a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

Dear Henry, During our recent outing to Osage Hills State Park , I noticed that we were near the Osage Nation and the town of Pawhuska, where a shrine to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized, was located at the Immaculate Conception Church. This shrine is on my list of  "places I wanted to see," and I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the shrine was outside and always open. So, since we were close, we decided to head over. I should probably clarify right away - While the St. Kateri Tekakwitha shrine is outside, it is not always open, and, as I stood outside, trying to peer through the window into the shrine, one of the parishioners Mr. Lynn, who just happened to be at the parish hall, asked if we wanted to see "their windows" at the church.    Like the Tulsa Cathedral , the windows are Munich Glass from the Royal Bavarian Stained Glass Manufactory, and while they are all stunning, it was this window in particular that Mr. Lynn wante...

Dear Henry, Saturday began as a rainy, dreary day and we just couldn't sit in this apartment any longer. Fish had heard about a waterfall located in the Osage Hills State Park and, because waterfall photography favors rainy days, we headed out. Osage Hills State Park is one of the original seven Civilian Conservation Corps parks created during the Great Depression.  Work began on the park in 1935.  Throughout the 1,100 acres are many remnants of the worker's stone housing. The guest cabins, although renovated, are the originals.  There is also an outdoor pool. The park contains plenty of hiking trails, a well-stocked lake (Lookout Lake), and Sand Creek Falls, which was the highlight of our trip (Fish didn't bring his pole). We spent a couple of hours wandering around and dodging raindrops. We will definitely be returning for a longer stay, although I suspect the park is quite popular during the Summer months. xoxo a.d. elliott **************************************** a.d....

Dear Henry, We are still squirreled away in this tiny smoke-filled apartment with the animals, and a couple of days ago, I just had to get away, at least for a moment.  Ever since we moved, I've wanted to see the cathedral downtown but hadn't made the time to do it yet. So, since I really needed a bit of peace and because I would be able to make the Noon Mass, I decided to give the dog a piece of bacon and head downtown. The story of the Holy Family cathedral began in the 1890s when the pastors assigned to the Muscogee nation would visit the area to perform Mass for the handful of families that lived there. While Bishop Theophile Meerschaert would receive permission to build a church in the Tulsa area from Muscogee elders, it would take until 1899 before enough money was raised to create a small, wooden Holy Family church, which was dedicated on September 10, 1899.   Then oil was discovered in 1901, and the population of Tulsa boomed. The small church was swamped with par...

Dear Henry, Among the great resources, I have discovered here in the Tulsa area is the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. The 300 acres of nature have done wonders to keep Ziggy and me from going crazy in the tiny apartment, and during the week, the trail system is a great urban getaway.  While the development of the wilderness area didn't occur until the late 1970s, the site has long been an attraction and the source of several local legends. First of all, I must say that calling Turkey Mountain a mountain is a bit of a challenge for me. I grew up in the Rockies, and I believe the mountains should be at least 5000 feet (1524 meters) above sea level. Anything less is something I call a hill. Unfortunately, Turkey Mountain tops out at 920 feet (280 meters). There are a few trails rated moderate, but I didn't struggle with them much. One of the area's features is the petroglyphs on what is called the "Gwyn Stone," which contains a few letters in what appear to be Vik...