Petty’s Fine Foods – Utica Square,


I found myself at Utica Square in Tulsa the other day at lunch while running an errand. I needed a bite to eat but the little deli I usually go to was closed. I was by myself and just wanted a sandwich, not go to a sit down place.

I wandered into Petty’s Fine Foods, a small locally owned Grocery Store. They made me a sandwich at the deli counter. They did a great job, roast beef, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard on wheat. They wrapped it all up for me in butcher paper, I grabbed a pear in the produce department, a small bag of chips, and a soda. Paid for it and ate it at one of their tables out front.

Anybody remember when you could go to any grocery store to the meat counter and they would make you a sandwich? A good sandwich. In a previous life when I was a real engineer who actually built stuff out in the gas fields of the Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. If I was out roaming around the country checking my projects and got hungry I would often go to almost any small family owned grocery store in a small town and get my lunch (or dinner as they call lunch in Texas; they call dinner supper.)

Of course I didn’t have to pump my own gas either. If I wanted to check in with the office (remember offices?) I had to find a pay phone (remember pay phones?) And I talked to my secretary instead of voice mail (boy do I loathe voice mail!)

That was in a different era when small towns actually had a retail economy. I had forgotten all about it. But hey, things aren’t all bad, thanks to Al Gore inventing the internet for us we get to read each others blogs and Facebook updates.

All I know is, I know where I’m eating lunch next time I’m running an errand at Utica Square.

First Bike Ride of the Season

Last Sunday Sweetie asked, what do you want to do? I said geocaching, she said how about a bike ride. Darn right, lets go. SuperPizzaBoy went swimming at his Grandmother’s house.

Here is Sweetie all styling and everything.

“SMYS” pipeline term for “Specified Minimum Yield Strength” it has to do with the strength of the steel in used in pipelines. 100% SMYS is right at the limit. Legally you have to be at no more than 72% in remote areas. Less as areas are more populated. I’m at about 125% for my biking shirt. I’m going to wear it till it busts for two reasons:

1. My Sister Ellen gave it to me and not only is she my Sister she is also one of my most faithful readers.

2. It is a Fat Tire shirt. My favorite beer. I can’t buy the beer in Oklahoma but I can sure wear the shirt.


We met this guy on our ride. He was being a little protective of the herd.

Some ladies have no sense of humor. I yelled “Nice Rack” to this one. She turned and stomped off before I could get her picture. These modern ladies just aren’t the same. I mean if she doesn’t want anybody looking at her, quit flaunting it.
Sweetie and I had a great time. She was very patient with me stopping all the time and taking pictures.

Boys Night Out

Its Book Group time for Sweetie! Her once month outing with the ladies. SuperPizzaBoy and I go out and do stuff. Come join us!

Are you ready to go SPB?

First, Dinner at Fuddrucker’s. Plain Cheeseburger for the kid.


Dad loaded his up at the “make your own” bar.

Then to Laser Quest. One 20 minute game. Very intense workout. I came in number one! I gave those 11 year olds a butt kicking they will never forget. I’m the King of the World!

We finished at Barnes & Noble. The rule is I’ll buy you a book but you better be with me at the checkout stand; he was!

Home,

My World – Doaksville Oklahoma

I found Doaksville, Oklahoma last week during a trip to southeast Oklahoma. I had never heard of Doaksville and found it only because I was looking for a geocache. I love serendipity and this is a good example why.

Doaksville was once the biggest city in is now Oklahoma. It was started as a trading post by Josiah Doaks in the 1820’s. It grew quickly and for a time was the Choctaw Tribal Capital. The Civil War started its decline and it became a ghost town by 1900. In the mid 1990’s the Oklahoma Historical Society did extensive archeological excavations of many of the former structures. The site is now well maintained and has excellent interpretive displays.

To get to Doaksville you walk through the massive Doaksville Cemetery. It is very easy for me to get distracted by old cemeteries.

I get to wondering things like, “Does anybody know anything about Little Lonzo Wilson?” a three year old who died on Christmas Day 1918.
The grave of David Folsom, former chief of the Choctaws. A Christian slave owner who brought missionaries to Indian Territory and supported education efforts. “Christian slave owner” is a concept that is very hard to imagine right now. It also applies to some of the founders of our country.
Old piece of a gravestone – separated from its grave. I love the held hands.
Jimmie Dale I hope that you are fishing somewhere.After you walk through the cemetery you get to Doaksville. Nobody there but me for over two hours one day.

Excavated Tavern- this was the hearth.

A plaque commerating the surrender of General Stand Watie. A Cherokee born in Calhoun, Georgia. A wealthy plantation owning slaveholder. Supported Cherokee removal to Indian Territory. For a time he was Principal Chief of the Cherokees. Led the First Indian Brigade of the Confederate Army. Fought Union troops in Arkansas, Indian Territory, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas. He also fought fellow Indians who did not support the Confederacy. Surrendered to Union troops after the battle of Doaksville.

The jail. Three cells, not very big. Three foot thick limestone.
Here is the cache I was looking for.
For other views of our world check out That’s My World Tuesday.
Article from Smithsonian Online about the Final Confederate Surrender at Doaksville

Dental Geocaching

I know that you are tired of Idaho. Too bad, because I’m not done with it.
It was pretty wet and rainy much of the time so I didn’t get any caches out in the woods. The last full day there I found some urban caches.
My favorite was a cache that a premium emergency dentist from Westinghouse Dental placed right outside his window. I was there on a Sunday so there was nobody there. I know three dentists in Oklahoma. Randy, Bert, Michael you guys step up! Geocaching dentistry is the latest thing!
I found my first LDS (“Mormon”) Church cache. I’ve done about every denomination cache that there is except Orthodox, Islam, and, Buddhism. Anybody know any such caches I could go find?

It’s amazing how the various church caches are consistent to their religions. For example this LDS Church cache was in vary good condition and was spot on with the coordinates. The rules are changed but used to be men could have many caches but women have just one. However it is still the rule that a wife can find a cache only after her husband finds it first. Baptist caches have strict rules but at least once you find it you can just log it and forget about it. Methodist caches have to make sure that you understand just what the cache is about and you can lose credit for the cache in the future if you forget. Episcopal caches are very complicated because Whiskeypalians are much smarter than anyone else. Unitarian caches are a mess, they are way off on their coordinates and they keep yammering on about peace cranes. Enough already with the peace cranes!

I hope nobody took the previous paragraph seriously.

This cache is called “The Drink is on Me.” Only two guesses why. It is out in the middle of a wheat field.

Speaking of drinking, take look at a small portion of a grocery store beer case. More variety there than in an Oklahoma liquor store. Notice the “1554” and “Fat Tire” beer. You can buy them almost any where in the country except Oklahoma. I’m not sure why but I’m positive that keeping it out is keeping me safe. I guess. Same as the law not allowing strong beer to be refrigerated at liquor stores. Keeps Okie children from being born naked.


Not into beer? How about some Yogi Tea?

Trail Ride

On our trip to Idaho we took a two hour trail ride

SuperPizzaBoy about to mount his horse under supervision of Gramps, his grandfather.

Sweetie, always has a smile.

My cousin Merri Ann is all set to go.

We crossed a little stream.

My sister, Ellen, brother Bob, and cousin Karol.


I liked this picture mainly because of the horses ears.

It was a cool misty afternoon and we all had a pretty good time.

Sky Watch Friday – Idaho Rain Showers

I love Oklahoma but one of the things I miss about the west is being able to see the weather miles away. From our lodge we could see the rain way out to the east.

To the south it looked like a bomb had gone off. It must have been a heck of a rain. Click on the photograph to get the full effect.

For more views of the sky from all over the world check out Skywatch Friday.

Up, the Movie

Last weekend the Yogi’s went to see “Up” the new animated Disney – Pixar movie. It’s basically about an old guy, Carl Fredrickson, that wants to move his house to South America to a waterfall to fulfill a promise that he made to his late wife. So he ties a bunch of balloons to the house and after the house breaks free and is heading south, he finds out that he has a stowaway, Russell, a Wilderness Explorer.

Anyway, Fredrickson and Russell have a great adventure down in South America involving some bad guy. Lots of close calls and heart warming type stuff happens.

If you want to find out what happened at the start of the movie talk to Sweetie or SuperPizzaBoy. I was fast asleep. Apparently a lot of the back story with Frederickson and his bride as children that explains why he wanted to move his house down there in the first place. Yawn, like I said I slept through it. Talk to Sweetie if you are interested. I wasn’t. She slept through the last half of the movie.

Anyway it was an ok movie except how good could it be if so many people were snoozing. Good kid flick. 2.5 stars out of 4. Sorry. Hey visit the web site. It is amazing.

Geocaching Bomb Scare in Enid, Oklahoma

News story from the “Enid News and Eagle” in Enid, Oklahoma dated June 12, 2009. Original link. (Note that the Braum’s pictured above is not the one in Enid and was not in the article.)

UPDATE: Suspicious object turns out to be ‘geocache’

By Cass Rains
Staff Writer

A suspicious object reported to police Thursday night that caused the evacuation of a local restaurant was determined to be a “geocache,” or treasure to be located with GPS devices.

Enid Police Department Lt. Scott Miller said members of Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s bomb squad discovered what the object was after a detonation was placed beneath it.

“It came open and the papers came out,” Miller said. “It was a couple pieces of paper explaining what a geocache was and whoever had ever found it. It was a false alarm.

”Police were called 7:41 p.m. to Braum’s, 4202 W. Garriott, in reference to a man who had entered the restaurant and stayed for a few minutes, then was seen placing something in a tree on the southwest corner of the property before leaving in a vehicle.

Miller said the man likely entered the restaurant looking for the geocache before searching the tree.“He found it, signed off and left,” he said. “A few people had already been there and signed off on it. It’s been there for at least a couple weeks.”

Officers responding to the call evacuated the restaurant and cordoned off a 50-yard area near the device as they awaited arrival of the bomb squad.

According to the Web site www.geocaching.com searchers can register with the site and be given GPS coordinates to geocaches, which are signed and dated by whoever finds and returned to be found by the next searcher.“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices,” the group’s Web site reads. “The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.”

Not very funny. Big scare, bomb squad called out, area cordoned off.

Two things went wrong here. First whoever placed the cache didn’t get permission from the store manager to hide the cache.

Second the finder apparently was acting furtively.I have found lots of caches out in public areas. I think the best thing to do is act like you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. Most people don’t care but if you act sneaky then they get suspicious.

So, if you are hiding geocaches, get permission! If you are looking for caches, don’t be sneaky! Got it?