As I've traveled around the country (and the world) I've noticed a few recurring themes. Some of them are easy to spot, such as cafe wall decor with the same "down home" phrases or t-shirts with the same broken English phrase throughout Southeast Asia. Others take some time to recognize and appreciate, like The Three … Continue reading Three Sisters
I celebrated Independence Day near the banks of the Arkansas River in Tulsa. My perch was an exterior stairwell on the sixth floor of the Sophian Plaza, about a mile away from the city's largest nighttime fireworks display. Lately I've felt that I haven't had enough time in my days; it was nice to slow … Continue reading A Model Ford
On May 31st, my friend Nick came to town. He wasn't coming through to geek out over neon signs like he did last time he entered Tulsa City Limits; he was part of a group of people experiencing Route 66 from a bicycle seat! Twenty-six travelers set out from Amarillo, Texas several days prior on their way to … Continue reading Bikes and Books
Back in 2011, I had my very first public exhibit of my photography. I set up a single table at the Blue Dome Arts Festival and sat under my brand-new tent, eager to share the stories behind the photos I'd selected. I had a pair of canvas prints made and a selection of photos from … Continue reading No Place like Dome
When people think of Oklahoma, it's not often their first mental image conjures up a lot of blue. Perhaps the golden tones of the waving wheat, the orange or crimson of our primary college sports teams...or perhaps the emerald tones of the farmland in our northeast corner (locally known as 'Green Country'). However, we do have … Continue reading Okie Blue
In 2016, I started a journey back in time. I’d always heard about iconic places like Pennington’s Drive-In, the Italian Inn, and My Pi Pizza but I never got the chance to experience them. Thanks to many hours of research and interviews, I have an understanding of the eating places that defined Tulsa for the … Continue reading Lost Restaurants of Tulsa
I am very excited to announce my next photo exhibition! Opening Night is Thursday, March 2nd at the Circle Cinema. It starts at 6:00 PM and features photographs I've never printed before. At 7:00, I'll be presenting my 'Allure of Route 66' presentation in one of the theaters. If you didn't make it out to … Continue reading Route 66: Green Miles
Since I've had a pretty light travel schedule lately, I thought I'd do something interesting with the photographs I already have. I back up all of my photos on Google Photos, which has an appropriately great search function. I posed a question on Facebook last week asking folks to submit words or phrases I could … Continue reading Yellow
Although I haven't been on the road much lately, I've been working on a few projects. The one I'm most excited about is a presentation I'm giving a week from today in downtown Tulsa at the newly renovated Central Library! The Tulsa City-County Library hosts a series of talks annually where local folks share their travel … Continue reading Travels with Tulsans – Route 66
Today I thought I'd do something a little different. I was recently made aware of an article written back in 1995 for the Oklahoma Today magazine about the origins of the hamburger. Considering the subject matter and Tulsa's place in history, I thought you all might be interested. I was unable to include the photographs … Continue reading Tulsa: Birthplace of the Hamburger
Rhys' Pieces 