The Gathering Place in Tulsa along the Arkansas River has been opened to the public for almost three years and on June 5, I finally went there.
Since the pandemic started, I had only been to Tulsa twice including this one time. I had some problems with my 2012 Ford Escape and didn’t want to stray to fair from home until I was able to get it fixed with help from the third stimulus check.
Also, I have to go through Wagoner, a town I worked in for eight years, and I try to spend as little time as I can there.
Making it to the park on a Saturday was both great and bad at the same time. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and there were a lot of people out. This meant there wasn’t much or any parking closer to the center. I had to park near 33rd Street in a parking lot of gravel that reminded me of a county fairground parking lot.
I then I had to walk down under an overpass. But at least I got to see a mama duck and her babies.
Then, I started walking uphill and there was a lot of walking uphill. There’s a lot of walking period. Now, if you’re the type of person who loves walking, this is the place for you. There’s also bicycle lanes and a lot of people had their bicycles riding up and down.
There also were these scooters that you were free to use, but like a group of fellow Gen Xers who were there with their teenage kids, I was cautious to hop on one of these. I have a bad left knee and a bad back from falling too many times. The last thing I need is to eat asphalt. I’m sure there safe but I had my tablet and a bottle of Powerade in one hand and the handle to my walking cane in the other. If I had two more arms, I’m sure I would have given one of the scooters a try.
Mind you, I didn’t see anyone injure themselves or fall down and when I return with a backpack to carry my necessity, I probably will try it.
They say The Gathering Place encompasses about 100 acres but I was unable to walk all of it, especially since most of it was uphill. But I did enjoy what I saw. There was a skateboard park that seemed to have a couple of dozen youngsters.
Then there was a weird jungle gym that I might have been able to get into before I learned to tie my own shoes. The ground around it was different and at first I thought I was losing my balance. Being an injured man with hypoglycemia, I was afraid of having an episode until I looked down and noticed the funky softer ground. It’s better than concrete for any young kid who losing his balance.
But it seemed from what I saw was a great place to spend the weekend afternoon or weekend evening maybe for the people who live in Tulsa and it’s surrounding suburbs.
Even though I didn’t get as far as the Sky Garden, I intend to go back, definitely on a weekday so it’s not as busy to look over the rest of the park.
The Sky Garden is beautiful and there’s a lawn nearby to overlook the River.
I noticed a rabbit and a young boy in another section noticed another rabbit. I’m thinking a wildlife personnel brought them in.
Check back here for an update as I will post again.
Zane Says 