David Martin and Richard R. Barron take a day to explore some of northwestern Oklahoma’s best attractions My long-time friend David Martin recently told me his wife was out of town and asked if I wanted to take a one-day road trip somewhere in Oklahoma. The weather was grippingly cold, including an ice storm during…

A Photography Day Trip on a Bright Autumn Wednesday In the middle of an October staycation, I decided that my around-the-house activities weren’t going to be enough. I asked my long-time friend Robert if he wanted to make a photographic day trip, and, after we both pored over our maps, we tentatively decided to drive…

The Great North American Solar Eclipse My late wife Abby and I witnessed the August 2017 total eclipse in Park Hills, Missouri, and I was able to see the October 2023 annular eclipse in Newcomb, New Mexico. For the April 8, 2024 total eclipse, Tulsa photographer Robert Stinson and I had long planned to be…

A Day in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge I met fellow photographer and lifelong friend Robert Stinson for a New Year’s hike in the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma, a destination I have been visiting since 1971, and which my sister recently described as a “gem” or “jewel.” All the photos of me are by…

A day of hiking and contemplation in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge I’ve been hiking and exploring the Wichita Mountains for more than 50 years. I spent much of my time practicing route finding, poking around old routes and finding new ones. I also thought a lot about all those years exploring and photographing this…

An Afternoon and Evening of Fun in the Sky The annual Fire Lake Balloon Festival in Shawnee, Oklahoma is always very popular, and features more than just hot air balloons, like live music, a midway with vendors, various hunting and fishing seminars, inflatables, kid’s games, and, of course, food. My goal, however, was to photograph…

A Memorial Day 2022 Trip to Northeast Oklahoma with Fellow Photographers Robert Stinson and Scott AndersEn For some years I’ve had my eye on a trip to northeast Oklahoma, mainly because I had heard and read some very interesting articles about Picher, the once-thriving town that was major national center of lead and zinc mining for more than 100 years…

A March 2022 visit to one of my oldest hiking venues, the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma I hadn’t been on a hiking trip to my old stomping grounds in several years, so I invited fellow photographer Dan Marsh to drive from his home in Arkansas to join me for a day in…

Visiting a New Trail at an Old Haunt I have visited the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge since I was a young teenager. Over the years I checked off one area after another, but on this occasion, I explored the one area I never visited, the Charon’s Garden Wilderness Area. Charon in Greek mythology is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of…

A Bold Day in Southwestern Oklahoma Dan Marsh became editor at my newspaper, The Ada News, in the spring of 2013, and he and I have become good friends, and he has grown powerfully as a photographer. Last fall he bought a Nikon D3200 digital camera and two lenses, and took up my invitation to sit through…

A Day on the Rocks for Hiking and Photography With a couple of extra days off this week, and spectacular weather, I was aware that my longtime friend Michael recently mentioned that it had been 18 months since he and I got together to make pictures. I called him and asked if he could swing…

A Day in the Mountains for Abby and Richard In the aviation community, when you need an excuse to fly, much of the time you pick a place to fly for lunch. It became known as the “hundred dollar hamburger,” since with the cost of fuel, such a trip seemed to cost a hundred dollars….

An Exploration of a Winter Day in Northern Oklahoma Having delivered my wife Abby to the airport in the morning for her flight to Baltimore to see her newborn grandson, and having the entire day off, I decided to invite my longest-time friend Michael, who I have known since 1975, to grab his new Nikon…

A Fourth Anniversary Trip for Richard and Abby With Abby unable to get enough vacation time for a longer trip like our traditional adventures out west, we decided to spend our anniversary in the Oklahoma City metro area, including the elegant memorial for the victims of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building downtown….

I’ve Been Hiking Here for Most of My Life Decades before I discovered the adventure playgrounds of the American southwest, I learned to enjoy wild places by hiking and exploring the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwest Oklahoma. For ten years, 1971-1981, I lived in nearby Lawton, Oklahoma. In 1977, the father of our good…

These Are Some of the Oldest Mountains in North America The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southern Oklahoma, has been a favorite hiking location since I was a young teenager. With calm winds, cool temperatures, and perfect blue skies, I set out with a couple of acquaintances to hike in the Charon’s Garden Wilderness, and…