Country Road Detour While Helicopter Rescues Jackie, Fancy & Clancy

Well, I have had myself an exhausting day.

Up early to drive to the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro mess.

This particular morning commute was pleasant, no traffic woes, not even in the congested construction zone one comes to when one reaches Fort Worth's version of I-35.

The return to Wichita Falls commute this afternoon had a bit of a problem. I will get to that later.

But first, yesterday, after receiving a cautionary email from my Favorite Nephew Jason, I asked the question Will Camelback Helicopter Rescue Be Needed For Clancy, Fancy, Jackie & Jake?

In that blogging I opined that I likely would be getting text  messages regarding the Camelback Mountain debacle, if such became the case.

I was in Arlington, making a quick visit to River Legacy Park when Jason texted me a photo he'd been texted from Camelback Mountain, which is what you see above. That would be Jake, Jackie and Fancy, with Clancy, on the right, looking like she's not quite yet recovered from recent electroshock treatments.

I thought it looked like the Camelback  Mountain hike was going well and Jason was concerned needlessly.

And then a couple hours later I was having a chile relleno lunch with Felicity Frankfurter at Esperanza's in the Fort Worth Stockyards zone when Jason texted me the following photo.

I do not know which of the three we are seeing being rescued above, dangling from the helicopter. Jason provided no details. And no word about Jason's dad's hiking condition.

I got gas today in North Richland Hills. $1.93 a gallon. Sometimes I call my mom  and dad when I get gas, but today I did not. I did not want to call because I figured I could not resist asking if mom and dad knew any details about the Camelback Mountain rescue debacle. Figuring they were likely oblivious to this ongoing drama I thought it best just not to call, so as not to needlessly worry them.

Moving on.

I did not decide my return route to Wichita Falls until I reached the Decatur option junction. Scenic route or the more direct Highway 287 route? I opted to go direct. That turned out to be not so direct.

About 10 miles west of the little burg called Bellevue, that being one of the few slow to 55 sections of 287, all Wichita Falls bound traffic was halted.

Dead stop.

At this point in time I do not know what closed the road.

Eventually I reached a point where a highway guy was directing  people to drive across the grassy median to head back from whence one came.

Highway 287 looks like a four lane freeway, for the most part, but it is not part of the federal interstate system.

When it was my turn to get directions from the highway guy he simply said, just follow that truck and he will lead you back to 287.

And so I did. As the miles accumulated, following that truck, I had no clue how far we were going backwards before finding the detour. The detour exit turned out to be in Bellevue, heading south on a country road.

Above, that is the truck I was following in a convoy of people being detoured.

Eventually we came to a junction heading back north towards 287. Soon thereafter we came to another junction, this one going to the little town of Scotland. I knew that would more efficiently take me back to where I needed to be, instead of returning to 287 past the obstruction.

And so I left the convoy and went to Scotland, then home.

I hope those Camelback hikers are okay, but the best part of today was that chile relleno at Esperanza's.....