On a recent road trip, this old dairy barn was photographed.  The sky was beautiful, the leaves made such a lovely carpet, the light was just right. Notice how it falls on the gate leaning against the fence.

Both were shot with a Canon 5D (in color) using a 16-35 mm lens. The Black & White rendition was converted using a Photoshop plug-in I discovered recently called Silver Efex Pro by Nik Software. It’s an amazing program and has helped wean me from the addiction to the darkroom. Which means I’m shooting less film, storage headaches are decreasing along with trips to the lab to have negatives scanned.

Now that we’ve discussed all that, which do you prefer of the two?

By the way, Nik Software allows a download of a 15 day trial for all their products. And there’s no watermark on your work so you can actually SEE what the product does.  And no, Nik Software doesn’t advertise on my site.  No one does!  I love the freedom that comes with that. Maybe not as much as I’d love some income?

Today I spent 52 seconds looking in the chips and cracker aisles for microwave popcorn before stopping someone.  “Aisle 12” she said.  Wow! I was grateful for the time saved, and a smidgen intimidated by her snappy response. She was a shopper, just like me.  Only not just like me. She probably enjoyed being there and therefore had a grasp of the store I might acquire by the time I’m 90.

THESE are a common grocery store purchase. Beef jerky, canned nuts, and popcorn are not. And I realize this says chocolate “flavor”. I’m okay with that.

Grocery shopping is a chore.  Then again, all shopping is a chore.  Many (mostly men) contend this is a refreshing quirk. I had one guy tell me I was a freak.  I’d been called worse by better men than he, so true to the dork I am, I awkwardly thanked him for the compliment.

Over the years I’ve found a few drawbacks about this aversion. The latest one to come to light is my lack of knowledge about the wonders found in the aisles of your neighborhood grocery store – things even that I desire.

I don’t go up and down every aisle. I go in with a list and I GET. Target aisles are cruised down as I pluck and run. Wandering down an aisle out of curiosity would never occur to me.  And I don’t look long for something out of the ordinary. I’ll stop anyone, employee or not, and ask if they know where something is. I figure most everyone in there knows more about the grocery store than I.

Hence my surprise today when I found the chocolate for which I’ve cursed Oklahoma grocery stores for not carrying. On Aisle 12. Who would have thought the chocolate I’ve coveted would be found on the aisle “beef jerky, canned nuts, and popcorn”?! The baking aisle is where I’ve always been directed in the past, but I want chocolate to eat, not cook with!  Do I need a road trip to Kansas City or Dallas just to buy chocolate?!  A friend directed me to an internet site, but I was overwhelmed by all the choices.  Similar to the first time I walked into a Nordstrom’s shoe department, I turned around and walked out. Only closing the browser window on the internet chocolate shop was a much faster exit.

No more curses. They had a very nice selection of top quality brands and a decent assortment. As you know, I’ve been suffering a bit of post adventure depression. This mother-lode of chocolate and a comment left yesterday by Aaron have caused the corners of my mouth to lift.  Looks like between the two, they’ve helped me execute my parents’ favorite line, “better pick up your lip before you step on it.”

Just about the time we’re contemplating a jail break from the confines of our air-conditioned homes, the light and air begin signaling fall. The itch to wander off the beaten path starts gathering steam as the sun starts changing its slant on the Earth. Our thoughts, as we look upon an errant runner of Bermuda grass, turn suddenly from being annoyed by it, to the desire to be like it – free to meander and roam.

Those far-off looks in our eyes and that nagging restlessness have only one diagnosis – wanderlust. The condition has only one cure – ROAD TRIP!

So get out a map (or not), buy some sandwich fixin’s, gas up the car, clean and fill the ice chest, throw in some fishing gear (just in case), recharge the camera battery and load up.

old dairy barn, north of Barnsdall, Oklahoma

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** This is a reprint of an article I wrote for Urban Tulsa and will be of most interest for you Okie readers. HOWEVER, anyone desiring to see some of Oklahoma, in this case North and East Oklahoma, should save this for a future trip. Some of you do want to see Oklahoma, right?!

The specifics (directions, mileage/driving time, and recommended side trips) are here.

Scenic Road Trip #1 – East Loop to Jay

This loop heads east from Tulsa towards Locust Grove on Highway 412. The route delivers three state parks, Lake Eucha S.P.(pronounced ooochee), Spavinaw S.P. and Snowdale S.P.; takes you past both of Tulsa’s water supplies, Lake Eucha and Spavinaw Lake; will have you checking out one of the earliest permanent settlements in the state at Salina; puts you on a portion of Rt. 66 on the return trip (from Claremore to Catoosa); and provides a photo opportunity at one of Oklahoma’s best known curiosities – Catoosa’s Blue Whale.

Scenic Road Trip #2 – North Loop to the Tallgrass Prairie

Heading north of Tulsa, this road trip pivots around the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the largest protected remnant of tallgrass prairie left on earth. The grass reaches its full height in early fall and grows among 650 other plant species. Look for large brown animals roaming. As many as 2,500 head of bison, the largest land mammal native to the Western hemisphere, live on the prairie. Osage Hills S.P. is along this route, as is Bad Brad’s Barbeque (918-287-1212) in Pawhuska.

Scenic Road Trip #3 – South to the Talimena Drive, Southern Variation

This is the classic fall circuit for Oklahomans – Talimena Drive.  This variation diverts south to Broken Bow after completing the length of the Talimena Scenic Byway. From Wilburton to Broken Bow, the entire stretch is a designated scenic drive.

The trip passes five of our state parks and one National Recreation Area – Okmulgee’s Dripping Springs S.P., Wilburton’s Robbers Cave S.P., Talimena S.P., Winding Stair Mountain N.R.A., Broken Bow’s Hochatown S.P., and Beavers Bend State Resort Park. To do this trip justice, plan for two days.

Scenic Road Trip #4 – West Loop to Little Sahara/Anadarko

This western circuitous route encompasses two of Oklahoma’s most surprising topographic wonders – the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge and Little Sahara S.P.

The sea salt of The Great Salt Plains was deposited by an inland sea that once covered the area. The world’s only known deposit of selenite, a crystallized form of gypsum, is found here.

Ancient deposits of quartz and volcanic rock have eroded into the sands dunes of the Little Sahara. Approximately 1,500 acres of the shifting dunes were set aside for the state park.

The wide loop meanders past five state parks: Keystone S.P., Great Salt Plains S.P., Little Sahara S.P., Watonga’s Roman Nose S.P. and Hinton’s Red Rock Canyon S.P., with several others located in the surrounding areas.

The entire route from Little Sahara S.P. to Anadarko is a designated scenic drive.

Nicoli’s Italian American Restaurant in Anadarko is worthy of a refuel (for you, not the car). Call for reservations at 405-247-6340; open only on Friday and Saturday evenings 5 – 9pm. www.scaffettas.com.

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So your appetite’s whetted for Oklahoma travel?  Order the 2009 Travel Guide from www.travelok.com. You can also order free maps and a glove box full of additional state-wide resources.  Want to know more?  Steve’s Sundries (in Tulsa) carries, Off The Beaten Path Oklahoma and Oklahoma Curiosities; both worthy of any Okie library.

Join the Road Trip Revolution at the Solo Road Trip Facebook Fan Page, here.

It might as well have been the moon.  Surreal to a degree that supports the possibility it didn’t happen at all, I’m suspended in a slow motion movie without sound. Maybe I dreamt it.  A thick haze has spread its blanket and laid full claim to my reality today, the first day home since August 28th.

But it did happen. There are pictures and witnesses to collaborate the fact I summited my first mountain. I look at the pictures, study them, feeling the somewhat detached wonder and elation for another’s achievement. A second glance to enjoy the enviable satisfaction on her face, and I realize, oddly, the face is mine.

Grand Teton Summit, Grand Teton National Park

Reasons

I decided to climb a mountain because it’s been on my list of things to do for years. And I love crossing things off a list. I’ve been known to ADD things (already done) to a list, only so I could take the immense pleasure in crossing them off.  Something about making those strike-throughs is SO gratifying. I realize that’s wacked, and wackier still is publicly admitting such.

That doesn’t really answer why I did it, does it?  I did it, because I could.  Flippant.  Okay, here’s another try: I did it because I could and another in my life, a beloved other, can’t.  Truth.

My sister has Multiple Sclerosis.  Before the disease, SHE was the adventurous one. Climbing trees and riding a bike around cow paddies and over dirt roads like a mad woman, she was one fearless child.  She’s my inspiration in life. Her spirit and passion and resolve are lava-like – hot enough to have frightened the disease into not having stripped away all her physical capabilities.

The disease is afraid of her. That’s not to say it hasn’t won in some regards.  SHE can’t climb a mountain. SHE can’t hike into the backcountry. She can’t take an Animal Tracking course or ride a bike. Some days she can’t climb 2 stairs.  And some days, she struggles to get from her bedroom to the living room.

It seems only right that because I can and she cannot, I should.  So I do.  And she’s right beside me every grueling step of these hare-brained, a bit out there escapades I relish.  When I feel myself getting lazy and making excuses for not having done anything physically challenging in a while, I sense her kicking me in the pants. She’s my mental barometer against too many bon bons and a soft city life; against taking my health for granted.

My hope is that at the end, my physical exploits will have been enough for TWO healthy, adventurous explorers whose good health wasn’t squandered on cushy hotel rooms and pointless shopping trips.

I climbed a mountain because it is my job to make up for the strike-throughs in her life not made by her own hand. Damn them all.

Two Explorers