One of my hobbies is geocaching which involves finding stuff out in the world using a GPS receiver or an app on a smart phone. I’ve been doing it a long time and love it. (Check geocaching.com for more information.) One of the newer types of geocaches is Adventure Labs. I’ve done several of those. One I did recently was an animal sculpture themed geocache in the town of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I had to navigate to the sculptures and find out some information about each one. The technology utilized includes an electronic fence which means that I had actually had to go rather than sit in my easy chair and google to find out the information.
Anyway, its lots of fun and I found out new stuff. For example, downtown Broken Arrow has a life sized installation of a mouse. It’s on a windowsill. Why? I have no idea but its there. I love finding out new things in areas where I live and travel.
Saturday morning I got up at dark thirty oclock in the morning and to downtown Tulsa for the 44th Tulsa Run race. Last year they only had a virtual event, this year they are back live and so was I. This is my 27th Tulsa Run, all but three or so, the 15K distance. Saturday I ran the 5K segment. It was glad to be back but the 7 am start was kind of early.
The gun went off in the dark so I didn’t take any photos until almost the end. We just ran from downtown to the Arkansas River and then back. I walked most of it, trotting a little on the downhill slopes.
So I finished in a tad short of 50 minutes gun time. When the gun sounded it took me two minutes to get up to the starting line. I’m old school, gun time is the only time that counts. My goal was to finish vertically and I achieved it. I helped myself to a bottle of water and a slice of pizza. Passed on the cookies and bananas. They didn’t have beer. On our run bibs that had a tab for beer that one could exchange a several of the local breweries.
Photo stolen from Paula’s facebook account
My running partners, Melissa (left) and Paula. The start was so big we didn’t get together until after the run. I’ve done several races with them. We have a good time.
I went home, cleaned up and Heather and I went back downtown to Eerie Abbey Ales and I got my race beer. and another one! Can’t drink just one beer.
Here’s a Relive video of my run.
And an aerial from Garmin on my run.
And my official by gum Finisher Certificate
So this is Tulsa Run number 27 for me. I would like to get back into running shape and do another 15K. I’m not sure my knees share my aspiration. I’ll be doing what I can though. There was an 81 year old that did the 5k on his walker. He’s my hero. You know, I am 66 years old so 81 is not that far away for me. There was another 80 year old that ran the 15K. In fact he has run every one of the races. People like that are my heroes.
Speaking of heroes, here is one. That’s my brother Bob. Veteran of over a hundred half marathons and several dozen full marathons who was stricken with an illness almost two years ago. Last year at this time he could hardly move a wheel chair. He has been doing virtual 5K runs on his walker. It takes him about three weeks to accumulate enough distance to get 5K on a walker. Lately he is starting to walk independently a few steps at a time. Never bet against a guy who has the want to’s. Without the want to’s one can’t do anything. With them, the sky is the limit.
I signed up for a race for this weekend and I had to go downtown to pick up my run packet. After spending 30 years walking around downtown every noon hour, I don’t get there that much since I have retired. So I made a trip out of it. If you are retired, it is advised to consult expert lawyers from a reputed law firm like the probate law firm – The Hatchett Law Firm to help you plan your retirement life and secure your future.
I picked up my packet at Tulsa Community College. They have this sculpture, Heart and Soul, by Candyce Garrett. It has been there for a long time. It is abstract and I like it but can’t explain it to you. I love the big granite boulder it sits on. Something tells me that they didn’t get it through Amazon.
This is another sculpture that has been there a while. It is in honor of my former pastor Dr. Mouzon Biggs, Jr. He was big on interfaith ministry and everybody getting along. People like him are sorely needed these days.
As an aside, he grew up in Carthage, Texas in east Texas. His father worked in a natural gas plant there and Mouzon would talk about how during cold winters his father would be called out to go fix something and he didn’t grumble and told his family, people are depending on us to keep them warm during these cold days. I worked in the Carthage in the late 70’s in a natural gas plant. I always regarded my work as a mission also to provide heat and energy to my fellow citizens. I believe in human caused climate change as much as anybody and we need to reduce carbon emissions, but the people in the industry are not monsters.
Speaking of natural gas, I spotted some steel pipe going in for a new pipeline downtown.
And something new, one of my favorite restaurants has a fancy new midcentury modern style neon sign.
The restaurant occupies a former “motor bank” and serves all sorts of retro cocktails in addition to its good food. The bottom level motor bank part is now parking. I’m old enough to remember when I first moved to Tulsa I would go through the bank to deposit my paycheck. They had those vacuum tube things and off it would go with a swoosh!
So anyway it was nice to get back downtown for a visit.
The Full Wolf Moon came up over a week ago. I love the full moons and all the different names for them.
We have had several storm fronts move through. Not too bad though and if the wind isn’t too bad I launch the drone and here is a sunset from about a week ago or so.
Here is another more recent drone shot looking southeast from our house. A massive system came through complete with tornadoes and all that but missed us and didn’t do too much damage anywhere else. I could only take the drone up high enough to clear the roof lines because the wind was so gusty.
I’m a sucker for a meandering trail. Here is one at Washington Irving Park in Bixby just south of Tulsa.
And I like to find the quiet shots during busy events. At Oktoberfest last week I moved away from the crowd and got this skyshot. You wouldn’t know anybody is around.
https://flic.kr/p/zXxuUf
And I said this is a Halloween post. Here is my bride Heather and son, Logan, at a pumpkin patch some years ago. He’s a college man and will be graduating this fall (we hope) and is even taller now. With him gone we don’t do much for Halloween any longer. We’ll turn out lots off and not pass out candy. Talk about a couple of old grouches, uh. Sorry, that is the way it is.
I also promised a Tree Troll, didn’t I. I found a dead one on a recent hike on Turkey Mountain.
It’s very gruesome, with his eyes bulging out and mouth gaped open laying sideways on the ground. Poor mountain tree troll 🙁
That’s is about it for today. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday, come join in the fun.
Heather and I went to Tulsa’s Oktoberfest on Thursday night. We drank a little beer and ran (walked actually) a 5K race and then drank a little more beer and had some German food for dinner. At some point we bought Heather a new hat.
At the opening ceremonies we saw some horses. I love horses. I don’t want to ride them or own them or much of anything else to do with them but I do love taking photos of them.
The big white horse was my favorite. What a presence it had and checking everything out.
In pursuit of my geocaching hobby I paid a visit to the Prayer Tower at Tulsa’s Oral Roberts University. The tower is right in the middle of the campus and it is designed to be a three dimensional cross. It certainly is striking with a flame out the top and a bunch of bronzed glass covering it.
It is now back open to the public from 12PM to 4 PM Monday through Saturday. There is no charge. So I showed up and showed my ID and up the elevator I went to the observation deck.
They have several stations with quotes by Reverend Roberts around the deck. They also have a couple private prayer rooms and a larger room for groups. It was all tastefully done, quiet, and reverential. The quotes were all very commonsensical. Anyway I had to find another one of Robert’s quotes in order to complete a virtual cache, my 2000th.
The grounds immediately surrounding the tower have several sculptures, a topiary garden, and other things to look at. It has been years since I have been on the campus. Since the university has straightened out their governance to enhance credibility and accountability they appear to be thriving. The grounds are now well taken care of, the buildings have been revamped and updated and they are on another building campaign. It’s nice to see such an important part of Tulsa community on the upswing.
Meanwhile, in downtown Tulsa the world’s largest “Augmented Reality” mural was activated. Above is what the mural looks like without augmentation. It is really a nice mural and beats the big wall of beige they had.
To activate the installation you have to elbow your way to a spot and point your phone camera to the QR code above and then you wait, and then wait some more, and respond to some strange buttons that show up on your camera then the surrounds become alive. The murals become animated and butterflies and birds fly about. And it is in all directions not just at the murals. You see stuff to the sides, straight up in the air, down toward your feet. I’ve never been on LSD but it is quite a trip.
You can record a little bit of it but it won’t save on your phone. I was able to post 10 seconds on instagram but that’s it. I anticipated such a thing so I took along a point and shoot to a video of my phone screeen but there was too much reflections. If you are instagram check out my feed yogiab to look at it. It’s pretty amazing. The installation is called The Majestic. Hit the link to check out more of it. Here is an article from the Tulsa World discussing the project.
I am linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join me and bunch of other skywatching photobloggers.
Son Logan came to visit for Fall Break the last several days. We loved having him and Monday it was time to take him back to college. So we loaded up his laundry, his groceries, and all his various devices. (He has lots of devices, and they are heavy) and flew on down the Turner Turnpike and then down south of Oklahoma City to his college. We got there at about noon, so we unloaded his stuff, and he put on his backpack and said bye Dad. Okay, bye son. He has class at one and pizza for lunch, I get it. So off I went.
I flew back up the turnpike to Oklahoma City to Johnnies Hamburgers. Oh my gosh, best hamburgers that I ever had. Texted this photo to my wife. That was NOT a smooth move. You would think after 32 years of marriage I would stop doing crap like that. She thinks so to.
Off I went to Bluff Creek Park in Oklahoma City. I geocached here years ago when it didn’t even have a name. I remember for it great trails and lots of deer and great geocaches. Guess what it still has great trails and deer. The trails are for mountain bikes and they have “directions” oh well, I was on foot like most other people and I’ve spent my whole life not following directions.
I was looking for five caches. You see, I have 1994 caches and I was looking for five to get to 1999 because I have a “milestone” cache in mind for Tulsa that I was going to get Tuesday.
Found this tortoise, but not the nearby geocache.
The geocaching gods had other ideas. I looked for six and found two. One doesn’t count because I could see it but it was way up in the air and I couldn’t reach it so it doesn’t count. The other one I found, and it counts so I stand at 1995 so I have to rethink my strategy. The geocaching gods punish hubris severely.
But hey, its all good. A great time outside wibble wobbling in the park in the sun under a great blue sky. I saw three deer and a bunch of squirrels and not very many people.
Here is a map of my wanderings. As you can guess the thick squiggles is where I was looking for something.
And my geocaching map. The frownies, are caches I didn’t find. The yellow smiley is one I did find. The green one is the cache I saw but couldn’t reach. The other two blue markers, dark and light, and different types of caches that I was not looking for. But hey, I found the one!!! One is better than none in my book. Best thing was a a great time in the woods.
Here we are masked up, socially distant and my best smile ever in a photo.
Saturday afternoon, Heather and I masked up and headed downtown to the Performing Arts Center to see the touring production of “Come From Away.” It’s a musical based on the real life events immediately after the 9/11 attack on America when thirty eight passenger aircraft were told to land at Gander Newfoundland. The nine thousand local residents found themselves with seven thousand visitors for several days. The story is about how the residents took care of the people who “Come From Away” and the bonds that formed that last to this day.
This is a really good production. It lasts about an hour and forty four minutes with no intermission and the time flies. A very talented cast who all play multiple roles and the action is continuous. I highly recommend seeing this show. More info here.
I’ve been enjoying my October so far. The weather has been good and I have been doing a lot of hiking and wandering. Above is the sky over Lake Bixhoma south of Tulsa about ten miles. I love it there during the week because nobody else is there.
This is a photo taken by “cousin-in-law” in western Oklahoma of Angus cattle on their ranch.
And this is at Martin Nature Center in Oklahoma City. I stopped there for a short hike on my way to pick up son at his college.
I’ve shown these chairs before. The City of Bixby repurposed the old auto bridge across the Arkansas River to a pedestrian bridge and added all sorts of extras such as these recliners.
And of course I had to try them out.
Here is the view I had.
The bridge ties into Washington Irving Park in Bixby where the man camped during his tour of what is now Oklahoma back in 1832.
And here is sculpture of the man. This is part of an outdoor amphitheater. The park is another good place to go during the work week cuz of hardly anybody else being there.
And this always makes me think and ponder. This is one of the girders from the World Trade Center that were destroyed on the attack on America.
So I’m really enjoying the moderate weather. How about you?
Come join me and and bunch of other photobloggers at Skywatch Friday
Late night bonus content – I flew my drone for a little while this evening.
Roughly a little south of northwest. All these were taken at about 150 feet elevation.
Looking almost straight west
Roughly a little north of southwest.
A really big cloud was passing over Tulsa. This is looking almost straight south.
A little bit north of northwest.
Almost straight north.
I flew the drone in “periscope mode” in other words I launched it straight up from my back yard and just rotated it and snapped a few pics.
