We have bi-polar weather in Oklahoma. Yesterday, it was 75°, sunny, a warm southern breeze, and I was couped up in a building at the fair grounds at a home show!!!! (The good side to that is it will mean lotsa business which in turn finances my trail running addiction what with shoes, gear, race fees, travel, and such.) But Sunday morning, the thermometer tilted the other way. Our group run with the TOTs (Training On Trails) was a more normal 37 degrees, cloudy, with a cold north wind--just like January should be. Zero to -3° is the forecast lows for a couple of mornings this week, along with 10" of snow.
But this morning, around 60 runners got up early, dressed warm, and came out to Turkey Mountain to play.
Well, SOME of them dressed warm. Wearing shorts is not what I'd do when it's cold and windy.
Stormy, the leader of the TOTs give some pre-run directions. As always, we had a fast group, a fun group, and a walking group.
Trail Goat and Thing 2 were ready to lead the fun group. They are the designated spider-web-knocker-downers. They either do a great job, or all the spiders are hibernating. I think unless they grow a couple of feet in height, they'll need spider web sticks come this spring.
Our group got the hard work out of the way early--UP Lipbuster into a fierce north wind. I'd like to say it was downhill the rest of the day and in fact it almost was.
We ran a route that took us by the area where idiot slobs have been dumping gargage on our mountain. Ugly stuff, but I wanted it to be seen and for everyone to hate it as much as I do. A movement is underway to clean this up and get a permanent gate installed on the road that leads to the site.
After a 4 mile loop we ended back at the parking lot, and another trip was underway. The plan was to visit the petroglyph I had recently found. It was great opportunity for those who loved running track.
A little bush-whacking was in order as well.
I did not count how many came with me, but I suspect around 25 people made the trip.
Railroad track, bush-whacking, and did I mention climbing??
It was a ways up there--I would say about 75 feet of climb in 100 feet--over rocks, vines, and briars.
The carving is faint, but if you're right in front of it, it is easy to see. I have read someplace where it was believed to be 800 years old, but another article said it was likely from the 1st century AD. I had debated whether the carving should remain a secret, but Brian thought it would be cool to take a tour there. I think because of the difficulty of getting there, the climb, the briars, and such, it will rest undisturbed.
(A real mystery here--I have blogged for three years and frequently post links here, but try as I may, links pertaining to this petroglyph WILL NOT post on this blog. They dissappear everytime I try to post them!!!)Special thanks to Susan Westmoreland for the previous six pictures. My camera was left in my car, and the shots I took with my iPhone were so-so at best.
A climb down some old ancient ladders and we were ready to close the chapter of this exploration. It was time for some breakfast.
We had a large group at First Watch. Here, it's possible to eat a healthy breakfast, and I did just that--even leaving the syrup OFF of my waffle.
I had the pleasure of meeting Laura, a high school friend of Stormy. She currently lives near Madison, Wisconsin but was visiting family in Tulsa and came out to run with us. She is a new runner, and hopefully we instilled enough poison to get her hooked on trails!!
But this morning, around 60 runners got up early, dressed warm, and came out to Turkey Mountain to play.
Well, SOME of them dressed warm. Wearing shorts is not what I'd do when it's cold and windy.
Stormy, the leader of the TOTs give some pre-run directions. As always, we had a fast group, a fun group, and a walking group.
Trail Goat and Thing 2 were ready to lead the fun group. They are the designated spider-web-knocker-downers. They either do a great job, or all the spiders are hibernating. I think unless they grow a couple of feet in height, they'll need spider web sticks come this spring.
Our group got the hard work out of the way early--UP Lipbuster into a fierce north wind. I'd like to say it was downhill the rest of the day and in fact it almost was.
We ran a route that took us by the area where idiot slobs have been dumping gargage on our mountain. Ugly stuff, but I wanted it to be seen and for everyone to hate it as much as I do. A movement is underway to clean this up and get a permanent gate installed on the road that leads to the site.After a 4 mile loop we ended back at the parking lot, and another trip was underway. The plan was to visit the petroglyph I had recently found. It was great opportunity for those who loved running track.
A little bush-whacking was in order as well.
I did not count how many came with me, but I suspect around 25 people made the trip.
Railroad track, bush-whacking, and did I mention climbing??
It was a ways up there--I would say about 75 feet of climb in 100 feet--over rocks, vines, and briars.
The carving is faint, but if you're right in front of it, it is easy to see. I have read someplace where it was believed to be 800 years old, but another article said it was likely from the 1st century AD. I had debated whether the carving should remain a secret, but Brian thought it would be cool to take a tour there. I think because of the difficulty of getting there, the climb, the briars, and such, it will rest undisturbed.
(A real mystery here--I have blogged for three years and frequently post links here, but try as I may, links pertaining to this petroglyph WILL NOT post on this blog. They dissappear everytime I try to post them!!!)Special thanks to Susan Westmoreland for the previous six pictures. My camera was left in my car, and the shots I took with my iPhone were so-so at best.
A climb down some old ancient ladders and we were ready to close the chapter of this exploration. It was time for some breakfast.
We had a large group at First Watch. Here, it's possible to eat a healthy breakfast, and I did just that--even leaving the syrup OFF of my waffle.
I had the pleasure of meeting Laura, a high school friend of Stormy. She currently lives near Madison, Wisconsin but was visiting family in Tulsa and came out to run with us. She is a new runner, and hopefully we instilled enough poison to get her hooked on trails!!
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