1889 OKLAHOMA LAND RUN

At 12:00 noon on April 22nd. 1889 the cannon boomed signaling the opening of the unassigned lands of Indian Territory. Literally thousands of people rushed in to claim their quarter section, 160 acres of free land!

Using every means of transportation from buckboads, race horses, surreys, horse drawn carts, walking and running, and even bicycles, they came!

Paul Moore, a fifth generation Oklahoman, was the sculpter and designer of this fourty-seven piece Centennial Land Run Monument. His great great grandfather participated in the run. The man driving this wagon is a self image he created of himself to commemorate the crossing of a river that ocurred in the land rush!

Located at the South Turnaround for the water taxis, here is two landrunners, one with his stake in hand, racing to claim their 160 acre parcel of free land!
By nightfall of that day of the run, it was said and reported, there were 10,000 people living in Oklahoma City, and the original town lots were already laid out!

More from the swamp

You have to watch your step when walking in these woods. Hey Parker, want to go for a hike? There aren't any mountains we have to climb. LOL

Something in my direction must look interesting to him. I wonder what it could be?

Sorry, the beach is full!

Keep your toes out of the water

Have you ever ignored a sign, thinking; "what could be the harm?"

This wouldn't be the sign to ignore!

Ocean, yes. Tropical plants, yes. Tropical weather, yes.
But these will definitely remind you that you aren't in Hawaii! LOL

Under the boardwalk...

...down by the sea...

It's not as pretty as Hawaii is but it is the ocean and there are palm trees, here and there anyway.

These were taken at the state park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The concrete board walk was built by the state, apparently to make some income. If you want to walk on the boardwalk to sight see they charge you $2 per person. If you want to fish off of the boardwalk you get charged $8 per person. Taking a picture under the boardwalk was free!

Just because...

Nothing about this picture really sets it apart, in fact it's kind of bland, but I did keep coming back to it thinking I should post it... So here it is, just because.

Seagulls by the sea shore

I was standing on the beach one afternoon looking around and saw the seagulls just "floating" in the air and thought I could get a couple of pictures of them. Either I misjudged how fast they were "floating" or they intentionally sped up and starting going in circles as soon as I lifted my camera up. I think it was a conspiracy and they intentionally sped up! LOL

These were shot hand held (of course) with the Nikon 28-300mm set at 210mm and f16 with the VR in normal. Since the lens is new to me I didn't think about changing the VR to "active" which is the second mode it has. What can I say? I'm still learning!

THE TURNAROUND

Choosing a seat in the bow of the water taxi gave me a good view of the scenes such as this one located at the west turnaround of the canal. The almost completed Devon Tower seems to be keeping watch over the water plaza. State symbols were depicted in the large mosaic mural.

The colorful collared lizard which can be found in the granite Wichita Mtns. was a nice feature.

 

Named the Womens Wall, one can also see a couple of Scissortails, (our state bird), flying about.

Out and About

part 10

Remember Me?

Its been along time since I have posted anything. Life has got its evil claws in me and I have not had a lot of time to go out and take photos. I did manage to find some time for a few photos after a neices birthday party at the lake. We decide to drive around afterwards and see if any shots of oppurtunity would present themselve. Sure enough the kids had fallen asleep in the back seat and my wife and I found some trees in full bloom with a buzz about them. This one of the photos I was able to capture. Hopefully I will be able to find a little more time and be able to capture a few more photos this spring and summer.

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

Monday Morning Blues

Hope the start of your workweek does not seem like a huge chore!

Looks like he has a ways to go before Friday!

Found this guy at a landing while waiting on the water taxi.

Out and About

part 9

Can you hear the fog horn?

As we were FINALLY leaving the airport after arriving five hours late and without our luggage we came across this new lighthouse on the beach in Gulfport, MS. The sun was going down and the lighting was just perfect to take a photograph. It was a calm spot in a very hectic day.

This was shot handheld with a Nikon D700 mounted with a Nikon 28-300mm VRII lens.

BRICKTOWN CANAL and WATER TAXI

Looking for a different view of the entertainment district in Bricktown we opted for a water taxi ride! The boat Captain was full of facts and entertaining stories about early day OKC!

The water taxi runs like a bus service with 10 to 15 minute intervals between taxis at several landings along it's route!

The Dogwoods were in bloom as were the Pears. Nice to see the trees waking up after their winter nap!

Some of the canal was built where California Street used to be. Many of the Brick buidings fronted California, and the old signs were still visible advertizing their specialties! All seen from the seat of a Water Taxi!

Out and About

part 8

POSTCARD GREETINGS!

Interrurban Trolley

Across from the Ballpark to the west is maybe my favorite murals that graces Bricktown! I call them the Postcard Murals simply because that is what they are!

     Before the story of how they came to be must tell a little story! Mom and Dad used to ride this efficient mode of transportation while they were dating, to OKC from El Reno before they were married . The route basically paralled Route 66. 

Looking North on Broadway

It was a dark night when he arrived with a projector that would enlarge an image and project it onto a blank canvass of bricks that had already been prepared to accept the images that would be traced precisely on them.

Vintage Postcards showing early day OKC was the chosen subject! In some manner every color was assigned a Number, and when the murals were painted to exact colors from the Postcards, it was as simple as 'Paint By Numbers' !

Family Vacation!

Load up the car and let's go!  Back when I was a kid Vacation was a very Big Deal! Months of planning were involved.

The streetlight in the shots is real. I cropped the shots to only include the Postcards! True Americana!

Out and About

part 7

note to self, take better care of your notes!

West Coast Spring?

So far the first three days of Spring over here on the West Coast have been a bit of a bust! Must be "Global Warming" LOL

Two good things about all the snow we've gotten lately is "Sunny" the snow dog loves it and I don't need to worry about mowing the lawn!

Off to see the lizard!

We're headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the weekend for a little R&R by the ocean. Leaving at o-dark-thirty in the morning so I won't be posting for a couple of days (maybe).

Do they have mai tai's in Alabama? LOL

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Mickey Mantle Entrance

RedHawks Field at Bricktown is home to the Oklahoma City RedHawks baseball team, a Triple AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros! 

Honoring a Native Oklahoman

Located on Mickey Mantle Way what better address could a Ball Park in Oklahoma have. Greeting the fans to the North Entrance is New York Yankees slugger, centerfielder, Number 7, Mickey Mantle! Born in Spavinaw and raised in Commerce, a proud son of our state! 



Binger,Oklahoma Native

Johnny Bench

Standing watch over a South Entrance is Cinncinatti Reds catcher Johnny Bench, another Native Son that we are proud of!

All the gates and entrances were closed, but I was able to peek thru the South gate for this pic!

Liked this pic of Johnny Bench looking west towards the Postcard Murals, Devon Tower, and that crazy painted Buffalo!

Out and About

part 6

No wading here

I took these along the road to Hana. This is in Nuaailua Bay. (pronounced Noo-ah-ah-ee-loo-ah) We were able to drive down a small dirt road right up to the waters edge, which was a good thing because I was on vacation and I didn't want to have to hike down the side of the mountain!

All of the rock and sand on this beach were from black volcanic rock so it defintiely gave it a different look.

Fat man, I mean, Photographer at work

More shots from our trip to Hana. This one was taken by my wife with a Nikon Coolpix S8100 point and shoot when I wasn't looking.

This is the view as I saw it through the camera lens.

This was a little spot we found that was just for sitting and contemplating the world, or forgetting about the world and just relaxing. I chose the latter! LOL