Our World – Geocaching at Tulsa’s Mohawk Park

(Only geocachers were out in the park on Saturday. And other people who have no sense.)

With all that we have had going on this winter plus the cold miserable weather I haven’t been geocaching in months. Today after dropping Logan off at his improv comedy class I had a couple hours to myself so I went to Mohawk Park to find a few caches.

(Old lighted parking lot fallen into disuse. I don’t know why people would park there, especially at night.)

You see I like to find the bigger caches out in the woods. I like the sense of aloneness and it gives me a chance to get my head back on straight. My hair may be all messed up but I like my head on straight.

(Believe it or not I followed a faint trail through the woods.)

Mohawk Park is immense. At 2800 acres it is one of the biggest city parks in the country. Some of it is pretty developed. The Tulsa Zoo is there along with picnic grounds and playgrounds along with a police shooting range. There is plenty of woods left to hide geocaches.

(For some reason coming upon these little buildings creeps me out.)

In my travels I found a long forgotten barn out in the middle of nowhere.

It wasn’t too forgotten. Somebody was storing hay there. For what, I don’t know. There were no livestock nearby.)

(Are you kidding me? It is not even that good. Maybe they were practicing, or they were ashamed of themselves.)
And some taggers had found it.

(Something else that creeps me out, getting followed at long distance.)

A guy was walking his dog along an abandoned road.

(Thank you to my fellow taxpayers for spending billions of dollars putting the GPS satellites in space so I can find trinkets in the woods! I salute you.)

I found four caches while I was out there. My fancy schmancy fitbit tells me that I walked about 6000 steps doing that or about three miles. That includes the walking around in circles muttering to myself while looking for these things.

(I bet you were completely fooled)

This is what geocachers call “parallel stick camo.”

Somebody else found this structure. What it is doing out here besides being a cache hiding spot? I have no idea.

I saw this cache from across a creek. It has been out here eleven years. It takes a lot of work to keep a cache going that long. People accidentally find them and take them or vandalize them. Water gets inside them and spoils the paper log.

Time was up and I headed back into town to pick up the kid.

Have you ever been geocaching? Or do you have a life?

Geocaching 101

What is Geocaching

Our World Tuesday

Scavenger Hunt Sunday – Thunder Up!! Edition

Unusual Crop

I found these Thunder Up things in a planter a few months ago. Is it the season for basketball. No Seattle whiney babies allowed!! Except for my friend Sylvia who used to live in Seattle.

Details

Tulsa has lots and lots of art deco buildings and art deco is all about details. I found this winged railroad wheel at the old train depot.

the Ground

Way out in western Oklahoma they are too busy drilling Granite Wash gas wells to waste time trying to grow greens for the golf courses. So they use oiled sand.
Blooper (or a shot where things didn’t go as planned)

I ran a race a while back. I think it must have been part of the bad style olympics.

Color

IKEA has lots of color. I understand that some people actually buy the merchandise they sell. I can’t imagine why.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Song-ography – “Nothing More” by the Alternative Routes

To be humble, to be kind.
It is the giving of the peace in your mind.
To a stranger, To a friend
To give in such a way that has no end.

We are Love
We are One
We are how we treat each other when the day is done.
We are Peace
We are War
We are how we treat each other and Nothing More

To be bold, to be brave.
It is the thinking that the heart can still be saved
And the darkness can come quick
The Dangers in the Anger and the hanging on to it.

We are Love
We are One
We are how we treat each other when the day is done.
We are Peace
We are War
We are how we treat each other and Nothing More

Tell me what it is that you see
A world that’s filled with endless possibilities?
Heroes don’t look they used to, they look like you do.

We are Love
We are One
We are how we treat each other when the day is done.
We are Peace
We are War
We are how we treat each other and Nothing More

Song-ography

“What is Love” at the Prom

A few weeks ago Logan’s school had their prom. I was sick at the time and just popped my head in long enough to get everybody else sick and look around a little bit so I missed almost all of it. Somebody else took these photos and shared them with us.

It’s Logan and his classmates bobbing their heads to the song “What is Love” in parody to the popular Jim Carrey skits on Saturday Night Live. I wasn’t there but Heather told me that Logan kept saying “I don’t get it!” You see he has never seen SNL. Cuz he is a kid you see.

Oh I wish I could have been there to see it but I got the pics. I love seeing the kid having fun.

Do you get it?

Skywatch Friday – From the Old Office View

Last summer my space at work was moved from a cubicle with a grand view to a very nice office with four beige walls. Every once in a while toward the end of the day I sneak back into my own cubicle and snap a pic or two. I hope that I don’t get in trouble! My favorite views are when the sun lines up with the Arkansas River and there are reflections in the water like the view above last Tuesday night.

Do you have a favorite place to take photographs?

Skywatch Friday

Googie Influenced Architecture at Oral Roberts University

(Learning Resource and Graduate Center)

A couple weeks ago I spent an hour or so on the Oral Roberts University campus. I had my Holga 135PC pinhole camera with me. Most of the buildings on the campus were designed by one man, Frank Wallace are in a style now known as “Googie” but back then in the early 1960’s was known as “Space Age.” The buildings are ORU use lots of bronzed reflective glass.

(Learning Resource and Graduate Center)

(Christ’s Chapel – A Figurative Tent to reflect Oral Robert’s beginnings as a tent revival preacher.)

For a long time the architecture looked outdated and run down but the revival of all things retro and 1960’s it seems that the buildings are coming back in style. It helps that they now have money for maintenance and upkeep.

(A digital pic of Howard Auditorium with its geodesic dome)

(This isn’t architecture, this is just having fun)

(Shooting a shot with a pinhole camera into a reflection of the sun. My question is how can you have lens flare without a lens?)

Our World – Oral Roberts University Praying Hands

The 60 feet tall, 30 ton bronze Praying Hands sculpture at Oral Roberts University is by sculptor Leonard McMurry and was cast in Ciudad Juarez Mexico in 1980. Originally they were placed in front of ORU’s City of Faith Medical Center but were moved to their present place on campus in 1991 well after the medical school became defunct.

Although they are popularly called Praying Hands, the official name of the piece is “Healing Hands.” Supposedly it is the largest bronze sculpture in the world.

It has a lot of visitors and one of the “must see” things if you visit Tulsa. The university has a small free parking lot next door. While there you can walk around the campus and see the some of the space age buildings that it is famous for.

Our World Tuesday

Scavenger Hunt Sunday – From Sea to Shining Symetrical Giggle

See, Sea, or C

This is from our trip last summer to the Redneck Riviera of Alabama. I have to confess that the pic was taken in a bay not on the open sea. I don’t feel bad though.

Chair

I found this pair of chairs at Powell Gardens near Kansas City. I just love’em.

Symmetry

Well I have over 37,000 photo and not a one tagged “Symmetry.” So how about a double exposure. This was also up in Powell Gardens. There was a trellis over a trail so I took a photograph and then turned the camera upside down and shot the same shot. So it does have a symmetry about it, I think. You think? Somebody throw me a bone!

Blanket

Well, again, no blankets, but how about another shot from Powell Gardens. A flower bed in side a bed frame. I thought that was very clever. So, how about letting me call it a blanket? Pleeeeaaaase?

Giggle

Logan is in a youth improv comedy class. He has been doing it for sometime and loves it. They have performances every now and then to show off their chops and they have a great time on stage.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Running the Post Oak Lodge Challenge 10K

(Doesn’t road dust from the parking lot traffic make for a romantic photograph?)

Early Saturday morning I got up and drove north of Tulsa to the Post Oak Lodge to run in the 10K portion of the Post Oak Lodge Challenge by the Tulsa Running Club. Two days of racing, six races. On Saturday they have a 10K, 25K, and a 50K race and on Sunday they have a quarter marathon, half marathon, and a full marathon. It is a very ambitious project but the organizers do a good job of sorting it all out and making it work.

The 10K is for pansies. The real runners Saturday were there for the 25K and 50K races.

This is about as close as I’ll ever get to getting an award for my running. That’s okay. Keeps the clutter down.

It was in the mid to high 40’s at start time. I love the people watching at the starting line. People have the strangest stretching and warmup routines. I’m asked if I warm up beforehand. Are you kidding me? I have 6 miles to get warmed up.

And we are off. The runners got stacked up at a tricky downhill turn.

Trail runs have the best rest stop food. All sorts of stuff including jello shots, chocolate covered bacon and much much more.

Part of the race went through the Centennial Botanical Gardens. They just planted some trees and put up some burlap to shield them from the north wind. From a distance I couldn’t figure it out, brown portapotty’s maybe?

One young man was running the race carrying the cross. I’m not sure what that was all about except that he passed me and I was not carrying a cross. I had a camera though.

Zipline towers. I’d like to do that sometime. Anybody want to do it with me?

And this is either a zipliner or somebody cheating on the race.

And this is the trail up Holmes Peak, the highest point in Tulsa County. I pretty much walked up to the top. In fact I walked a lot on this race. I hope that you don’t think less of me.

And this is the view from up there. That is downtown Tulsa way off yonder. Looks pretty small from up here.

Proof, that I didn’t finish dead last. I don’t worry too much about finishing last. I just like finishing. Vertically is best but if I have to crawl I’ll do that also.

I didn’t get an award but I did get this nifty iron finisher medal.

The race lunch was a chopped brisket sandwich and a bag of fritos and two beers. It was good! I know, I know a salad would be much more nutritious. Sure it would be. Most stuff I don’t eat is good for me.

And so that is the race report!!

Previous Year’s Post Oak Challenge Reports

2013

2011

2010