I went on a hike this week at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. I was rewarded with my first photos ever of an indigo bunting. I had seen them before but they are very flighty and usually behind a lot of brush. I come upon this perched on branch overhanging a trail. It sat there while I got my camera ready and I was able to take of shots.
They are such beautiful birds. We have painted buntings in Oklahoma but I have never seen one. I’d sure like to see and photography one out in the wild.
On the same hike I encountered this curious deer. We just kind of stood and looked at each other for a minute or two and it let me get a few photos of it. It never did run off. I finally walked away from it.
And now for the movies!!
First up is a compilation of birds from the past week captured on my camera feeder. Note that it takes literally about 200 videos a day. Almost all of them of doves, which although beautiful, are not interesting to me. With the use of habanero laced bird food, the squirrels pretty much ignore the feeder except for a very few who chomp down all the food they can, habanero or no.
This second movie is our rescue terrier Sadie romping around the backyard with the zoomies. She is the happiest little dog I have ever seen.
I fired up the drone again and flew over the backyard in between rain storms. This is looking to the west. You can see everything is very green in Tulsa right now with all the rain we are getting.
A stopped in traffic, crepuscular ray shot one afternoon.
And another shot from almost the same spot yesterday.
The City of Broken Arrow has a Veteran’s Park with all sorts of monuments in honor of veterans. This is the “War at Home” Memorial. It honors veterans who came home from war but committed suicide later. It’s a huge issue. War is hard on people mentally and emotionally and we need to make sure they are cared for when they come home even though their wounds are not physical.
And I went on a short hike at our Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area. The John and Kate Kaiser YMCA tucked to the very northwest corner of the Wilderness Area. I am a Y member so I just check in at the office and take off. I hardly ever see anyone else on the trails there. It’s pretty remote from the rest of Turkey Mountain.
The RiverParks Authority had some big news for Turkey Mountain on Monday. They invited everybody to show for an announcement. Turns out that the Bank of Oklahoma is donating two million dollars to a visitor center on Turkey Mountain. RiverParks only has about six million bucks left to raise.
It’s going to be a visitor center and office for Turkey Mountain all in one. Right now they office in high rise building just out of downtown Tulsa.
(Note photo stolen from Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition facebook site)
They also had free tshirts as a giveaway and snowcones. Better not stand in my way for either one of those. Four members of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition board was there, including me.
The city fathers gave speeches patting themselves on the back about turning back a planned outlet mall on Turkey Mountain more than ten years ago. They ignored TUWC’s crucial early work (before I joined the board) but that ‘s okay, what matters is the results and we are off working on other things.
I chatted with a few people I know. It was almost old home week for people who love Turkey Mountain. When I first started coming here all they had was a dirt parking lot. The trails were deer trails or dry streams on the hillsides. There were not really any maps, you just had to learn the trails by getting on them and seeing where they went. Not very sustainable. Now we have all sorts of new designed, sustainable trails. Two big parking lots and a third under construction, and of course soon we’ll have an $8 million dollar visitor center.
And some really nice hiking bridges!!
As popular as Turkey Mountain has become, you get a half mile down the trails you don’t see very many people.
I was feeling all energetic and everything so I thought that I would go for a little hike on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. I probably should have gone to the gym, but I’m gymed out, Physical Therapy is all gym, and not the fun kind.
So off I went, the trails were all wet, not very muddy though but rain was in the forecast and the park warned that they might close the park to everybody if it got bad enough.
The upside of rain is that all the ponds were full. Nice to see.
I used a mixture of the new trails and the old trails. The Stay Gold and Tree Hugger respectively.
This pond was dry the last time I came by.
I was going down the trail with my Merlin app trying to figure out the birds that were singing and a mountain biker came by and said to be sure to watch out for the copperhead snake on the trail up ahead. Yes sir! Time to put the eyes on the trail and not the device.
Do you know how many sticks look like snakes!! A bunch. The thing about copperheads is that they are the slugs of the poisonous snake families. They are not vicious and once they find a spot they like, they don’t like to move, and they are hard to see. So watch where you step!
The only snake I saw was this chain snake.
This is a Skywatch Friday post so I need to have one view of the sky. Here’s the overlook on Turkey Mountain on the very southeast side of the park. That’s the Arkansas River down below. To the left are the funky old office towers that used to be the televangelist Oral Roberts hospital. (Don’t ask me why a faith healer needs a hospital.)
And then back to the parking lot. Never did see that copperhead. I am not complaining about it, just saying.
I get lots of skywatch photos from my front and back yards, and that is great except…
The Overlook on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain
I like getting out as well.
On our street looking east. I love this mackerel sky.
Another day, looking west again.
We have no daffodils in our yard though. Gotta drive to them.
I always love a flag snapping in a strong, cold, spring breeze.
The school where I tutor a first grader is honoring all their teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, janitors, tutors and everyone else who helps out.
The other day the knee was feeling strong so I fired up the electric mower and got the job done.
On another day the wife and I went to a big box store and bought some cushions for our patio furniture. The cushions were cool but these roosters take a better photo. Can you believe stores let you walk in and take pictures of their stuff? Some stores say no photos but I ignore those signs.
The afternoon after I mowed, I decided to go take a hike at Turkey Mountain on a little bit more challenging trail. Only a mile long but the killer was about 300 feet of elevation change.
Here is some switchbacks on the 300 ft climb.
I loved the br
You can tell I really liked the bridge since I took two photos of it.
I went hiking the other day and took a couple of shadow selfies. Here’s a fuzzy one. Do you see little old me? I think it is fuzzy because the image focused on the bridge I was standing on. That is coming in clear.
And here is a big selfie. I love how afternoon shadows make me look slimmer. And wrinkles don’t show up on shadow selfies either.
One day last week I started out from Turkey Mountain’s upper parking lot and had to check this device. I’d love to have one in case anybody is wondering what to get me for back to school! I’m not going to school but you can buy it for me anyways.
And then I went tot the north end of the parking lot and took this shot of downtown Tulsa. Turkey Mountain is a true urban wilderness. It’s only about six miles to downtown.
And then I took the new Three Pillars Trail over to the Three Ponds. I keep hearing they are the three sisters or the three pearls. So I don’t know about those names but they are definitely ponds so I am using that for now.
They are going to make some great season photographs.
Nice reflections everywhere you look.
I left the ponds and continued westward when I found this fella. I posted this same photo on my Saturday’s Critters post last Saturday. It’ a rat snake, and they are not venomous.
And then went and checked on my most previous employer’s pipeline they are building through the park.
They are doing a good job. The right of way is in good shape and the welders, pipefitters, equipment operators, x-ray hands, and inspectors are not out and about wandering all over the place, poaching deer and fishing the ponds. At least not during working hours.
I’m told that they are going to be done pretty soon and they are going to mulch the right of way and plant a wildflower mix. That sounds good to me.
I went a little bit further and find a couch to relax on. It looked a little firm to me so I just kept moving.
Went down a side trail and had to double back. The pipeline folks were excavating and didn’t want any tourists or know it all retired pipeline engineers.
I passed this little mess. Years ago, Turkey Mountain was an oilfield and the workers had trash pits they covered up. Well they are getting exposed now and the old trash is coming to the surface.
And then I went back to my car. I was hot and tired. It is warm here in Tulsa.
As reported earlier I walked/trotted a 5K race on June 1 here in Tulsa: The Backyard Trail Race at the Herman and Kate Kaiser YMCA on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain. That Y calls themselves, Tulsa’s Backyard, and if you have been there you can see why. It is a beautiful Y situated on the edge of an Urban Wilderness. Tulsa RiverParks, who administers the Turkey Mountain Wilderness Area, call themselves “Tulsa’s Front Yard.” So now you know that Tulsa has both a front and a back yard. And sorry, I haven’t even started the post yet. I am already way off topic.
The Y has a lot going on. A huge deluxe swimming pool, sports areas, splash pads, a gym, a ropes course, kayaking, fishing, hiking. They got it all going on.
And a really nice lodge with offices, reception, and checking in a large multipurpose room, verandas. It’s great.
And a really nice scenic pond.
There was a light cool fog in the area that morning.
And then we had the start for everybody. I’m not sure how many raced. Not that many but those that did had a good time. I stood right by the starting line and took this video. When I was done I stepped to the left and crossed the start line myself.
By that time, everybody was way ahead of me.
Didn’t bother me in the least. Do I look bothered?
So I got to hike by myself during the cool morning. I trotted the sections that were smooth, flat and slightly downhill.
Don’t you just love a twisty turny trail in the woods? I do.
We went through a small meadow.
And alongside some pipeline construction. The original route went on the right of way but had to be rerouted during construction. Trail race organizers have to be flexible that way. No whiny babies. It turns out that my most recent employer was letting my previous employer use their right of way for the their own pipeline after they lost their right of way due to some highway construction. Tell you what, when I was still working we talked cooperation but we didn’t do it. You would just string it out until they figured out something else in pure desperation. In the Oklahoma natural gas industry you had to have sharp elbows. It was rough!! Now I guess everybody is holding hands and singing Kumbaya. I don’t quite believe that and I don’t think you should either. And here I am digressing again.
Anyways, I digress, We started at the north end of the photo above and headed south. You can see the big mix master we went through in the middle before we headed back. I passed a few people so I didn’t finish last. The main thing is that I finished, vertically. I didn’t have to crawl past the finish line.
I got myself a bottle of water and a pancake. I could have had more but all I wanted was one.
And they had some decent swag: A nice shirt and a wooden branded in medal. I am not a fan of medals but I like this one. I’m using it for a bookmark. People are all wound up about race medals now days. Hey give me a nice tee shirt and I am happy.
I’ll be back next year if the run this race again. It is a great, well run, race with a wonderful vibe.
