Today I had to be in the White Settlement zone of Fort Worth, not the town of White Settlement, but the street, where Angelo's Barbecue is located.So, since I was in the neighborhood, sort of, I thought today would a good day to return to Sansom Park and do some hiking on the steepest, toughest trails in the D/FW Metroplex.
I don't know who made these trails. Or how they made them. What I do know is this system of trails is Moab-worthy. As in the Slick Rock Trail scared me in Moab, but I biked it. The Sansom Trail scares me in Fort Worth, and I won't bike it. Well, maybe I would bike part of it, but there were a couple places where I could not hike down, no way could I bike it. Yet I saw tire tracks. Texans are tough. They will willingly go where few men will.
Sansom Park sits atop a hill overlooking Lake Worth and Lake Worth Dam. During a flood the view here is pretty spectacular, with water pouring over the dam like a mini-Niagara. You can hike down to the base of the dam where there are trail options in a couple directions. Most of these trails are not for the faint of heart or weak of knees.
I saw a wildflower blooming today that I've not yet seen whilst hiking the Tandy Hills, that being the blue flower you see above.
Most of the Sansom Park Trails are very rocky, with a few being packed dirt. I don't know if this is limestone, or what it is. I do know it can be challenging. I don't know what went on in the past in this area. There are what appear to be long abandoned roads where people seem to have created elaborate rusty iron sculptures.
There are so many miles of trails going in so many directions, if it weren't for orienting landmarks one could get, well, disoriented. One of the landmarks is a rock formation that sits atop a hill, like a Druid/Stonehenge
monument. It would likely be de-stoned if some of the more earnest local Bible Belters got wind of the pagan imagery guiding bikers and hikers out of their confusion.I was drawn to climb up to the Druid Monument and take some pictures. From there the view is good of Lake Worth and the dam. It looks to me like it would be a good idea to turn the Druid Stonehenge Monument into some sort of picnic pavilion. There is already a very nice, huge, fireplace. Who knows what sort of rituals have taken place in that fireplace?
It has been a good Saturday in Fort Worth. I went swimming real early. The water was perfect. White Settlement and Sansom Park were perfect. On the way back here I saw humans on a scary balcony. I'll blog about that later. And then when I did get back here, I went swimming again. It's still winter, but it is summer in Texas. And tomorrow we spring forward. I don't like Daylight Savings Time.
3 comments:
It looks like a periwinkle(ish) to me. The "spring forward" part of daylight savings is especially hard, and like you I don't like it at all. I would prefer it if "they" would leave it alone. I envy your ability to get out of the house. It's being reported our former President is hitting the local trails too. So if you run into a detail of scary looking mountain bikers don't be alarmed, but don't make any sudden moves either. Peace.
It is indeed one of the periwinkles. Either Vinca major or Vinca minor. Common periwinkle invades open to shady forests often around former plantings at old home sites or escapes from nearby residents (like View Street). It forms dense and extensive mats along forest floors that exclude native vegetation. It is native to Europe and was first introduced into North America in the 1700s as an ornamental. It is still commonly sold as an ornamental ground cover. It chokes out native plants and is a persistent invasive. The FW Nature Center has quite a bit of it on their SE boundary.
The area that you are calling Sansom Park is actually in the City of Fort Worth and operated (and poorly run) by the FW Parks and Community Services Department. The site is know as Inspiration Point and was built by Company 1816 of the Civilian Conservation Corps whose camp was at Lake Worth. There are there other shelters similar and in better condition around the Lake and at the FWNC&R. The City of Fort Worth should be ashamed for the neqlect of these historical sites.
Thanks for the info, Natural One. When I first saw that rock shelter/fireplace/picnic place around the turn of the century it was in way better shape. I think it even had a roof then, if I remember right. I thought that park was called Sansom Park, but, it may be that I read the mountain bike part called that.
Twister---I have seen the ex or his guards out biking, yet. I suspect one day I'll run into him at River Legacy, if the Wild Boars don't run into him first.
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