A few thoughts on New Mexico, Giant Sloths and Oklahoma City Sports…
Welcome back. I’ll start this week with the scoop. Want to see the Philmont Scout Ranch and Waite Phillips’ famous UUBar Ranch in New Mexico? Would you like to see the high country valleys, streams and wildlife but you just don’t have the time to travel right now? Well my friends the photographers at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) have just opened an exhibit of photographs taken in the area this past spring. The exhibit is in the Lyon Gallery at the Bartlesville Community Center and its free and open to the public whenever the building is open. You’ll see vistas of the country at 10,000 feet and images of wildlife that seem so close you can almost feel their breath. There are images of cowboys, long abandoned adobe houses and much more. One more note: every spring a photo workshop is held at the UUBar led by Jerry Poppenhouse and the instructors from OSUIT. The workshop is open to the public and all of the instruction is free.
This next story may send you to the library to find out what fossils look like. Have you seen a Mastodon or a Giant Ground Sloth lately? Along with wooly Mammoths and bison bigger than trucks they roamed this area once and now there’s proof that early humans were here as well. It was 8,000 years ago when a hunter looking for deer or buffalo shot or dropped his projectile point within what would eventually be within the Bartlesville City limits. The projectile has a medium to large stemmed point. The stem is broad and the base often has a lobed appearance. According to researcher Jerry Poppenhouse this type of point was probably used with an “atlatl” which was a type of throwing device used to propel the point, making a spear that could travel up to 90 miles per hour. This hunting tool was in use hundreds of years before the bow and arrow. It is not uncommon to find similar projectile points in southern Missouri and east of the Mississippi River but they are rarely, if ever, found here. I have been sworn to secrecy about the exact location so all I can say is that the artifact was found east of town. As we all know, 8,000 years after early man hunting within the city limits of Bartlesville is illegal but maybe it wouldn’t be if there were still Wooly Mammoths around.
Moving on, I have recently been working on a project in Oklahoma City which has given me the opportunity to learn more about the many attractions and entertainment venues there. One of the places I have particularly enjoyed is Myriad Gardens, the large botanical garden center in downtown OKC. In celebration of Halloween and the fall season, the gardens are hosting Pumpkin Village which includes over 3,000 pumpkins and features displays, games and activities for all ages. The Oklahoma History Center is another fascinating place to visit with permanent and rotating exhibits on the history of our state and an extensive research center. Of course the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial is a must visit, as sad as it is, the memorial is a beautiful and moving tribute to the victims of the bombing.
In sports of course there is the men’s professional basketball team, The Oklahoma City Thunder but you many not know that the Edmonton Oilers’ minor league ice hockey team, the Oklahoma City Barons are just opening their season. From the things listed on their website this looks to be a lot of fun and I’m sure to be reporting more about them soon.
Museums always capture my attention but Oklahoma City also offers first class hotels and restaurants, as well as shopping, concerts and lots of other exciting places to explore that are too numerous to mention here. Just a two and a half hour drive away; it’s a perfect weekend getaway. Traveling myself to keep you in touch.
Till next time, I’ll see ya down the road……………
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