Admiring the Views, Activity Along Riverside
Out & About in Greater Tulsa By EMILY RAMSEY
Managing Editor
AFTERNOON WALK: Individuals walk on the River Parks trail, along Riverside Drive and the Arkansas River. The trail along Riverside is well-traveled by cyclists, dog walkers, families, skateboarders and joggers.
EMILY RAMSEY for GTR Newspapers
As the welcome signs of springtime begin to emerge, many individuals, myself among them, are already beginning their eager return to the outdoors.
Although Tulsa has experienced a nice, mild winter, it has still been cold. (An opinion that I dare never utter to my family in Michigan.) And even with our somewhat-pleasant winter, we Okies know that there definitely exists a difference between a “winter” 60 degrees and a “spring” 60. I’ll take the latter every time.
Due in large part to the blustery mornings and days that are made noticeably worse near a waterway, I have digressed from my regular walks on the River Parks trail, along Riverside Drive. Those strolls have been whittled down to, sometimes, only a weekly walk, much to the displeasure of my four-legged playmate who quietly guilts me with his silent stares, serving only to quadruple my already-guilty conscience.
Besides the canine needs, walking does much for humans’ well-being: regulating weight loss, calming the spirit, allowing time for reflection. For me, though, the greatest joy that I gain from my walks is watching my buddy jump, run and socialize with other canines, which, oftentimes, mainly entails the use of his nose.
Walking along the river is also good for me in a social sense. We have our own community of “regulars,” us river walkers: individuals of varying professions and interests but most of us being dog lovers with at least one dog in tow. And, for that reason alone, I instantly trust those individuals just a little bit more.
While I usually keep my walks to the north end of Riverside, I’m looking forward to venturing south once the Gathering Place is completed.
Yet, no matter where a person walks along Riverside, when water is flowing along the river bank, our unassuming river is quite striking. And the view when driving west out of downtown Tulsa on Galveston Avenue and over the hill, it really feels like you’ve been transported somewhere out of Tulsa.
Imagine the visual impact if there were a constant amount of flowing water.
Ah, but one can dream.
Honestly, as a nearby home dweller, I slightly cringe to imagine how the area would explode with people all the time traversing its edges if constant water in the river ever came true. Parents, children, joggers, cyclists, dogs, skateboarders, sunbathers.
If we put water in the river, it wouldn’t be solely teaming with life underneath its surface but all around it too.
And yet, with growth comes change.
As much as that may hurt from time to time, the result can be a beautiful addition to our lives, if we let it.
Updated 03-01-2016
READER COMMENTS
About Post Author
