New Tulsa Baseball Stadium

Here is an updated view of the new baseball stadium being constructed in downtown Tulsa. I am on the North edge looking South by Southwest. When completed this would be at about center field looking diagonally towards home plate. The main entrance would be behind home plate.

The stadium is being built somewhat below ground level. When you enter, you will be near the top with the stadium stretched out beneath you. The Tulsa skyline will be visible beyond the stadium as it is ere. The new ballpark is one of the things intended to revitalize downtown Tulsa. It will be nice when it is finished. It will be named the ONEOK Stadium to indicate the major sponsor. ONEOK is a consortium of natural gas companies.

Jack Russell at the wheel

I was out at the Tulsa Fairgrounds today and found an unlicensed driver and his girl friend in a golf cart. Since he was not on a city street he was breaking no law.

Cowboy Gavin

Mike and Amber came over with Gavin. They gave me a new photo of Gavin wearing his Papaw's boots and hat. Howdy partner.

Leon's Restaurant in Brookside

Located at 3301 South Peoria Avenue this was built in 1945 and has changed hands several times. It was perhaps best known as the S&J Oyster Bar. In its present incarnation it is Leon's, an upscale bar and restaurant.


Susan and I stopped there for a late lunch today. The menu had a good variety to choose from and the bar looked very well stocked. We settled for iced tea and a soup and salad combination. I had a green salad with ranch dressing and a bowl of gumbo, Sue had a Caesar salad and chicken tortilla soup. It was attractive, well served, and very tasty. The soup was rather spicy which I enjoyed.


The curved ceiling is a glass skylight giving the well lit interior a spacious feeling. The dining area was quite noisy when we arrived but by the time we finished our lunch we had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed our visit and will come back again to see what is for dinner.

Nice Try Smokey

Smokey tries to keep the squirrels out of the back yard but they are too quick for him. He chased one into the clematis vines growing on the fence but lost it in the scramble. No problem Smokey, it was a good effort.

Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle

A field of Daisies - enjoy!

Feeding the Butterflies

Our feeders attract birds and our flowers attract butterflies. I think this is a Fritillary on my purple coneflower.

Camp New Hope

This evening we took supper to the participants of Camp New Hope who are spending a week at Sequoyah State Park on Lake Fort Gibson. New Hope is a ministry directed toward children who have a family member who is incarcerated. Any child, age 8-17, who has a parent in prison is welcome at no charge. Camps are held during the summer for several age groups, this week was for teens 14 and 15 years old. The menu was hot dogs, fresh corn on the cob, and home made cupcakes. Just the thing for the Fourth of July, our national Independence Day.


Children who have a parent in prison are prone to have more problems at school, become depressed, are at greater risk of being abused, and are more likely to be arrested. New Hope provides healthy experiences and support services for these children.

Beginning with a half dozen campers in 1992, the ministry has grown to camps for multiple age groups and is pleased to have former campers now serving as counselors. In addition to the summer camps other activities are held throughout the year. I got to be Santa for their Christmas party.

This is a wonderful ministry. They do a great deal with very few resources. To know more about what they do, please visit their web site HERE.

The Rain Passed Through

We had a good hard rain shower early this morning and now the sun is out. The rain cooled us off but left us a bit steamy this afternoon. Any rain in July is a blessing.

Summer Flowers

My front flower bed has a nice variety of color at this time of year. There is a good mix of things growing in there and something is blooming all the time. I wish you a good day.

Tulsa Historical Society

Brothers David and Samuel Travis constructed complementary mansions on South Peoria in 1919. The Travis brothers, who had made their fortunes as independent oil producers, hired Noble Flemming to design their residences in what was then considered far south Tulsa. Flemming executed two designs in Revival style, set at the crest of a broad lawn rising to the east from Peoria. The two homes instantly became Tulsa landmarks. In addition to housing the Garden Center and the Historical Society these beautiful mansions are available for weddings and receptions. For a better history of these mansions see my previous post on the garden center HERE.

For more information about exhibits and resources available from the Tulsa Garden Center see their excellent web site HERE.


Despite its history of continual use as a residence, the Samuel Travis residence faced the potential of demolition, when it was purchased by a developer who planned to construct thirteen homes on the estate's 3.2 acres. Community sentiment favored the preservation of the structure and its important open lawns adjacent to the Tulsa Garden Center and the Arboretum.


Currently there is an extensive exhibit chronicling Oklahoma's 24 governors with information and artifacts on each one.


Another current exhibit looks at the history of the Skelly Oil Company. Tulsa once boasted of being the Oil Capitol of the World and was built by oil money in the early part of the last century. The history of Skelly, Phillips, Sinclair, and many others is a big part of the history of Tulsa.

In addition, there is an exhibit on Zebco, the Tulsa company whose fishing reels revolutionized recreational fishing equipment, and an exhibit on early Tulsa department store Seidenbach's with a display of elegant women's fashions from the 1950s. Also a collecion of very early photographs of native Americans taken in Oklahoma. I took more pictures today that I will post in HistoricTulsa.blogspot.com for those who are interested.

Row Row Row Your Boat

The Tulsa Skyline is a beautiful backdrop for any activity.


The Tulsa University Woman's rowing team uses the Arkansas river to practice.

Swim Lessons at McClure Park

Willy likes to swim under the water.


Molly is getting ready to dive from the high board. It looks higher from on top of the board than it does from below.


Molly is waiting her turn at the high diving board. She is 3rd from the right wearing a red swim suit.

Molly and Willy are taking swim lessons at McClure Park for the 2nd week. Molly has learned the butterfly stroke and Willy has improved his ability enough to be in the intermediate group with Molly. They are having fun and becoming better swimmers.

Cooling Off

Willy took a break from watering the flowers to create a little
cooling rain.

Cara's Josh is Nine

Luke's girlfriend Cara has her son Joshua for most of the summer. He celebrated his 9th birthday today with a Nerf Gun party at the Blue Dome Diner. The restaurant closes at 2:00 and the party started at 2:30. Josh got some presents. We gave him a nice Magna Lite flashlight. Every boy needs his very own flashlight.


Then we enjoyed cake and ice cream.


The funnest thing they did was have a Nerf Gun war. The kids were told to bring their nerf guns There were extras in case the kid didn't have one. In case you don't know, a Nerf Gun is a toy gun that fires little sponge rubber "bullets" about the size of a small tube of lipstick. The banquet room of the restaurant has lots of tables and chairs and places to hide and ambush each other. They ran around and had a good time.

Sunday Jigsaw Puzzle

Have a piece of David and Renee's wedding cake. It is an easy one this morning.

Wedding Day for David and Renee

The wedding reception was at the home of David's Aunt and Uncle who have a beautiful place overlooking Fort Gibson Lake near Wagoner. David let me take his picture against the view from their patio. Everything was very nice.


Here is the handsome couple. Introducing David and Renee Miller.


The wedding party from left to right are Renee's daughters Katy and Gabby, her sister Christine, Renee, David, and David's brothers Adam and Luke. My 3 sons are looking good.

News, News

Today is an exciting day for us. It is my son David's wedding day. My son David is to marry a young woman he has known since high school. Renee has two daughters 9 and 12, and is very sweet, very pretty, and a excellent cook. David has waited until he is 40 to marry, and Renee is definitely worth the wait. I predict a happy union. Photographs will follow.

News item number 2 is that I have started a new blog called "Historic Tulsa". Tulsa is an interesting city with an interesting history. While I have made a few posts about Tulsa history I have decided there is more than enough really interesting stuff to warrant its own blog. I started it by pulling over the historical items from this blog and then added a few new items. Take a look and please leave a comment. It would be great if you were to sign up as a "follower".

http://historictulsa.blogspot.com/

I intend to continue posting to this blog just as before except the historical items will probably go to the new blog.

New Oklahoma Auto Tag

Beginning January 2, 2009 the new Oklahoma automobile license tags will have a new design. The new plate features the Sacred Rain Arrow sculpture by Oklahoma artist Allan Houser (1914-1994).


The original of this statue stands at the entrance of the Gilcrease Art Museum.


Gilcrease Museum of the Americas has an outstanding collection of art by and about Native Americans. I need to do a post about this wonderful museum. In the meantime, you can read about it HERE.

Keeping Cool in Tulsa

The high temperature today in Tulsa is 100F (37.8C). A couple in Owen Park beats the heat with a cool snuggle.