Turkey Mountain Hike

I knew July would be a hot month to hike in and boy was it ever! But hike we did...about 7 miles in 3 hours! We went to Turkey Mountain in Tulsa and hiked the pink trail which should have been about 6 miles. We got lost a few times (note to self: bring the map next time!) so it ended up about 7 miles total. Temp was about 102 so it felt like about 20 miles with the heat index. Got some tips from an experienced hiker (at least more experienced than us) as she guided us toward the trail head at a rapid pace...did I mention it was about 102 degrees? Gotta go back in the fall and I bet the trees will be really spectacular!

Loved the perspective of this shot... 

 There were a lot of rocks on the trail but overall it was an excellent path!

 There were lots of trees to provide shade and the sunlight provided some great shadows also!

Really cool wooden bridge...water would have been a nice addition! 

 The trees were a welcome creator of shade!

 And some even provided an interesting view.

 ...yes, interesting!

This one was quite unique!

 You never know what you will find along the trail...guessing this person ran right out of their shoes...

 ...and then apparently ran right out of their shorts too! 

This looked like old service trucks. Our impromptu trail guide told us it was an old train. Either way, it was an interesting discovery along the trail. 

 Looking forward to getting that macro lens and experimenting more with extreme closeups! 

Can't have a blog post without the requisite tree branch close up and blurred background! 

Tulsa's skyline in the distance. All in all...great hike and looking forward to the next one! 

Naturals Game & Fireworks

Had a lot of fun practicing my sports photography recently during a fun (albeit hot!) trip to the Arvest Ballpark with my sister and nephew. I freely admit being a bit of a sports junkie and I LOVE fireworks so this was definitely a win-win for me!

The Arkansas Naturals mascot, Strike, waiting on the first pitch to be throw...Play ball! 

Batter up!

Strike greeting his fans! I can't imagine how hot that costume is but he spent the entire game meeting and greeting as many kids as possible. Great team promotion!

This is the grounds crew who always stops at 2nd base and performs a dance number. They are pretty funny! 

The grounds crew is still dancing...but at least the dog was helping out the 1 guy still working.

Strike was putting the whammy on the opposing team...it didn't work.

I like the continuous shooting option for sports! Scrolling through them is almost like watching a really old movie. 

Finally got a runner to 3rd! Unfortunately he didn't make it any further...Naturals lost 3-0.

Love the fireworks show! 

I thought this one looked like a palm tree!

4th of July 2012

This is probably my favorite holiday of the year. I love fireworks and spending time with friends and family! 

This is a view of downtown and I love seeing all the flags. Great reminder of what the day is about...freedom and independence, fought for daily by our brave troops.

What better way to celebrate the 4th than with waterguns and a trampoline??  

Practicing my fireworks shots... 

Liked the way the lights kind of feathered out. 

A little ground action. 

Learning a few tricks...this was actually a car driving by.

Natural Falls State Park Hike

Call me crazy but when the opportunity to go hiking (even in 100 degree heat) presents itself I'm going to take it! It was definitely hot but luckily there was a lot of shade and plenty of places to just sit and enjoy nature for as long as you wanted.

Natural Falls State Park, located near Colcord, OK, was the destination for Saturday's hike. It was a great hike in my home state!

The main attraction of the park is the77' waterfall. I'm guessing there's more of a "fall" in the spring but it was still pretty nice!

Loved all the possible angles to capture the waterfall!

Even saw a few fish!

The park is also (sorta) famous for being one of the locations shot in the movie "Where the Red Fern Grows" from 1974. 

Beautiful butterfly! 

Through the looking "rock".

More climbing!! Thanks for the stairs though :)

 Pretty view of the lake...or creek...or pond...not sure what it really was!

Nice little rock "bridge" across the stream. 

Most of the trails were pretty tame... 

But occasionally we ended up off the beaten path, kind of like the path less traveled.  Eventually we found our way back though and it was a great day of hiking!

Even found some pretty flowers along the way.