http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

 Esplanade and St. Claude Avenues, and Press Street and the Mississippi River are the boundaries of the Faubourg Marigny District.  Faubourg Marigny is one of the original extenstions of New Orleans.

Directly downriver from the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny had become a vibrant neighborhood known for its distinctive architecture and great music and restaurants before Hurricane Katrina.

Named for Marquis Bernard De Marigny who subdivided his plantation to create the Faubourg Marigny, refusing to sell to anyone that could not speak French.  Marigny inherited seven million dollars when his father died making him perhaps the richest man in the new world.

Marigny is infamous for introducing craps, the gambling game, to America.  Le crapaud is French for frog, and craps was initially called Le crapaud to describe the players position in playing the game.  Burgundy, one of the streets in Faubourg Marigny, was originally called Craps because of Bernard de Marigny’s addiction to the game.

I’ve checked numerous blogs to get an idea of what is left of Faubourg Marigny and the Big Easy in general.  Information is scarce and I plan to travel there and see for myself.  Stay tuned.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com  http://ghostofachance.blogspot.com  http://ericwilder.blogspot.com

.

  Acid trucks on location in Noble County, Oklahoma preparing to acidize a shallow, Herington gas well.  These little gas wells are only about 600 feet deep.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com  http://ghostofachance.blogspot.com  http://ericwilder.blogspot.com

  I awakened this Saturday morning to a dull day with lazy droplets of rain drizzling from Edmond’s gray sky.  The sight made me smile.  While the 1/4 inch or so of rain will do little to break the back of Oklahoma’s continuing drought, it is at least a reminder that better days are on the horizon.  Grinning as I collected my morning paper, I thought to myself no fires today.  http://www.ericwilder.com   http://energyissues.blogharbor.com   http://ghostofachance.blogspot.com  http://ericwilder.blogspot.com

Here is both the front and back cover of Eric Wilder’s novel Ghost of a Chance.  The book is available on the web at both Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.   You can learn more about the book and author Eric Wilder at his website, http://www.ericwilder.com

Sabine Uplift is a deep-seated subsurface structural feature that lies beneath parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas.  Oil and gas production in this region is directly related to this major structural feature.  The crest of this subsurface feature lies near the center of Caddo Lake in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.

http://www.ericwilder.com   http://energyissues.blogharbor.com   http://ghostofachance.blogspot.com   http://ericwilder.blogspot.com

I drove north on I-35 last week and was amazed at the extent of charred property that I saw.  We are so dry and windy right now that any spark will touch off a rapidly spreading fire.  Edmond got a little rain yesterday and there was actually a rainbow in the sky, so there’s hope that we'll survive.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com  http://ghostofachance.blogspot.com  http://ericwilder.blogspot.com

 Here is a map of New Orleans, circa 1870, as drawn by an officer in the British army.

http://www.ericwilder.com

  Opals and quartz are both comprised of SiO2.  The difference is that opal is hydrated, or contains water as a component of its molecular structure.  Quartz has a definite crystalline structure while opal is amorphous.  Opal and quartz are found in many parts of the world.  Monster-sized quartz crystal are found in parts of Arkansas.  Hugh Miser, one of the world’s most famous geologists, had perhaps the best collection of Arkansas quartz.  Some of the crystals are taller than a man and weigh hundreds of pounds.  Miser gave half of his collection to the University of Oklahoma and half to the University of Arkansas.  If you’re ever in Norman, Oklahoma or Fayetteville, Arkansas, I strongly advise stopping for a look.  You won’t be disappointed.

http://www.ericwilder.com

         Arcadia is located about 10 miles east of Edmond, Oklahoma on historical Route 66.  Marilyn and I stopped at the Round Barn today to take a few flics and soak up a little local culture.  Tour guide Butch provided all we needed.  He kept us laughing during our entire visit to the museum inside the barn.  The little town of Arcadia is near the eastern boundary of the Run of ‘89.  It is also along the route where Washington Irving, that’s right, Beau Brummels and the Headless Horseman, stopped on his travels to Oklahoma.  Arcadia and the area around it are wonderful – yes, there is even a grape vineyard – and you may want to stay for awhile.  http://www.ericwilder.com

  Historical sign in Rodessa, Louisiana telling about the discovery of the Rodessa Field located in northwest Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.  Today, Rodessa is but a small rural town about three miles from the Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas boundaries.  Once it was a major boomtown.  The sign speaks of past glory but so many stories remain forgotten and untold.  http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

    Cimarron City is a small community about 25 miles north of Oklahoma City.  It lies just north of the Cimarron River.  South of the river is the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant made famous by the movie Silkwood.  The plant has been closed since 1975.  There are no signs on the building but it has a high fence around it and cars in the parking lot that indicates it is still being monitored.

Karen Silkwood worked at the plant and died in a one car accident a few miles south of the Cimarron River.  It is a little known fact that Silkwood, her roommate Sherri Ellis and her boyfriend Drew Stephens had all been tested for plutonium exposure at Los Alamos in New Mexico only two days before her death.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

Oklahoma holds the record for the deepest well ever drilled in the United States.  The GHK Co. 1–27 Bertha Rogers located in Washita County, Oklahoma was the former world’s deepest hole.  This well reached a depth of 31,441 feet where it encountered molten sulfur that melted the drill pipe and forced the end of drilling.

It took GHK two years to reach 31,441 feet, a depth of almost six miles.  During drilling, the well encountered enormous pressure – almost 25,000 psi.  No commercial hydrocarbons were found and the well was plugged and abandoned.

The Soviets began drilling a well in Russia in 1970 that is now over 40,000 feet deep.  The well is the deepest hole on earth though the Bertha Rogers remains the second deepest.

http://www.ericwilder.com

        Some angels in Eric Wilder’s garden.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

"Here I am!"

The boat's approaching wail sounded vaguely familiar to Buck but it was too late to worry about it. As it streaked past, it's wake lifted his boat almost out of the water. The little craft remained afloat but rocked dangerously. Then he heard the other boat turning for another pass.

Buck held on, waiting for the swell to subside. The wake had swamped the motor, stalling it. When the boat stopped rocking he yanked the starter cord but the motor only sputtered and died with a sick sounding thump. He had little time to worry about the stalled engine.

The marauding boat's headlight blazed through the fog, powering directly toward him. With little time to react he abandoned ship, diving overboard before the speeding boat plowed into his own craft with a tremendous crash and an ensuing explosion of wood. The wake of the collision sucked him to the bottom of the shallow lake, pinioning him in the murky ooze for a long, terrifying moment. When the wake passed, releasing the suction, he tried to kick toward the surface, his arms flailing against swirling muck and slimy vegetation. But something had his foot in it's clammy grasp and refused to let go.

The crooked branch of a submerged tree, part of the rotting mass of vegetation at the bottom of the lake, had trapped Buck's foot. He struggled but his futile attempt served only to deplete what little oxygen was left in his lungs. Despite his efforts, he gained no leverage against the algae-covered stump.

Buck's eyes bulged, his head threatening to explode, his lungs desperate to gasp something, even blood-warm water, into them. Just before losing consciousness he felt icy fingers encircle his ankle. Ephemeral hands freed his ankle from the sunken tree and pushed him toward the lake’s surface. Stroking upward in near panic, he belched foul liquid from his lungs as he burst from the black water.

http://www.ericwilder.com

Triskaidekaphobia is defined as an abnormal fear of the number 13.  Hope no one has that fear today.  Happy Friday the 13th.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

Thousands of books have been written about the Big Easy including many excellent works of fiction, food and travel.  Here is my top 10 list of required reading for those seeking a better understanding of the city famous the world over for its literature, art and cuisine.

10 – The French Quarter by Herbert Asbury

9 – Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

8 – A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren

7 – Awakening by Kate Chopin

6 – Inventing New Orleans by Lafcadio Hearn

5 – Mardi Gras by Robert Tallant

4 – A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

3 – Fabulous New Orleans by Lyle Saxon

2 – The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

1 – Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

http://www.ericwilder.com   http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

    Marilyn and I returned to Lake Arcadia today in search of bald eagles.  We took a different trail this time and it was soon apparent that we were too far from the lake to do any significant eagle sighting.  Still, the weather was awesome.  You can see from the pictures just how dry Central Oklahoma is.  On a trip up I-35 toward Kansas Friday, I saw many charred acres that had already fallen prey to dry weather, high winds and errant cigarettes.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

           

It was a gorgeous January day in Central Oklahoma and Marilyn and I went eagle-watching at Lake Arcadia, near Edmond.  You can see by the pics just how dry it is here.  We didn’t spot any eagles but did see many ducks, crows and gulls.

Lake Arcadia was formed by damming one of the deeply incised valleys in the hills surrounding Edmond.  Rock at lakeside is red, pisolitic sandstone that dates to the Permian.  One of the pictures is an old, abandoned threshing machine.  How old?  Who knows?

Yes, there are eagles populating the area around Lake Arcadia.  Bald eagles.  Tomorrow we will try again.  If we’re not too sore to get out of bed, that is.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

The official colors for Mardi Gras were chosen in 1872 by that year’s King of Rex.  The colors he chose are purple, green and gold and these colors stand for justice, faith and power.

http://www.justeastofeden.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com

    Folded strata at beautiful Lake Catherine in central Arkansas.  http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com 

Saturday night ended a strange weather year for the United States. The same held true for Oklahoma. Oklahoma City saw its first 100 degree day in May, a month that is usually cool and rainy in the Sooner State. 2005 saw a continuation of the drought that began in earnest in 2003 and ‘05 was one of the driest years since Dust Bowl days.

The first day of 2006 found many grass fires burning out of control and spreading rapidly in winds gusting to 35 mph. With the advent of the new year Okies are praying for rain but the skies are clear.

http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com