get this one grainy shot of a flare at one of the local refineries. I don’t think the refinery was damaged, most likely it was just a process upset. They will be filling out paperwork for a week for causing so much smoke though.
This could be another wild year for storms here in the heartland.
Linking with Skywatch Friday
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Boomtown Downtown – Condo Conversions
At lunch yesterday I took advantage of the perfect sunny cool weather and put on my big funny looking high spf hat and took a stroll over to the east side of downtown to see what was happening. It has been a long cold winter and I hadn’t been exploring as much as what I usually do.
The east side is booming with condo construction. Find Out More about condo conversions here. Both new and conversions. Downtown Tulsa is now a cool place to be ever since the BOK Arena went in several years ago. I don’t know what came first after that, cool bars or condos but it is amazing the housing that is being built that accompanies the explosion of bars and restaurants. It wasn’t that many years ago that Michael Buble at a concert here joked that he left his hotel to check out the local action and all he he saw were tumbleweeds blowing down the street.
There is growing pains of course. The city has again started enforcing parking laws and the residents downtown are complaining. I’m told that parking in not prime areas averages about $70 per month. It may not sound like much to you big city folks but people in Oklahoma think that free parking is somehow in the Bill of Rights. A codicil of the Second Amendment I think.
The other thing is that the smaller the condo the bigger the dogs the owners have and there is not enough places for the dogs to go relieve themselves and I see people trying to coax their oversize dogs into small planters so the dogs can do their business. Something is going to have to give on that.
Anyway, it is great to see new construction going on downtown and people moving in and making it their home. I really do think that a strong downtown is vital to any city.
TATUR Snake Run on Turkey Mountain
It was a great day for a trail race on Saturday morning. Cool, humid, and very little wind. It was very early spring like.
The sun was trying to burn through the clouds and never did quite make it.
Here is a mini video of the walk from the parking lot to the race start.
I got up to the old parking lot and checked out all the mud.
And checked out the race bling. This is as close as I’ll ever get.
And inspected this bad boy. I think I need one of these to mow my yard. I think it would do a pretty decent job. Anybody want to float me a loan?
The Race Director, Ken, aka Trail Zombie gave the runners some instructions. Follow the pink ribbons, don’t cross the yellow ribbons. Have a good time.
And the Six Hour Runners were off.
And then the Three Hour Runners, including moi. The races are a little different. Most races are a fixed length and whoever has the least time wins. In the Snake Races, the time is constant and whoever runs the longest wins. So there were two loops. A big loop of about 3.7 miles. We run that over and over, and if you don’t think you can finish another big loop before the time is up then there is another half mile loop that you can run over and over until the time is up. It is really very clever. I like it because I can always tell people that I had the same time as the winner.
Even though it was spring there wasn’t much color out on the mountain. The whitebuds blooming was about it.
There was one aid station out on the course that we hit twice each loop because of the way that the route folds in on itself. It was full service though, water, gatorade, baked potatoes rolled in salt, cookies, pickles, bananas, oranges, beer.
Nope, not for me. Actually I think it was a joke. I think. Although if you had an urgent need it may not be much of a joke.
And the course had a beer stop. This was my favorite. I hit it twice each loop. Going and coming. This guy had everything: All sorts of nice craft beers, and shots of various liquors including some home brew. Soft drinks for the kiddies.
I fell twice during the race. About six weeks ago I fell during a night run on the mountain and had a pain that still endures. That was on my left side. I was carrying my camera in left hand today and so I made sure that I fell on my right side. We bloggers know that ribs will heal but cameras won’t. I was telling that story to somebody at the end of the race and she said “You fell twice? You must have been one of those people hitting the beer stop pretty hard.” She had that “I got you look.” She must have been a school principal. The truth hurts sometimes. Now my left and my right sides hurt besides.
I wish that I had read this sign earlier. Maybe I would do better if I ran faster. I’ll have to check into the math and physics of that concept.
Here is the beer tent again on another stop. Lots of good stuff here. And no I didn’t stagger into the table to get this shot. Well, I didn’t mean to anyway.
And here is Brian Hoover, the force behind Tatur Racing and Chip Timing. I think that I had asked him if I run the race or something.
Brian and Ken started handing out the awards after the Three Hour Race.
No, I didn’t place. I don’t think that any of the people that placed took any pics out on the course or sampled any of the beer. You know beer doesn’t drink itself. I might have won the race if I hadn’t been fulfilling my journalistic duties. Hey you don’t know.
Or maybe I need a cool headband. I think it cuts the wind resistance or something. Or maybe it diverts blood supply to the legs. Something like that I’m sure.
And here is a guy taking a selfie. Sorry, if I see you taking a selfie, I’m going to get a pic of you.
And here is the record of my race. My strategy was to run for a quarter mile and walk for a minute. I did that through the whole race and it worked. Plus I drank lots of water and some Gatorade at the food stops along with the salted baked potato segments. I got pretty sore still which is not surprising because the longest distance I have run in the last several months is only six miles.
I’ll be back next year. This is a fun race.
Trail Zombie’s blog post of the race.
Saturday’s Critters – Trumpeter Swan
A goose Trumpeter Swan I encountered Wednesday night. He was very cooperative and even posed for me. When I got a little closer he decided he had enough and waddled off into the water. Telling me to back off the whole time.
Thanks to my friends DrillerAA and EGCamera girl for setting me straight on what species this is.
Linking with Saturday’s Critters
Weekend Reflections – The Fisherman
A man fishing in one of the ponds in Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. This particular pond with the willow trees and fountain is one of my favorite subjects. I thought the intensity of the fisherman adds some interest to the photo. I also used a program that adds a painting effect to photos.
Skywatch Friday – March Showers
I ended up doing my Wednesday night run going around Lafortune Park instead of the Arkansas River Parks. Winter is finally letting go but grudgingly. Now that Spring is almost here I’m holding on to cold wintry weather also. Soon enough the summer heat and bugs will be here. So I didn’t mind too much running in the rain this evening. It wasn’t that cold and I don’t mind being wet.
Skywatch Friday
Public Meeting on the Outlet Mall on Turkey Mountain
Tuesday night I went to a public meeting regarding Simon Group’s plans to put an outlet mall on Turkey Mountain. It was hosted by the City Councilor from the area, Jeannie Cue a very energetic and impressive woman. She made sure everybody who wanted to say something got to say it. There were other people there from the city including some planning staffers and Clay Bird of Tulsa’s office of Economic Development.
The bravest guy there was a local attorney representing Simon. He was hedging his bets a little bit speaking of Simon in the third person.
The city wants more businesses especially retail. The development guy, Clay Bird, said that Tulsa gets all its income from sales taxes. So retail is something that they target. I get that. I think most people get it, they just don’t want a mall on Turkey Mountain. Bird didn’t seem to grasp why. He kept saying things about it would only take up a little bit of the mountain and surely we could co-exist with the mall. That wasn’t really well received.
He lost the crowd though when he tossed out an idea that a parking garage could be built on the mountain to accommodate both mall shoppers and park users. People couldn’t believe it and let him have it. He recovered quickly with a quip about maybe putting a climbing wall on the side of the garage. He’s a good guy but he doesn’t get the concept of wilderness. Hiking, biking, or running on Turkey Mountain is not like doing the same in a public park. One needs the sense of space and remoteness and isolation.
During the Q&A it quickly became apparent that the overwhelming majority of people were okay with malls just not on the mountain. One comment that brought cheers was “It is the right project in the wrong place.” There was a lot of emotion against the mall. One guy spoke up for it pointing out that it is private property and he thought this was America. He got a smattering of applause.
And that brings up the whole problem. We may be able to get Simon to go away but the property is still private and it is zoned for development. As one questioner commented, we better be ready to buy the property if the mall fails. Amen. Anyone can see why Simon is interested in the property. It is near the confluence of two major highways in a hot area of town.
A spokesman for the Greater Tulsa YMCA read a Statement from the their Board of Directors stating their opposition unless Simon makes some concessions. They are asking about assurances on storm water management, water quality, setbacks, and maximum allowed building height. The proposed mall, as it is designed will loom over the YMCA’s Westside Y Day Camp unless changes like these are made.
It is kind of hard seeing how this can proceed. Through the efforts of such groups as the Urban Wilderness Coalition it seems that the profile of Turkey Mountain as something good is being raised. I can tell you that the park is being used considerably more than what it was even last year. I’m seeing lots of families out and about in the park.
Personally I think Simon Property Group should abandon their project. And then it will be up to people of Tulsa to acquire the property at a fair price.
Extra Information
NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com |
Channel 6 was there
And Channel 5 was there
Tulsa World report on the meeting
http://www.tulsaworldtv.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91468&ndn.siteSection=tulsa_nws_loc_sty_pp&ndn.videoId=28738404&freewheel=91468&sitesection=tulsa_nws_loc_sty_pp&vid=28738404
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Our World Tuesday – Tulsa Garden Center
The Tulsa Garden Center is housed in the former David Travis Mansion on Peoria Avenue.
It was built in the early 1920’s by David Travis (formerly Rabinowitz) an early day Tulsa Oilman and immigrant from Russian who in true wildcatter fashion didn’t get live in for very long and lost it because of an oil price crash (I have to say that he wasn’t a wildcatter but he was in the oilfield supply business). It had various owners, finally ending up with another oilman who sold it to the City of Tulsa.
It’s a busy place as it hosts thirty gardening groups plus countless weddings and fundraisers during the year. My wife during her Master Gardener phase worked in the library and then later taught children during weekend programs. I have been all through the mansion while helping her carry stuff here and there including the attic servants quarters where the children’s supplies were kept. Supposedly there is a ghost present and if I were ghost I would haunt this place as it is absolutely beautiful.
Mr. Travis was Jewish and the first Jewish services in Tulsa were held in the basement. Also in the basement is the mikvah in the basement right next the ballroom. If you catch a staff member or volunteer with a key in the right mood they might show you the mikvah and the attic where the female servants slept.
This is the back side of the Conservatory of the Garden Center. The front of the building gets all the attention but I find it rather bland. I much prefer the rear. Mainly because of the red tile roof of the building attached to it.
Four years ago in that same corner, Heather and I built a Children’s Garden for the Garden Center. It doesn’t look like much but it was a lot of work. They didn’t have a place for the kids to work with soil and Heather didn’t think that it didn’t make too much sense teaching kids about gardening if they didn’t have a place of their own to plant and tend plants.
It took off and grew though!! Heather left the program and moved on to other things and so did the Garden Center and all that she put in got taken out. Which, if you know anything about gardening, is the way things go.
The Tulsa Garden Center is a great organization and a great place check it out.
Linking with Our World Tuesday
Previous Posts on Tulsa Garden Center: here, here, and here.
Foto Friday Fun – 2011 Tatur Run
This is from my first trail race ever. The 2011 version of the Tatur Run on Turkey Mountain held on November 6. I had forgotten how pretty the woods were.
I’m participating in Foto Friday Fun sponsored by Gaelyn.