Until today this monthly return habit had not seen any traffic woe that was too woeful.
All went well on the way into D/FW this morning. Traffic was stalled on I-35 south, but that did not impact my movement due to quickly exiting I-35 south after its juncture with 287 and that juncture having a convenient exit only lane which leads to Western Center Boulevard, and no traffic problems.
Eventually I made my way to Hurst where I was scheduled to drop of an item, then continue south to Arlington. In Arlington I went to Chinatown, to Saigon Cho Market, then headed back north, stopping at the world's only Walmart which also serves as a shrine to football and baseball, with multiple footballs and baseballs stuck all over the Walmart structures.
This particular Walmart is due north of the gigantic monument to futuristic spaceships, also known as the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, or AT & T Stadium, because that phone company paid a chunk of money to tackily stick its name on the stadium which the people of Arlington largely paid for, in more ways than one.
This Walmart is due west of the place where the Texas Rangers play baseball. I do not remember what that Ballpark is currently called. The name seems to change frequently. When I first saw this Ballpark and attended part of a baseball game there, watching the Seattle Mariners get beat by the Rangers, the Ballpark was called the Ballpark in Arlington. This seemed, to me, to be a good name. But that name did not stick.
The former Ballpark in Arlington is about to be replaced by a shiny new ballpark. I hope this shiny new ballpark does not take its design aesthetic from the nearby football stadium.
Eventually I headed back north, to pick up something I'd left in Hurst, then headed to East Fort Worth to visit a bank, then to Haltom City to visit a building under construction. After a short stop at Winco in North Richland Hills it was time to aim my steering wheel back towards Wichita Falls.
And that is when the traffic woes took over. My usual problem free route is to go west on Western Center Boulevard, then take a right on the I-35 north frontage road, then soon painlessly enter 287 and sail free and easy back northwest to Wichita Falls.
But, today the entry to 287 was not working. This soon had me in a long line trying to take a left on to Tarrant Parkway, to head west to 287. Except that traffic was moving turtle slow due to the dud of a roundabout about a mile distant, where Harmon Road intersects with the entry to 287.
I escaped that nightmare by driving through a mall's parking lot, eventually getting to Harmon Road. I knew Harmon Road. When I moved to Texas it was to a little ranch on what was then Hicks Road, now named Bonds Ranch Road. Harmon Road intersects with Bonds Ranch Road.
Which would have worked great except for the fact that hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles were trying to go the same route, trying to escape the previous traffic jam.
When I finally turned on to Bonds Ranch Road I saw the traffic was backed up all the way to 287. I was now in an area I was familiar with, so I knew the backroads. But, the backroad that I needed to take took me by that aforementioned little ranch I originally lived at when I moved to Texas. A location I long ago vowed to never return to, a place which those who experienced it now refer to as the House of Horrors.
So, I took a right right by the east pasture of the House of Horrors, eventually made my way to Avon-Haslet Road and then to 287 for a traffic jam free remainder of the drive home.
Before my next visit to D/FW I must figure out an alternative to that which I experienced today...
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