So lately our plain jane skies have spiced up a little bit, especially at sunset. So I have been flying my drone quite a bit.
There are even interesting skies on our dog walks.
One day we had a spectacular sunset to the west and…
to the East we got a nearly full Wolf Moon rising.
Happy Skywatching to you! I am linking up at Skywatch Friday.
Not to toot my own horn, but I guess I will. I helped to plan and implement a scavenger hunt on Turkey Mountain this past weekend. It was originally supposed to be New Year’s but it got postponed because of weather.
The RiverParks Authority gave me thirty items to give away. Small stuff like stickers (people go nuts over stickers these days) and key chains. I conceived the idea of using repurposed cd jewelboxes and designed new covers and “liner notes” for containers for the giveaway items.
So late last Friday I loaded up my jewel boxes and headed to Turkey Mountain. My friend Laurie from the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition helped me place them on different parts of the mountain. It turned out to be a good workout with about 5 miles of hiking involved.
We didn’t really hide them because we wanted people to find them. The RiverParks Authority also had people out and about placing bigger items like water bottles and tshirts on the mountain. They also had people adding new stuff during the day.
We hid one in the famous washing machine at a crossroads on Turkey Mountain. (It’s actually a drier but I get dirty looks when I bring up that fact. Ever notice that anybody who says “actually” gets dirty looks.?
I was busy but I always take time for photos.
Especially when the sun is setting.
Here’s a screen shot of the facebook invite for the event.
Channel Six here in Tulsa showed up and did a story on the event.
A good time was had by all. I was proud to be a part of it.
I’m linking with Our World Tuesday. Come join the party!!
One warm evening last week all three of us headed out to Broken Arrow to check out the Rhema Ministry Christmas LIghts.
They have been doing this for years and it is free and quite the show. The lights are spread out all over the campus. They also have really good pedestrian flow compared to previous years and that is important in these pandemic times.
There is no charge and there is a very chill vibe going on.
There are milliions of lights, and reflections of those lights all over the place.
It’s a Christian organization and of course Christmas is a big deal in Christianity, celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
There is certainly a lot of joy on the Rhema Campus.
I love the marching band.
And of course, you have to have Santa Claus.
I’m linking with Our World Tuesday. Come check it out!!
A few weeks ago after dropping Logan off at college I revisited the small Oklahoma ghost town of Cogar. It’s claim to fame is that a scene from the 1988 Movie Rainman was filmed here at a local gas station. The film stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. I can’t believe that it has been 33 years!!
The gas station is still standing, kind of, and it looks like a brand new sign is up. Cogar has become somewhat of a mecca for bloggers, instagrammers, and camera bugs. Abandoned stuff is big these days.
I posted about it last January. Nothing much has changed.
Logan is out of college now so I may never visit this place again.
In other news this week, Heather had a birthday, so the three of us celebrated with a hike among the venomous snakes of Turkey Mountain. We didn’t see any. I always get the feeling though they could see us.
And closing with a drone shot up over my back yard.
I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join the party!!
After our son graduated last Friday we decided to go see Chickasha’s Festival of Light at a local park. We have been hearing about it for years so this was our chance.
It was fun. Lots of lights and stuff to do. The vibe was mellow. We loved it.
Our favorite lights was this Santa skiiing behind a reindeer driven motorboat.
The had a cool bridge covered with lights going over the pond.
It was a great place to take photos.
There was another area covered with colored lights, another fun photo op.
Yep I know, I need a haircut. Coming up this Friday.
In downtown Chickasha, not part of the Festival is this crate. It has a 40 foot tall leg lamp like the one in the movie Christmas Story. It is a tethered inflatable balloon and it was grounded Friday night because of high winds. We were disappointed. I found this youtube video that shows it.
We had a good time in Chickasha. Logan has graduated and I doubt we will ever be back. Oh well.
I am linking with Our World Tuesday. Check it out.
My wife and I went to Tulsa’s swanky Utica Square shopping center the other day. She really likes the Athleta store there. As an exercise instructor she lives in workout gear and Athleta’s stuff is great. So while she was shopping for her Christmas gifts from me to her I took my phone out and did some exploring.
I found this cool clock. Who uses a clock to tell time any more? We all have phones and stare at them all day long.
Found this sculpture of a little girl reading. I love to see young people reading. I volunteer with Reading Partners and tutor a girl in reading for an hour a week. She’s really a hard worker and stays engaged the whole hour. Unlike some of my generation, I see lots of hope in the future generations. If you are interested check the link see if they have a program in your area.
Right across the street from Utica Square is the Temple Israel Synagogue. I have long loved their bas relief of the Ten Commandments. I shot the photo from the shopping center’s parking garage to get a little elevation.
I also love their 3D Menorah. For the longest time I thought it was just a cool modern sculpture. Well duh, it’s a Menorah I found out on their web site.
Also across the street from the center is this cool office building. I love it’s design including the arches on the ground floor and all the balconies. It looks like it belongs on a coast somewhere.
Found this dolled up wooden sculpture next to a day spa.
So that’s it for the shopping center. You get the picture. I went drone flying earlier.
So here’s a sunset from 40 meters over my back yard. Somebody in one of my drone groups on facebook said that they were tired of sunset photos. Suck it up buddy, here’s another one is my response.
I’m linking with Skywatch Friday – come join in!!
Shadow Selfie at a Shadow Gate in downtown El Reno, Oklahoma
Checking out El Reno’s namesake, Major General Jesse Lee Reno while tracking down an Adventure Lab Geocache.
I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday 2.
I was at Tulsa Philbrook Museum Gardens checking out the fall foliage when I noticed some crystal balls hanging in one of the trees. So I went to check them out.l
They had hung all these balls in the lower branches. I loved them. I think they are for the Christmas holidays.
I had my lensball with me so I made a crystal photo of a crystal. I love garden decorations.
I’m linking with Weekend Reflections. Come check it out!
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.
I’m linking with Mosaic Monday. Come join in!!
Friday, my wife and I were in a parking lot and came across this bright spot. I was like, What!!
Somebody had an Arkansas Razorbacks plate and it reflected perfectly on the ground. I love it.
I’m helping take care of a monarch way station on Turkey mountain. The stake fence makes for some nice shadows.
I get bored while watering so I made a time lapse video of it.
And the other day while hiking on Turkey Mountain I came across a family of deer grazing including this one coming out of the shadows. I am glad the deer are returning. The mountain has become really popular but the hub bub has died down a little bit and the deer are coming back.
I’m linking with Magical Mystery Teacher’s Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Come join in.