Skiatook and the Osage Prairie Trail

Ren Barger and I planned to have a Smart Cycling class (formerly Road1) at the Tulsa HUB on Saturday. I was up at my usual oh-dark-thirty getting a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. I set the Melitta device atop my coffee cup, filled it with boiling water, and promptly knocked it over as I set the kettle down. Hot coffee went all over the stove top, hissing and spattering when it contacted the still-hot burner. I swore loudly and started cleaning it up, and I managed to burn my finger in the process. It's a nice second-degree burn, too, that doesn't hurt because there's a blister covering the burned away nerve endings.

It was an inauspicious start to the day.

I met Wade at the coffee shop. It's our regular weekend start, sipping coffee and solving the world's problems. We were watching the sparrows feeding on grass seed when my phone rang.

It was Ren. She's been traveling for the last week and hasn't had much rest. Her voice was hoarse, just above a croak. She wanted to know if I could lead the class.

A few days ago, I wrote about being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure. The doctor put me on a new medicine to reduce it, and when the pharmacist filled the prescription, she said the stuff may cause dizziness, which is pharmacist-speak for "gravity will no longer apply." And it's true. I've been light headed and dizzy in the mornings, but I spend most of my day sitting in a chair so it hasn't been a problem. That wouldn't be the case when teaching a class, however, and I was reluctant to push my limits in that setting.

So I told Ren I couldn't lead the class. Her disappointment was evident, but she intends to re-schedule it for next week.



These guys met at the coffee shop before leaving on a ride to Claremore. They're competing in the triathlon next weekend and wanted to preview the course.

After Wade left, I ran some errands. At mid-morning, a wave of dizziness crashed over my head. I was driving at the time, just after filling the gas tank and checking the tires. This was worse than any of the earlier dizzy spells, and was aggravated by dehydration and low blood sugar. Yeah, I've started drinking my coffee black and I'd put very little sugar in that oatmeal. My hands were shaking. I pulled into the parking lot at IHOP and went inside for more food.

If this had happened during a class, I might have collapsed. So the decision to avoid teaching was the right one.

Second breakfast consisted of Chicken Florentine Crepes, several glasses of water, and more coffee - still black. Try to find something that's low fat, low cholesterol, and low in sugar at IHOP. We really need nutritional information on restaurant menus.



My hands stopped shaking after the meal. I finished my morning chores, washing and vacuuming the car, and I stopped at a couple of garage sales just for fun. It was a good morning for garage sales. I came home with a user-quality Canon AE-1 Program with a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens and a craptastic off-brand 70-210 zoom. I found a very nice Olympus OM1 with a genuine leather 'never ready' case too. Both cameras seem to work just fine. I gave Wade the Canon AE-1P to play with because he likes that one.



Lyndsay wanted to borrow the car. She had been working as a home health care aide, and wanted to visit her former clients over in Skiatook. I wanted to go along and told her to drop me off at the trailhead for the Osage Prairie Trail. I've ridden the entire length of the trail, though never all at one time, and I wanted to get some photos. I've been through Skiatook many times, but this is the first time I've walked around in town.



There's a very nice coffee shop called The Phoenix just east of the OPT terminus. Mishelle Averill is the managed. I could definitely see an early morning ride departing from Tulsa, going to Skiatook for a hot cuppa, and a return trip to the south.



This truck was parked next to the coffee shop. I just liked the colors.



This Mercedes is for sale. Lyndsay wants one. Fat chance, I say. But again, I like the juxtaposition of colors.



The town has some antique shops too. I found these machines in the back of one and was fascinated by the chain drives. It appears that they can be disassembled without tools, though in all fairness, I have to wonder about their useful life. Without rollers, they'd wear very quickly. The owner said that one of the machines came from an Amish man who used it to make brooms. We couldn't figure out what the other one was.



I found this DeLorean too. All it needs is a mad scientist and a Mr. Fusion machine, and I could re-visit my childhood.

Finally, I ended up at the library where I sank into an armchair and almost fell asleep. Lyndsay arrived shortly afterward and we went home....where I promptly fell asleep.