THE RIDE

It was one of those days

I wanted to sneak in a

little longer ride. The

wife must have gone

some where. So the

proposed ride was to

take in four states in

one day.

From here that was not too hard. Just loop up

through Oklahoma into Kansas. Then head East

into Missouri dropping down into Arkansas and

back home.

It was up in North East Oklahoma that I spotted them.

Sahara type sand dunes in a lush area of Oklahoma?

The picture is small. But if you look close in the top

photo, behind the telephone pole in the center of the

image is the first sand dune coming up.

It ends up that they were not sand dunes at all. A

little research revealed that they are the tailings

from zinc and lead mining. They are toxic. So in

all the years they have been there nothing will grow

on them.

These are just south of

the quaint town of

Picher, Oklahoma.

A tornado when through

May 10, 2008 tearing

up the town and killing a

number of people. The

last report I read is that

because of the toxic nature of these "hills" or tailings.

And the danger of the old mines caving in, the

government is buying the town out.

After a number of hours

in the saddle I was needing

a bush to hide behind.

Found one. A touch further

south on the fringe of the

area near Douthat, OK.

Obviously old ruins are

a real attraction to me. Could not pass this up.

Get on the Internet, like

you are now. Punch in,

"Map of Picher, Oklahoma".

Now switch to the

satellite view.

You will see the area is

just dotted with the

"dunes" (Tailings). It

makes an interesting and informative view. Better

yet, take a drive up through that part of Oklahoma.

It's a great way to get out of town.

Got all four states in that day with only 326 miles and

back home in the late afternoon. I've been back through

there again. And hope to again. It's that interesting

to see.