Walk Around Humid Sikes Lake With Linda Lou

The temperature was only 85 when I made my way to Sikes Lake on this final day of the 2022 version of August.

One would think 85 degrees would feel pleasantly cool after being used to significantly HOTTER temperatures.

Well, one would be thinking wrong, because those 85 degrees felt way warmer than 85, due to rain falling early yesterday evening, which amped up the humidity to a steambath level.

Yesterday's rain was accompanied by a thunderstorm. 

Linda Lou walked around half of Sikes Lake with me today, til she could longer tolerate the HEAT, and had to escape to air conditioned comfort.

As you can see, via the photo documentation, the rain of late has caused the brown grass to become mostly green again.

Semi-Warm Snake-Free Stroll In Lucy Park Jungle

With the temperature somewhere in the 80s, semi-chilly but humid, on this next to last day of the 2022 version of August, it was back to Lucy Park I ventured today, to get some endorphins via fast paced aerobic activity in the backwoods jungle zone of Lucy Park.

During this entire HOT summer I have not seen a single snake.

Fall will soon begin falling. I do not remember ever anticipating with eagerness the first freeze of the year as I currently am after sweating through these past several sweltering months.

I found out this morning that I missed out on getting a coveted Golden Grenade Award, given to select DFW rabble rousers. Apparently, I was to be given this several years ago, at a country club luncheon that I did not feel like attending. No one told me, then, why I was being asked to attend this luncheon.

The weather forecasters keep forecasting possible rain and thunderstorms.

But, no dripping or booming seems to be materializing...

Cloudy Stormy Outlook At Wichita Falls Walmart

What you are seeing here is the view, looking east, across the hood of my vehicle, sitting in a Walmart parking lot, a few minutes before 6 in the late afternoon of the final Tuesday of the 2022 version of August.

The month of August has flown by at warp speed.

It looks like the month may be going out with a bang, if the thunderstorm forecasts are accurate.

Six months ago I was sure I was going to be spending a good chunk of July and August in the Pacific Northwest, with the highlight being sand castle building with David, Theo and Ruby at Birch Bay.

Other than visiting Texas-lite, also known as Oklahoma, I have not exited Texas since 2019.

It just does not feel as if what is known as "normal" has yet returned...

Sweltering Sunday Stroll Through Lucy Park Jungle

With the hordes of Hotter 'N Hell 100 aficionados leaving Wichita Falls on this final Sunday of the 2022 version of August, I returned to Lucy Park for the first time in days, for the acquisition of endorphins via aerobic stimulation via walking at high speed the Lucy Park backwoods jungle.

You cannot tell it via the photo documentation, but the Lucy Park tall grass is now taller than I am. The grass may have reached its peak, signs of autumn are already beginning to arrive.

My phone had informed me, as had the radio weather guy, that the temperature was going to be in the low 80s this morning. Instead, by the time I got to Lucy Park the temperature was a sweltering 95, with high humidity, along with a slow wind, and a few strong gusts bringing some wind chilling.

I do not remember any other year when I was so ready for summer to come to an end...

A Not Hotter 'N Hell Wichita Falls Saturday Sikes Lake Bike Ride With Miss Musty

On this Hotter 'N Hell 100 weekend in Wichita Falls, Texas I opted not to roll my bike's wheels for 100 miles under the sweltering sun.

Instead, I opted for a late Saturday afternoon bike ride which eventually took me to Sikes Lake, and the Sikes Lake Bayou, at the west end of the lake.

Which is what you see above.

Being at the west end of the lake, and looking west, late in the afternoon, explains the effect the sun is having on the scene.

On the opposite side of Sikes Lake, as in the east side, looking west, I stopped at my usual shady spot for a drink of water. However, at this time of day, the sun renders the shade no more. My bike's handlebars are aimed at a small Hoodoo Cairn. Several of these have sprouted up of late.

Earlier today I got in my Google App Move Minutes by walking in Walmart whilst pushing a cart. 

Leaving Walmart this morning I got Miss Musty on the phone and had an amusing chat whilst I returned to my home zone.

Miss Musty sounds like a name for an elderly librarian...

Back To School With Spencer Jack Not In Washington

Email from Favorite Nephew Jason and Spencer Jack arrived last night, with a few photos, and the only text explaining the photos being "Back to School Pictures".

I saw the first photo, the one you see above, and thought, wow, the remodel of Mount Vernon High School has totally changed the look of the school.

Then I saw the next photo.

"Welcome Harvard First Year"? 

I know Spencer Jack is a super smart kid, but I had not been told that he'd skipped his final three high school years, and had gained ultra-early acceptance to Harvard.

 Oh, I guess it is Harvard Law School to which Spencer Jack is matriculating.

Spencer must have decided he wants to be a lawyer like his Aunt Michele...

Dry Bike Wheel Rolling To Freshly Filled Sikes Lake

Today, on the next to last Wednesday of the 2022 version of August, my bike took me, eventually, to Sikes Lake, where I was pleased to see the Sikes Lake Bayou, which you see above, and the rest of Sikes Lake, back at its full pool glory.

The temperature was in the low 80s when I did the wheel rolling, with little wind, and some clouds blocking the sun, at times. Quite pleasant weather conditions for outdoor activity.

Last Saturday I was at Sikes Lake when it was still in desert mode. This was blogged about in Saturday at Drought Dry Sikes Lake.

Quite a difference a few drops of rain make.

The above scene was a desert landscape on Saturday. Today that former desert was a giant mirror.

When I was at Sikes Lake on Saturday, for a walk around, not a bike around, the geese and ducks were seeming subdued, just sitting on the ground, under shade. I think they were being unhappy about their dried up lake.

I have never previously heard the Sikes Lake geese and ducks as noisy with the honking and quacking as was the case today. And they were not sitting. They were in a frenzy of chasing each other. Methinks it was some sort of celebration party...

Cool Flood-Free Lucy Park Visit With Washington Plates

The rain finally stopped dripping on this next to last Tuesday of the 2022 version of August. 

Til today I had not done any nature communing since Saturday. So, with the temperature in the relatively cold lower 80s, I ventured to Lucy Park, not knowing if the Wichta River was in flood mode, or not.

As you can see, the river is not in flood mode. When the Wichita River floods, it floods over the Lucy Park Suspension bridge.

Today was the coolest endorphin acquiring aerobic exercise in many months. There was almost a chill blowing in the air.

And, upon arrival at the Lucy Park log cabin swimming pool parking lot I saw something I rarely see in Texas, and only one other time in Wichita Falls.

 A vehicle with Washington State license plates. The Washington license plate has not changed for decades. It is red, white and blue, with the blue being Mount Rainier.

In addition to the license plate number the words "Evergreen State" are also on license plate.

It seems sort of ironic to have a state's license plate make note of the state being known as the Evergreen State, but with zero green on the license plate.

The Mount Rainier Washington State plate came about as part of Washington's centennial celebration, celebrating the year Washington became a state in 1889.

If I remember right, there was a competition to design the new plate. The winner was picked because of the Mount Rainier aspect, with the claim that Mount Rainier was the only landmark that one can see from virtually any location in the state.

Which actually is not true.

But it is true that you can see Mount Rainier from most locations in Washington State, and when you can't see the Mountain, usually it is because the view is blocked by another mountain, or mountain range.

More rain is predicted in the coming days. So far not enough fell to put an end to the drought...

Staying Dry During Monday Morning Texas Deluge

You are looking at the wet stormy view from my kitchen window on the Monday morning of the 2022 version of August.

Rain began dripping yesterday, increasing in intensity as the dripping dripped hour after hour.

Driving by Sikes Lake, late Sunday afternoon, I saw the lake is back full of water, with no dry desert-like land exposed, unlike Saturday, when much of the lake was dried up.

I do not know, yet, if I can make it to my vehicle without requiring hip waders to make it dry to its location. I do not recollect, previously, seeing so much water surrounding my abode.

If I am able to make it to my vehicle, in a couple hours I will see if I can drive to Lake Wichita and see if water is flowing over that lake's dam spillway for the first time in a real long time...

Texas Cold Front Chills To 76 Degrees With Thunder & Rain

Rain has arrived, along with some thunder thumping. And a much anticipated break from day after day after day after day of being way too HOT, way too often over 100 degrees HOT.

So far, not enough rain has dripped to put an end to the drought, but it looks like, maybe, according to the forecast, by Thursday the current drought may be over.

When rain falls in copious amounts, at my location, a sort of moat forms, surrounding my abode, making exiting to the outdoors a bit of a challenge. So far, that has not happened. 

Flash flooding is also on the current weather menu. That takes rain in copious amounts, which, as previously mentioned, has not yet happened.

Currently, at the moment, nothing is dripping from the sky. If that continues to be the case I see a visit to the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area in my future on this third Sunday of the 2022 version of August.

The Wichita Bluffs Nature Area is pretty much void of any shade, hence avoiding that location when it is way too HOT...

Saturday At Drought Dry Sikes Lake

 It was to Sikes Lake I ventured this third Saturday of the 2022 version of August, to do some nature communing, with endorphin acquisition, ahead of the predicted deluge which may put an end to the current drought.

As you can see, via the photo documentation above, and below, Sikes Lake is running out of water.

At the top that is the Sikes Lake Bayou at the west end of the lake, currently with no water flowing into the lake.

Further along the trail we come to a section of Sikes Lake which looks to have totally dried up, and is somehow sprouting some greenery, despite the lack of water. 

You cannot see it in the above photo, but at the far east end of this dry section of Sikes Lake a small pond remains.

The above is the aforementioned small pond. A pair of white egrets are the two white dots you see on the right side of the pond.

If the weather forecasters are forecasting accurately, and sometimes they do, on my next visit to Sikes Lake it should be re-filled...

Anacortes Fidalgo Drive-In With Grandpa Jake Blackberries & Spencer Jack Burgers

When last I spoke with my Favorite Nephew Jason I asked if it has been difficult dealing with inflation, with his Fidalgo Drive-In restaurant. Jason indicated it was being difficult. I think, if I remember right, he also mentioned supply issues. I do not remember Jason indicating he had a labor shortage issue.

And then, yesterday, I got email from Jason with three photos, some text, and a job offer.

The text with the job offer...

I'd thought you'd enjoy seeing how the Fidalgo Drive-In is dealing with the nation-wide labor shortage.

Today, your brother picked the berries for the milkshakes, and Spencer made the burgers.

If you would like to trade work for lodging, I have bedrooms available. Currently I'm needing cashiers.  How are your customer service skills?  

 Above is Spencer Jack doing some burger assembling.

And then there is Spencer Jack's grandpa, my little brother, Jake, holding the box of blackberries he apparently picked in exchange for his current lodging at the Jones Family Compound on Beaver Marsh Road in the Skagit Flats.

As for my potential cashier career, I assume I have excellent customer services skills, what with my naturally charming personality and constantly pleasant demeanor...

Cold Front Blows Into Texas With Rain Maybe

 Brrrrr.

Nowhere near 100 degrees today. Cloudy, with a supposedly 90% chance of rain, along with a 54% chance of thunderstorms.

I have not yet seen a drip drop or heard a thunder boom. Of late there have been several days when possible rain is on the menu, with none precipitating.

I suspect that today there will be some drippage, and possible booming, due to the fact that we are under a total cloud cover this morning. Nothing blue to see in the sky. Just gray. A menacing shade of gray.

Today I Had A Walmart Wardrobe Malfunction

One of my pathetically regular entertainments is to go to Walmart in a sort of anthropological expedition frame of mine, marveling at the number of people who apparently do not have a mirror at home.

Or don't care how they look when they look in the mirror.

Of late it has been way too many way too big women stuffed into way too short shorts. With tattoos. And piercings.

So, today I had myself a judge not lest ye be judged moment, related to Walmart.

I needed milk. And so, instead of getting my daily dose of endorphins via aerobic walking stimulation in an outdoor venue, I opted to get the endorphins in the air-conditioned comfort of Walmart.

My Walmart walking attire was simple. Sandals, cargo shorts, t-shirt. That's it.

When I put on the cargo shorts and bent over to strap in the sandals I heard a slight tearing noise. I felt around and felt no disruption in the cargo short material.

So, I drove the short distance to Walmart. Exited the vehicle and thought, well, the breeze is feeling extra refreshing today.

Inside Walmart the air-conditioning seemed extra cooling.

I got in my miles of Walmart walking and then drove back home, where I took off my walking clothes to put on my making lunch clothes.

When I took off the cargo shorts I instantly was mortified to see a HUGE tear in the back pocket zone.

A HUGE hole. Which is what you see photo documented above.

I do not know how much bare flesh was exposed as I walked around Walmart, oblivious to the possible spectacle.

I hope no one took a photo that will show up on Facebook as part of the "People of Walmart" series...

Shady Hot Lucy Park Walk Looking For T-Shirt With A Skunk

It was back to Lucy Park I escaped this third Monday of the 2022 version of August, to get myself some shady outdoor escape from the relentless HOT heat.

Even the shade is looking HOT in the above photo documentation. The temperature was barely into the 90s, with a cooling steady wind blowing.

I do not ever recollect looking forward to the coming cooler months to the degree I am currently anticipating the pleasant need to layer on the outerwear in order to keep warm.

Speaking of outerwear.

Someone, we shall not name, living in Appomattox, Virginia, used Amazon to try and send me the above t-shirt. This particular individual regularly refers to me as a "STINKER", hence, I guess, the skunk on a gray t-shirt.

Amazon has indicated to the Virginian that the package was delivered to my mailbox, last Friday.

However, there was no package from Amazon in my mailbox, last Friday, or Saturday, or today.

So, if anyone in my neighborhood sees someone wearing an extra large gray t-shirt, with a skunk on it, please ask them to return it to its rightful owner.

On second thought, no, just tell them to keep the purloined t-shirt.

Who knows what pathogens the t-shirt may have acquired since leaving its Amazon packaging...

HOT Saturday Stroll Around Lucy Park

 

It was to Lucy Park I drove, again, on this second Saturday of the 2022 version of August.

The temperature was about 10 degrees short of being 100. Little wind was blowing. Humidity was high.

I got too HOT.

When I came upon the Lucy Park suspension bridge there were two women trying to work up the courage to cross the Wichita River via this bridge.

They were only a couple feet on to the bridge when the motion unsettled and panicked them.

One of the two women was of the extremely plus-sized sort.

I can see how being a plus-sized sort might make the bridge sway oscillations more un-nerving than it is for a not plus-sized person, such as myself.

The Lucy Park suspension bridge was renovated a few months ago, with new cables and deck planks. After the renovation crossing the bridge is more of a thrill ride than was the pre-renovation bridge.

Yesterday my choice of exercise was a bike ride. I made mention of this in Rolling To The Shrinking Sikes Lake Bayou. The HOT heat is less annoying when rolling along on wheels, creating your own wind chill factor.

Tomorrow I will be going on a bike ride, maybe all the way to Lucy Park...

Rolling To The Shrinking Sikes Lake Bayou

The Sikes Lake Bayou, also known as the creek which delivers the water to Sikes Lake which makes it a lake, is no longer flowing any water into the lake, which is in the process of quickly drying up, also known as evaporating.

My bike stopped at the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake so I could take the photo you see above. As you can see, what looks to be a natural dam, but actually is a wall of dried mud, is damming any water from making its way into the lake.

The temperature was barely in the 90s when I began rolling my bike's wheel, north, on the Circle Trail, this second Friday of the 2022 version of August.

There is little cooling wind today, which makes those 90s feeling hotter.

I prefer a bit of a wind chill to be happening...

A Brother Like No Other Shady Walking In Lucy Park

I drove to Lucy Park about an hour before noon, for the first time in a couple days, to do some shady nature communing whilst acquiring endorphins via fast walking.

As you can see the Lucy Park foliage does a fairly good job of sun blocking. And flowers seem to be thriving in the day after day after day of HOT heat. 

The temperature today is not scheduled to hit 100 or above. Just a nice, pleasant day, cooled to the mid 90s.

When I got back to my abode I checked the mailbox, and among what I found was what you see below.

It really is true, I am a brother like no other, and people really should celebrate my goodness, generosity, warmth and spirit.

Especially my spirit. 

I have always been such a spiritual person...

Rolling By Dry Desert Drought Of Sikes Lake

My bike rolled me a few miles north on the Circle Trail this morning. A bike ride seemed like a possibly fun thing, what with the temperature barely in the 80s, and some cloud blockage of the sun.

Eventually I rolled to Sikes Lake, which, as you can see via looking over my bike's handlebars, the drought is drying up Sikes Lake.

So far, as far as I know, unlike Lake Mead, no bodies have been revealed resting in the shrinking Sikes Lake.

A possible thunderstorm, with possible rain, is on the weather menu for this afternoon. But, this will likely fizzle out, like most such predictions have fizzled out, of late.

After the dry desert of Sikes Lake it was refreshing to bask in the mist emanating from the MSU (Midwestern State University) fountain.

This current drought is the worst since I have been at this Texas location. Holliday Creek is no longer moving any water. Just a series of isolated ponds remain. What becomes of the fish one sees in Holliday Creek when conditions get this dire?

Hot Humid Hike Through Lucy Park Jungle

Last night a thunderstorm dropped a few drips of rain. By dawn's early light, most of those drips had dried up.

However.

Even though a cold front dropped the temperatures a few degrees, into the low 90s, those raindrops dropping last night amped up the humidity. So, 92 degrees feels way warmer than the relatively chilly 92 degrees should feel.

So, thinking the cooler temperature, and not yet cognizant of the humidity, I drove to Lucy Park for what I thought would be some pleasant nature communing.

I thought wrong. It was HOT.

I walked the Lucy Park undeveloped backwoods jungle section, warily with an eye for anything slithering. I saw zero reptilian activity, not even little lizards.

The photo at the top was taken deep into the Lucy Park jungle.

I have not yet seen a single snake slither this year. Maybe that ultra-deep freeze, below zero, two winters ago, killed off the snake population.

Possible thunderstorming is on the weather menu for today. So far I have heard no rumbles, and the sky is mostly blue.

Cheaper Gas Fills Tank For First Time In Months

Today, on this first Sunday of the 2022 version of August, I filled my gas tank to the fully filled level, for the first time in what seems a long time.

As you can see it took 19.71 gallons to fill the tank, for a total of only $68.18. That works out to being $3.45 per gallon.

I think the last time I got gas it was about a dollar more than $3.45.

A year ago, $3.45 a gallon would have seemed absurdly high, and now, with just a few months of psychological conditioning, $3.45 seems like a bargain...

Mom & Dad's 71st Wedding Anniversary With All Their Children

The photo you see here was taken July 27, 2002, at the fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington. We were there for a BIG family reunion.

Around ten years later I opened a Christmas package, and among what I found in the package was an enlarged, framed copy of the photo you see above.

At some point mom had realized this was the last time all mom and dad's children, grandchildren, and current spouses were together at the same time.

In the years that followed the closest mom came to having all her children and grandchildren in the same location was in March of 2018.

That March of 2018 I was in Arizona, when at my sister Jackie's house a pool party erupted, with brother Jake, me, Jackie, brother-in-law, Jack, sister Michele, and five of mom's grandchildren, Christopher, Jeremy, David, Theo and Ruby.

That was a fun day. I don't know why Jason, Joey and Spencer Jack weren't there. Hank Frank had not yet been born.

In that photo of the last time mom and dad had all their kids at one place, that is mom and dad sitting. From the left you are looking at Jeremy, Michele, Christopher, me, Nancy, Jack, Jackie, Jake (Jake's wife at the time, Jill) Jason and Joey.

Who would have thought, way back in 2002, that the majority of those in that photo would no longer be living in Washington, with eight in the photo moved to Arizona, including mom and dad.

I hope mom and dad are having a mighty fine happy anniversary, wherever they are today....

Revisiting Sarah Palin & The Confederacy Of MAGA Dunces

The above is a screen shot of part of a blog post from way back in 2010. Back then "Confederacy of Dunces" is what we now refer to as MAGATs. Or Right Wing Nutjobs.

Yesterday someone named Anonymous commented regarding this old blog post. I found that comment to be amusing. Which then caused me to read that blog post, again, to find there were several amusing comments made, way back then. And that blog post includes a video full of right wing nutjobs, giving us a fair warning of the utter nuttery to come in six more years.

First yesterday's comment, then the comments from way back in 2010. And click the link to the blog post to watch the video. It's worth the bother...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sarah Palin & The Anonymous Confederacy Of Dunces":

Popular for hateful people to HATE Sarah Palin. And to hate anyone that is right, true , loving and good. After all, she’s a healthy, hardworking, God loving MOTHER , and leader. Oh, and of course she’s not on the pro abortion slaughter Campaign. She actually respects life. Loves children. Wow. The venom on this site is horrific. All to cover up the God bashing and immoral culture of the Democratic Party. I pray for you all that are so far from God. He is our only hope. We could all learn a better lifestyle with Sarah palin as a role model. For the love of God our creator—STOP THE HATRED AND SLANDER. GET ON your KNEES AND PRAY.

And now the comments from way back in 2010....

Anonymous said...

At least Ms. Palin chooses to identify herself and stand behind what she says, be it right or wrong.

Most unliike yourself, who seems to be afraid or ashamed to let your identity be known.

Of course, now you will dismiss my statement as I have chosen not to identify myself.

Identify who you are, and I will do likewise. Of course I know you won't as people like you like to hide in a cloud of anonymity so that your silly little ego trip can go on and on.

You really are a moron!

Calamity June said...

Where do you find them, Durango? These dunces like Anonymous, I mean? And he/she/it calls you a moron? This Anonymous moron is so moronic it can't figure out your identity? What is it? Two clicks to reading your name, phone number and address? That and how many people who read your blog have you met in person, thus know your identity?

Why do you publish comments from stupid people like this? I'll hazard to guess it's because you find it funny that someone as moronic as those in the Sarah Palin video is making a similar clueless comment.

Durango said...

CJ---You guessed correctly as to why I hit the publish button on Anonymous. She/he/it is too stupid to see the irony.

I also love how I'm anonymous, with how many pictures of me floating about and how many times saying where I'm gonna be at a particular time?

This particular Anonymous has been making pretty much the same comment over and over again for a few days. I think I have hit the publish button on only one.

Do you have any desire to know the identity of this Anonymous? Me neither. You can just tell he/she/it is a creepy troll. There will likely be another Anonymous comment to this comment, telling me again what a moron I am. I likely won't hit the publish button on that one. Unless I find it amusing.

Anonymous said...

Durango, you shouldn't indulge trolls like that Anonymous creep. They are a plague on civil discussion everywhere and acknowledging them only gives them attention they are craving. You probably already knew that, because I do see what you mean by the irony of this Anonymous person commenting as stupidly as all those stupid Palin lovers. I'm commenting as Anonymous. But I'm not the stupid Anonymous.

 

Drifter said...

Why the phony picture? Sarah wouldn't be caught with a BB gun...

106 Degrees Walking Walmart With FNJ & Linda Lou In La Conner

My Favorite Nephew Jason, also known as FNJ, went walking with me in Walmart, late, this afternoon. Jason had multiple items of interest to me to impart. 

One item of interest is that Spencer Jack has his learner's permit and is currently learning to drive, but finds the relentless heavy traffic to be daunting.  The Skagit Valley is no longer the laid back low traffic zone it was when I was Spencer Jack's age.

And then there is Linda Lou, who sent a text to my phone today, asking "Where in the PNW is Linda Lou?" with a photo included as my PNW clue.

Well, this one is easy. Linda Lou is at the park, with tall evergreen trees, under the shadow of LaConner's Rainbow Bridge, part of which we see through the trees.

La Conner is the Skagit Valley's number one tourist town.

La Conner's Rainbow Bridge is one of three bridges connected to Fidalgo Island. One is the Highway 20 bridge, a few miles north of La Conner. The other is the Deception Pass Bridge, which connects Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island.

These are real islands, not imaginary islands like one finds in Fort Worth, Texas. And these three bridges were built over actual water, with one of them, the Deception Pass Bridge, built over fast moving, deep water.

Built in less than one year, almost a century ago.

Fort Worth builds bridges over dry land, taking many years to do so, and then hope to one day dig a ditch under the bridges, and fill that ditch with Trinity River water and then pretend they have created an island, and a tourist worthy waterfront attraction.

People reading about Fort Worth's bridges and imaginary islands in saner locations in America, and the world, think I make up this stuff, but no, it is totally real. Hard to believe, but true...

Hank Frank Visiting Grandpa Jake In Washington

I text messaged my little brother this morning, wondering if he was still in Washington, enjoying that zone's heat wave, or back in Arizona enjoying that zone's heat wave, and recent dust storm.

Quick came a reply telling me my little brother is still up in Washington, and is in no hurry to return to the Valley of the Relentless Sun.

I then asked if my little brother was somewhere in the Skagit Valley, or elsewhere.

The reply to that probing question was an address on Beaver Marsh Road, in the Skagit Flats.

Seeing that address I then knew my little brother was staying in the Jones Family Compound, in nephew Jason's house, next to nephew Joey's house.

Which is also where Hank Frank lives.

After I replied saying, oh, you're currently living next door to Hank Frank. And asked if he was having fun playing with Hank Frank, who is my little brother's youngest grandson, the next text informed me that Hank Frank drives over for a visit, frequently.

That final text message included the composite photo you see above, with on the left we see Hank Frank doing the aforementioned driving to visit grandpa, followed by his walking mother, Monique. 

I do not know where Hank Frank is in the photo on the right. Inside grandpa Jake's temporary domicile, or at home in his own domicile. I suspect the answer is the latter....

David, Theo & Ruby In Washington, D.C. National Harbor With Big Hands & Marilyn Monroe

Final photos from the Tacoma Trio's visit to the Washington, D.C. area. In the first photo they are climbing on some sculptures in the sand, near National Harbor.

Here the Tacoma Trio is walking with some National Harbor Street Art. In this example, Marilyn Monroe getting her dress lifted by a gust of air blowing out of a New York City subway.

Above Ruby and Theo are standing in the Gaylord Hotel pool. I don't know what they have done with David.

Above Theo, David and Ruby are the rooftop bar deck of the Gaylord Hotel.

And here they are riding on the Capitol Wheel, with the Gaylord Hotel in the background.

I assume the Tacoma Trio and their parental units made it back to the other Washington, without delay, and are currently back home in Tacoma...

Inside Mount Vernon Staying Cool In Lucy Park

On this first Tuesday of the 2022 version of August I drove to Lucy Park for a cool late morning walk in the shade. The temperature was in the 90s. Cooling gusts of wind blew. 

If I were up north in my old home zone of Western Washington I would also be sweltering in extreme heat, with most people not having air-conditioning. However, several of the people I know up in Washington do have air-conditioning, including the Tacoma Trio, David, Theo and Ruby, who are currently flying back home after several days of exploring the other Washington.

A couple days ago when I asked Where In D.C. And/Or Surrounding States Are David, Theo & Ruby? we saw a photo of the trio in front of Mount Vernon, the one in Virginia where George Washington when he wasn't fighting Indians, or the British, or living in the White House.

I asked the Tacoma Trio's Mama Michele if they got to tour George's home. In reply I got two illustrative photos and interesting explanatory text, which we shall see below with the two photos...

Yes, we got to go inside and through the first two floors. It was weird to think about George Washington walking up the same stairs, touching the same handrail, etc.

I only took two pics inside - the first room we got in because I thought I could get the fam reflected in the mirror (didn’t work) and one of the last rooms, his study. He built the desk in the middle and the thing hanging down was a fan operated by his feet! The green color of the first room is notable because the color came from copper and signified wealth. 

They say the rooms look as they did when he died in 1799. Perhaps the most notable thing to me was that the rooms (bedrooms, parlors, dining rooms) were all quite small, even though the mansion appears grand, and that there were no bathrooms. Most old homes have been retrofitted, but not this one!!

Also interesting was that the exterior is wood made to look like stone, so that it appeared grander and more expensive than it was. They applied sand to the wood to give it the feel of stone!! There were also lots of outbuildings with signs that told you what it was back in the day. And we saw slave quarters, the Washington’s tomb, and the enslaved workers burial area, which was originally unmarked, but people have tried to right that wrong.

To get to George Washington's house we took a Lyft (my first time using a ride service because I like taxis, but there aren’t any at National Harbor) to old town Alexandria and then boarded a boat for Mount Vernon.

________________________

More photos arrived in the email this morning. We shall be seeing those tomorrow...

Where In D.C. And/Or Surrounding States Are David, Theo & Ruby?

That was the question I was being asked about seven photos emailed to me last night.

"Where in D.C. and/or surrounding states are David, Theo and Ruby?"

As made mention of previously, the Tacoma Trio, Ruby, Theo and David, are currently in the other Washington, Washington, D.C., where they are taking their parental units on a tour of iconic Washington, D.C. locations, and, apparently, locations, in states surrounding D.C., such as the above visit to Virginia, to the namesake of the town I lived in before moving to Texas, Mount Vernon, George Washington's home.

Above, I believe Ruby, David and Theo are visiting the memorial to our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson.

And this looks like Mama Michele has joined the Tacoma Trio at the Vietnam War Memorial. 

This one is totally a guess. Are they in the Smithsonian Institute? Looking at some famous piece of jewelry? A Jackie Kennedy pearl necklace? Or some such thing?

The Albert Einstein Memorial Statue. Nice that Einstein got sort of a whimsical tribute for someone so serious, you know, figuring out all sorts of possible things, like atom bombs, among many works of physics, like the Theory of Relativity, and other things I don't understand.

The above is known in Washington, D.C. as the Love Wall, designed by Lisa Marie Thalhammer, located in Blagden Alley.

And now we have headed a bit north and east, to Maryland, and what is known as the National Harbor, with the Ferris wheel known as the Capital Wheel in the distance.

So, how did I do, figuring out where in D.C. and surrounding states, David, Theo and Ruby were?

UPDATE: I missed seeing the following two photos when I first saw the incoming email...

My guess would be that, above, the Tacoma Trio are in the Smithsonian standing by a World War II torpedo.

And, the I Love You sign is likely near that aforementioned Capital Wheel and National Harbor...