Final Chilly February Wichita Bluff Nature Walking

It had been a couple days without any aerobically induced endorphins.

And thus on this last day of the 2021 version of February I was feeling a bit cranky and a bit stir crazy.

Perhaps stir cranky would be the correct terminology.

And so I took myself on a bit of a Sunday drive, heading east to the, well, slum-like part of this fine Texas town. 

Eventually I came to Beverly Drive, which ironically is not in the Beverly Hills section of Wichita Falls, but runs from that aforementioned slum-like part of town to Loop 11. 

Once I got to Loop 11 I was a short distance from the parking lot at the east end of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. 

And so I decided to do some nature walking and check out the current state of the new section of Circle Trail which will soon connect to the current terminus of the Circle Trail in Lucy Park.

Before I forget, I must make mention of my unkempt appearance as seen in the Elsie Selfie above. I only returned to having hot water a couple days ago, and so I have not yet had sufficient time to undo the damage caused by not having access to modern amenities, such as power and hot water.

You can also tell by my bundled up attire that the outer world is being a bit chilly today. Overcast, foggy, windy and drizzly.

I was not the only one checking out the current condition of the new section of the Circle Trail.

The two speed walking ladies raced past me, startling both me and a big black cat which the lady in pink shrieked was a bobcat. The big black cat did not even remotely resemble a bobcat.

And above you see the current end of the paved part of the new section of Circle Trail. I do not know how far what you see above is from Lucy Park. If I remember correctly this new section of Circle Trail is around 3 miles.

After reaching the point you see above I turned around and headed towards the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

Eventually reaching the high point you see here. A scenic overlook looking over the Wichita River. In this view we are looking northwest, towards my old home location in Washington.

Tomorrow March roars in like a lion.

I am looking forward to 30 days later when March limps out like a lamb.

Back In Hot Water In Wichita Falls

Late Thursday afternoon lukewarm water began being delivered to my hot water faucets. By Friday morning the lukewarm water had turned HOT, which is what you see flowing from my kitchen faucet above.

I do not recollect ever enjoying a shower as much as I did this morning.

If I remember right there is a song about parking lots with a line something like "You don't know what you miss til it's gone..."

So true.

The power grid going down for two days was bad, real bad. But, I knew being without power would be bad when the temperature went below zero.

When the power came back on, and the temperature went well above zero, and pipes began bursting, I was then without water. I knew being without water would be a bad thing. But, I was prepared, due to having filled virtually everything I had which was fillable, with water, before it was turned off.

And then two days after the water returning, soon thereafter the hot water turned cold. The sub zero temperature had wreaked havoc with the natural gas pipeline in three locations.

I managed a pitifully pathetic version of a bath by boiling a large kettle of water, then delivering it to my bathtub, which I had partially filled with a couple inches of water. This process grew tiresome by day three.

By running water through the coffee maker I was able to have a carafe of hot water next to the kitchen sink for dish washing purposes. Sort of. That also quickly grew tiresome.

Anyway, everything is pretty much back to normal, well, other than the ongoing COVID nightmare...

Cold Golfing Waiting For Hot Water To Arrive

No, that is not me above having myself a mighty fine time golfing under a cloudy cold sky.

A few minutes ago I was taking a short walk north on the Circle Trail and saw the golfer you see above golfing on the golf course on the far side of Holliday Creek from my abode's location.

I believe this is called Weeks Golf Course. There are two golf courses that butt up against each other on the east side of Holliday Creek. 

Mother Nature decided to get chilly again, after being nice for a couple days, all the way into the 80s. But today She is blowing cold, in the 40s, with the wind chill making it feel like it's in the 30s.

These cycles of hot and cold in the outer world sort of mirror the condition of my interior world. As in I still do not have hot water running out of my faucets. 

Not having hot water on demand is not as much of a nuisance as I feared it might be. Having no hot water is not nearly as annoying as having no water.

Or no electricity...

Talking With Linda Lou On A Wichita Falls Bench With No Hot Water

At around 2:40 this final Wednesday afternoon of the February version of 2021 I dropped off the patient known as DB at one of the clinics at which he has appointments with doctors.

I had previously scheduled a 3 o'clock phone consult with the Mount Vernonite known as Linda Lou.

Wichita Falls is a short distance from the location of DB's doctor appointment, and so I parked my vehicle and walked to the top of the falls, to sit on that bench you see above, above the falls, and called Linda Lou.

I did not long remain on that bench talking to Linda Lou, because wind was blowing waterfall mist in my direction. I stood up, looked at the view you see above, and walked to another bench.

Soon after standing up my belt buckle decided to unbuckle. This immediately put my cargo shorts in danger of dropping to my ankles. I had to ask Linda Lou to excuse me for a moment while I secured my shorts and belt.

It seems so odd how quickly we went from living in the Arctic to being back in the semi-tropics. Yesterday the temperature got into the 80s.

A week ago today I was escaping from a Comfort Inn, on ice covered roads, hoping the power would stay on and I could remain in my abode. 

Well, the power has stayed on, but I still do not have hot water coming out of faucets. The natural gas pipeline is the problem. There has been a lot of digging going on, I assume looking for the leaks. Why would a deep freeze cause problems with underground natural gas pipelines? I have heard no explanation for this.

Sunset Bike Ride To Frozen Lake Wichita

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, during the hour when the sun starts to set in the west, with the outer world temperature having soared into the 70s, I thought a bike ride might be a mighty fine thing to do.

And so I did. And so it was. 

When I roll the short distance from my abode to the Circle Trail I have two options, go north on the Circle Trail or go south.

I opted for the south option, the one which a mile and a half later takes me to Lake Wichita.

On the way to Lake Wichita I was surprised to see that long sections of Holliday Creek were still frozen. And then when I got atop Lake Wichita Dam I was surprised again, seeing that Lake Wichita was still frozen with what looked like a solid layer of ice.

I took several photos of this rare phenomenon, the one above, with my bike parked on the floating dock which was currently floating on top of ice. 

And the following photos, some taken from the vantage point of that aforementioned floating on ice dock, and some taken from the vantage point of the Lake Wichita Boardwalk.

Above we are on the floating dock, looking north at an ice covered lake and the earthen dam which makes the lake.

And here we are on the Lake Wichita Boardwalk, looking at all that remains of the long gone Lake Wichita Pavilion.

Looking south from the Lake Wichita Boardwalk. 

Back on the dock floating on ice. That pimple you see on the horizon is known as Mount Wichita.

And for one final photo from the Lake Wichita Boardwalk, looking at some more remains of that long gone Lake Wichita Pavilion, and that aforementioned pimple of a mountain, sticking up out of the far end of the lake.

The temperature today is scheduled to get again into the 70s. I suspect another bike ride will be had today. But no hot shower. The boiler which heats my water is still being repaired....

Walking Wichita Bluff Nature Area With Nephew Jason Today

 

With the outer world temperature soaring into the balmy 60s, and with nary any snow or ice remaining, except for where it was piled up by snow plows, an hour before noon I took my cargo shorts and t-shirt to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area to do some communing with nature.

I stopped soon after entering the Nature Area to take the photo you see above. This is a good illustrative look at how well designed the Wichita Bluff Nature Area of the Circle Trail is.

I had not managed to get my phone back in its phone pocket when I saw an incoming call was coming in from my Favorite Nephew Jason.

So, Jason walked the Wichita Bluffs with me today.

It had been awhile since I had walked and talked with Jason, so we had a lot to talk about.

I forgot to ask Jason if he was planning on being in Cabo San Luca on May 1 for the nuptials of his cousin Christopher. I think I can guess the answer to that question.

Til learning so from Jason today I had not known that it was back being easy to drive to Seattle from Mount Vernon in an hour, due to way less traffic, due to COVID and way fewer tourists.

My last time in Washington, August of 2017, to be precise, it took us about 4 hours to get from Tacoma to Mount Vernon.

I sure am enjoying the retreat of the Polar Vortex, and the return to almost normal. Though, I still do not have hot water running from my taps. But, that is an easy problem to work around when you have electricity and water...

Some Icy Biking With Cranky Geese On Frozen Sikes Lake

With the temperature soaring well above freezing, into the balmy 50s zone, and with snow sufficiently melted, I decided my bike needed to do some rolling.

And so on this 3rd Sunday morning of the 2021 version of February I rolled north on the Circle Trail til I got to Hamilton Park. I experienced only a little snow or ice in only a couple shady locations on the Circle Trail.

Leaving Hamilton Park I encountered no icy dicey conditions rolling through the Wichita Falls Beverley Hills zone.

Same with rolling through the MSU (Midwestern State University) campus. 

But then, crossing Midwestern Boulevard to the sidewalk which takes me to Sikes Lake, I had my first bout of doing some slipping and sliding. Not too bad, but I was glad to be back where such was not the case.

Arriving at Sikes Lake I saw the lake was still mostly frozen. I took three photos documenting this rare phenomenon. The first of which is what you see above, looking west across the lake.

Next I stopped my handlebars on the bridge which crosses Sikes Lake on the north end of the lake. That sort of looks like footprints in the snow which is still on top of the frozen lake. But, I don't think they are human footprints.

I think it is perplexed creatures like you see above which made tracks in the snow on the lake. The geese seemed annoyed that they could only walk on the water they usually floated in. The annoyance seemed to be being verbalized by goose honking noises I had not heard previously.

I exit the paved trail around Sikes Lake at the northeast end of the lake. The usual trail which I use to do so was a muddy mess. So I used another exit, which I seldom use, and which was not a muddy mess.

But, when I got to the paved alley which takes me back to my abode, well, it is in a shady location, and still had a lot of snow and ice and water. This made for some challenging wheel rolling which was sort of fun. 

I have not felt this good for over a week. I was in dire need of some aerobic stimulation and the endorphins one gets as a result of that stimulation.

I think tomorrow, with the temperature scheduled to get into the 60s, I will go do some nature communing in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area...

Wichita Falls Greenbrier Walmart Power Outage Wipeout

Last night, soon before the sun set, I drove to the Walmart nearest to my location, known as the Greenbrier Walmart, due to being located on a road called Greenbrier.

This Walmart, unlike my other nearby Walmart, lost power for the same amount of time I was without electricity. 

I figured Walmarts likely have backup power generators, so as not to lose that which needs to be frozen or refrigerated.

I figured wrong.

Walking into the Greenbrier Walmart last night I instantly saw something was dire wrong. Little produce in the produce section, as you can in the next photo.

Continuing on the meat section was wiped out.

Below is the frozen food area where one finds ice cream and pizza, among other things frozen.

I don't know why Walmart tossed all the frozen stuff. It likely stayed frozen when the power went out. Stuff in my freezer stayed frozen. Stuff in the refrigerator stayed refrigerated in my refrigerator during the duration of having no electricity.

Above is where one usually finds milk products.

I wonder what all this lost stock cost? 

And below is a meme I gleaned from Facebook, giving advice about how to survive this week in Texas...

Facebook Look At Texas Power Disaster & Ted Cruz

What you are seeing here are memes gleaned from Facebook, all about the Polar Vortex Deep Freeze Disaster in Texas. And Ted Cruz.

One of my friends up in the Pacific Northwest asked if Texans are aware of how bad Texas is looking to the rest of America, and the world.

And if Texans are aware of how awful Ted Cruz looks to the rest of America, and the world.

I told my PNW friend that many Texans are well aware that something is dire wrong with their state, and that something is dire wrong with Ted Cruz. If more Texans voted the last midterm election, in 2018, Ted Cruz would not have won another term, and Texas would have one senator who was not an ongoing embarrassment.

So, scroll down and you will see a collection of memes on this subject which I collected from Facebook this morning...

In Downtown Wichita Falls With The Big Texas Thaw

 

The Big Texas Chill finally went above freezing on this 3rd Friday of the 2021 version of February.

The Big Thaw is underway.

I drove to downtown Wichita Falls this morning, before the Big Thaw began. The roads were clear, for the most part, on the way to downtown. In the downtown zone the main streets had been plowed, such as what you see above, with the side streets not plowed so much. This made it a bit challenging.

In the view above we are looking east. I can't remember the name of the street, but it's the one due north of Scott Avenue. Scott Avenue used to be the main drag through town, before the freeway arrival.

That building you see above on the left is called the Stone Palace. I think so named because it used to be owned by someone last name of Stone. I have no idea why it is called a Palace. I have been in the Stone Palace twice.

The first time in the Stone Palace was soon upon my arrival in this town. It was in October, a month before the shocking election of the worst president in American history. The Wichita Falls Adult Literacy Council was holding their annual Spelling Bee. I was a cheerleader on one of the Spelling Bee teams. The other cheerleader was someone named Angela. We did not do much cheerleading. The BBQ that was part of the Spelling Bee was good.

My second time in the Stone Palace was to attend a rally for Beto O'Rourke. It was about a month before Beto almost beat Creepy Cruz in the 2018 midterm election. Since then Beto's stock has risen dramatically, whilst Creepy Cruz has become even creepier, what with being an enabler of Trump's insurrection, and shortly after that escaping Texas and its power disaster to find heat in Cancun, while Beto remained in Texas helping with the disaster in multiple ways.

Beto in person was impressive. I think if I experienced Rafael Edwardo Cruz in person I would have the same reaction I have when I see a big slithering snake.

Switching back to the ongoing Texas Disaster. My hot water is back, slowly getting warmer.

So, my only remaining reminder of the Storm is the thick coating of snow that will likely linger for awhile as it slowly melts away. That and all the containers I have strewn about filled with water...

Normalcy & Water Slowly Returns During The Great Texas Polar Vortex Deep Freeze Disaster

 

Above you are looking south through my windshield, on Lawrence Road, at its intersection with Midwestern Boulevard. As you can see the road is mostly bare of snow.

And now the rest of the story...

My stress level has gone down a lot today. By around the noon lunch time cold water was back flowing through my taps. The hot water gradually getting warmer.

By mid afternoon, the roads which I can see from my abode's vantage point were largely cleared of slick stuff, by plows, the sun, higher temperatures and traffic.

And so around 4 this afternoon I ventured out, with the nearest Walmart my destination. That would be the Greenbrier Walmart off Southwest Parkway. Well, I got there easily, saw the parking lot had been plowed, saw only a couple dozen vehicles parked.

I was soon in my mask and out of my vehicle when a couple walking towards me said the store was closed. What's with all the cars, asked I. To which the reply was they wondered that too.

I told the couple that the Walmart on Lawrence across from ALDI stayed open through the worst of this nightmare, so I am sure it is open now. I was then told they were visiting from Minnesota and did not know where Lawrence was.

I then said follow me, it's only a couple miles. And so they did. They turned into Walmart, and since I was in the neighborhood I decided to go to ALDI.

ALDI's shelves were greatly depleted, particularly the fresh produce and the meat products.

After ALDI I went across the street to Walmart and found that store even more depleted than ALDI. Walmart had no milk or eggs, along with a lot of other shelves empty of their regular goods.

When I was near the empty milk shelves I heard a little boy say to his mom "There's no milk." When I got closer I asked the mom if she was needing milk. She said she was. So I told her ALDI has plenty, along with eggs. She thanked me profusely.

Both ALDI and Walmart were wiped out of most bread products. 

But I am feeling way better about this ongoing Texas Polar Vortex Deep Freeze Disaster than I did this morning.

Tomorrow I should have no problem making it to a previously scheduled pharmacy appointment, and to downtown, where I need to return some books.

I do not recollect ever so looking forward to the end of winter as I currently am...

Sunny Freezing In Texas With Power & No Water

 

On this 3rd Wednesday of the 2021 version of February that would be the view north from one of my living room windows you are looking at above. 

We are still well below freezing, with the thaw scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The sky is mostly blue, with no threat of more snow.

Not much traffic is braving the coat of thick ice which is the current upper layer of Texas roads at my location.

I lost water yesterday afternoon. It was restored to flow mode around 6 in the evening. At 7 in the evening a text message arrived on my phone telling me water would be turned off today til the city turned it back on, because multiple pipes in multiple locations had burst.

With that warning, last night I filled every fillable thing I could find, including my bathtub. So far the lack of water flowing out of the taps is not nearly as annoying as having no power was.

I have a bad feeling that we are not near the end of this disaster. Maybe we are at the end of the beginning.

We still do not know how many people have frozen to death. How many pipes are yet to burst? How many roads are going to buckle from the thaw?

In Washington after a deep freeze, which I never experienced being as deep as this Texas deep freeze, there are restrictions on roads after a deep freeze, to prevent damage. I would hazard to guess that Texas officials are ignorant regarding this problem, like they seem to be about the solution to most problems other states, cities and countries have managed to solve.

I managed to do my regular early morning yoga exercise routine this morning for the first time in days. That has me feeling a lot better. But, this Texas Deep Freeze Disaster has wreaked havoc with my February Plan to lose my COVID-25.

I think I will need to extend the February Plan to include March...

Texas Power Collapse Continues Out Of My Comfort Inn Zone

 Earlier today I was able to blog from my home computer after escaping the Comfort Inn and discovering the power was back flowing to my abode.

The decision was made to evacuate from the Comfort Inn and return to the home abode.

When checking out from the Comfort Inn we learned the Inn was full from others escaping the Texas Deep Freeze. It was decided to err on the side of caution and pay for another night.

It was after that I learned the power was back on. And so returned to the Comfort Inn and cancelled the second night's stay. 

A few hours later the power went out again. And stayed out. For a long time. Figuring the Comfort Inn was full I called other locations to find them all full or without power. Soon thereafter Linda Lou called and hearing of my woe suggested calling the Comfort Inn to see if anything was available there.

And so I did as Linda Lou suggested and was surprised when the manager basically said no problemo, we still have your room available. So, it was back to the Comfort Inn, Room 105.

That is the view from Room 105 above, looking out at a Taco Bueno, maker of the world's worst Mexican food. A fact confirmed when I made my way there through blinding snow and got a taco and burrito, both bland.

Soon thereafter circumstances caused me to return to my abode, again. I drove through the blinding snow, the mile to my home location, and found the power was back on. Again.

I then made the strategic decision to go back to the Comfort Inn, gather up my stuff, and return to my abode, where I am much more comfortable than at the Comfort Inn. But now I have the back up of an escape should the power go out again and I get too cold.

And now on a lighter note, my Favorite Nephew Joey texted me today saying he heard on the news that people should check on their elderly relatives in Texas. And so Joey asked how I was doing with the Texas Power Disaster. Along with that question Joey also sent video of Hank Frank with the text with the video saying...

"Here is Henry attempting to travel to Texas to help his Favorite Uncle D..."

Power Restored Emergency Evacuation Over (For Now)

You are looking at the Tuesday morning view from my computer room window.

Monday morning I abandoned my computer room, and the rest of my abode, to evacuate to a Comfort Inn.

Power had gone off and on the night before multiple times, before going off for good about 5 in the morning.

It was eerie to wake up to find absolute total darkness, along with eerie quiet.

By mid morning yesterday it was decided, what with the interior temperature creeping ever nearer to freezing, evacuating to a safe space seemed to be the thing to do.

The first attempt to find a motel room was at the nearby hotel Elsie Hotpepper stays in on her infrequent visits to town. The Hotpepper Hotel was also without power. Next closest was a Comfort Inn, about a half mile from my frozen abode, as a bird flies.

The view out the window of the Comfort Inn was not as scenic as my current view. The view looked out at a Taco Bueno, about 50 feet distant. Have I ever made mention of my Taco Bueno aversion?

The temperature got to a couple degrees below zero last night. We are on a warming trend, with the temperature scheduled to go once again above freezing on Friday.

But, snow is in the forecast for today. I will do no more driving until this icy nonsense ends. After checking out of the Comfort Inn this morning I slid myself to Walmart and ALDI and stocked up on survival goods. Walmart was totally wiped out of milk. ALDI still had milk. Both ALDI and Walmart were mostly wiped out of meat products.

Speaking of Elsie Hotpepper, she is still without power at her main residence in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. Methinks this is a disaster in the making. A church in Wichita Falls opened up a shelter for those who could find no where to go once they lost power. 

My neighbor lost all her tropical fish when the water was without its heating function for way too long. What do people with little kids do in this type disaster? The ones who lose power, gradually their interior temperature going below freezing, not having the resources to evacuate to somewhere with heat. Like I said, methinks this is a disaster in the making...
 

Hank Frank's Snowy Happy Valentine's Day

Hank Frank's papa, my Favorite Nephew Joey, sends a snowy Happy Valentine's Day message with four photos along with a few words, as in...

 "Howdy FUD. Here is Henry enjoying a Happy Valentine's Day snow."

And...

 "Here he is explaining to his mom where snow comes from and also waving hi."

It appears the snow is deeper at Hank Frank's location in the Skagit Valley Flats than my location in the North Texas Flats.

I think the below photo is the one where Hank Frank waves hi.

The trees in Hank Frank's apple orchard are covered in white. This has not happened to the bare limbs at my location. I suspect this is because the temperature here is near zero, with it well below freezing before the snow arrived, thus no ice accumulation in the trees.

Snow at this deep level happens seldom in the lowlands of Western Washington. I have no memory of playing in the snow with Hank Frank's papa, or Uncle Jason.

I do remember some snow fun with Hank Frank's papa and Uncle Jason's cousins, Christopher and Jeremy. But, not in the lowlands, but up in the mountains, sledding and cross country skiing.

Somewhere on this computer I have photos of hiking to the Ice Caves on the Mountain Loop Highway, with Christopher and Jeremy. Part of my Nephews in Danger series. I shall see if I can find those photos. But, not right now...

Slip Sliding To Walmart Through A Blizzard

Earlier this second Sunday of the 2021 version of February I mentioned that even though it was 18 degrees below zero I was likely going to make my way to my mailbox when I got the notice from Amazon that a package had been delivered.

Around 11 this morning that package delivered message arrived. And so I layered on the outerwear and exited my abode. I was pleased to find that the white coating was not too slippery. I had told myself that if making my way to the mailbox was easy I might drive to ALDI and Walmart. I was in need of mushrooms for Alfedo sauce, and ALDI is my supplier of that ingredient.

In the photo at the top I am stopped at the redlight intersection of Taft and Midwestern Boulevards. You might be able to make it out on the temperature info part of the rearview mirror that it as 9 degrees above zero at that point in time. That intersection was the first instance of finding the road to be a bit slippery.

I slowly made it to ALDI, got the mushrooms and some other stuff, and then slowly drove across the street to Walmart.

That's the view through my windshield in the Walmart parking lot. By the time I left Walmart, shortly after noon, the snow had greatly amped up, as had the wind. 

Above we are heading east on Midwestern Boulevard. The incoming snow now seemed to be in blizzard mode, with visibility greatly reduced.

A few minutes later, after taking the above picture, I was safely parked under the carport. 

 And then a few minutes later, back in my abode, I took a photo of the same view from my computer room as I had taken earlier. If you saw the previous photo you can see the amount of snow has greatly increased.

This deep freeze is scheduled to last most of the week. I do not foresee doing any more driving in it. 

18 Degrees Below Zero Along With Snow Has Arrived At My North Texas Location

The above is a screen shot from my TV a few minutes before watching Sunday Morning's Meet the Press. Those temperatures you are seeing are the wind chill temperatures. I did not realize that at first, and so was mortified thinking it was 18 degrees below zero.

If memory serves correctly the coldest I have ever experienced is 17 degrees below zero, years ago, in Ellensburg in Eastern Washington, where I was going to school. Returning to Ellensburg from Christmas vacation on the west side of the mountains I remember exiting the I-90 freeway and soon seeing a bank's temperature sign saying it was -17 degrees.

And those were real degrees, not wind chill degrees. 

I remember the following weeks that winter in Ellensburg being brutally cold. Walking between classes would cause ice crystals to form in locations like eye lids.

When I looked outside this morning upon awakening I saw a slight dusting of snow. In the past 10 minutes snow has begun descending copiously.

I shall see if I can take a snow falling photo from my computer room window.

Nope. The photo does not match what my eyes see. As in a lot of powdery snow blowing in.

In the above view we are looking slightly southwest. You can see via the flag waving that a strong wind is blowing in from the northwest. It is all that powdery snow which is making it look foggy in the photo.

I was not planning on venturing out today.

But I just got a notification from Amazon that a package is out for delivery. When did the USPS start delivering stuff on Sunday? Today is not the first time something has arrived on a Sunday.

To get to the location of my mailbox involves about 50 feet of outdoor exposure. When I get the notification that the delivery has been made I may work up the courage and sufficient outwear to venture as far as the mailbox.