New Lake Wichita Park Kayak Launch Dock Finally Floats With Bug Bites

It was to Lake Wichita Park I ventured today on this final day of the 2024 version of April. 

Driving onto the parking lot, with Lake Wichita coming into view, I was pleased to see the lake level has greatly risen from the recent downpours.

And for what seems at least a year of being dry docked, the new Lake Wichita kayak launching dock is finally floating.

 
Walking out onto the floating dock for the first time I was surprised that the little wave action was making the dock a bit dizzying to walk on.

This dock will be basically a carnival ride with big waves, methinks.

That slot you see below the stair steps is the kayak launch pad. It slopes into the lake.

I cut my nature communing a bit short today due to being attacked by biting bugs. Of late, after one of my walks, I will find I've been bug bitten, but have never seen the biting bug.

Today, I saw them, multiple little black bugs on my arms. I swatted the first one I saw, which caused a burst of blood, like a mosquito bite, but these were not mosquitoes.

I have never had a mosquito bite in Texas. In Washington I never went a Summer without getting at least one annoying mosquito bite.

I may curtail my nature communing til a good HOT heat wave fries all the bugs...

Microsoft OneDrive Memory Remember Joe T. Garcia's In Fort Worth

Took me a moment or two to remember this Microsoft Windows OneDrive Memory from this Day.

I think the year was 2002. The location is Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Restaurant, in the Stockyards zone of Fort Worth.

We had Chicken Fajitas and two Pitchers of Margaritas. This made for some fun after leaving Joe T. Garcia's to walk the main drag of the Stockyards.

The outdoor patio area of Joe T.'s is quite the site to see. I believe the pool is no longer there. Too many incidents of people ending up in the pool who did not want to end up in the pool.

The first time my mom and dad visited me in Texas, was in, I think, October of 2001.

9/11 had happened. The world was not anywhere near back to normal. But, I took mom and dad to lunch at Joe T. Garcia's where we had chili rellenos. No Pitchers of Margaritas. I think that visit we also went to Riscky's BBQ in the Stockyards and had the all you can eat ribs.

It gets hard to remember details as one gets increasingly elderly. These daily memories from Microsoft help...

Another Night Of Heavy Rain Has The Sikes Lake Dam In Waterfall Mode

Last night I was once again awakened from a peaceful slumber by thunder booming, hail hitting my windows and a ferocious wind blowing.

Apparently, several tornadoes touched down in the Wichita Falls area during this storm, with no damage reported so far. These tornadoes must have been outside the city limits, as I heard no tornado sirens blaring.

There is no missing the tornado sirens. They are like a regular siren on extra loud steroids.

It was to Sikes Lake I ventured for some salubrious nature communing on this final Sunday of the 2024 version of April. The sky is still cloudy, but those clouds do not look to be threatening rain or lightning.

As I neared the Sikes Lake dam I could hear the peaceful sound of water loudly falling. As you can see copious amounts of water is spilling over the spillway.

Due to the rain, and the semi-HOT temperature, humidity is high. I am not a fan of high humidity...

Windy Stormy Saturday For Today's Wichita Falls Sheppard Air Show

I had planned to go north to Sheppard Air Force Base on this final Saturday of the 2024 version of April to watch the Sheppard Air Show. 

I watched the Sheppard Air Show my first year in Wichita Falls. It was entertaining. And HOT. It took place at the end of September, that year.

As you can see, via the map gleaned from Facebook via the Wichita Falls Times News Record Facebook page, a wide swath of the Midwest is being stormy today, with Wichita Falls right in the middle of it.

Knowing that today was predicted to be stormy the people putting on the Sheppard Air Show let it be known that bad weather might cancel some of the show. 

So far, no rain, no lightning, no tornadoes. But, a really strong wind blows constantly, with gusts blowing even stronger. I suspect the wind has wreaked havoc with today's air show.

Day two of the Sheppard Air Show happens tomorrow, a Sunday predicted to have pleasant weather...

What Does Fort Worth Have That Dallas Does Not?

The above is a screen cap from yesterday's blog post. That blog post generated an amusing comment from someone going by the unusual name of Anonymous.

Below is that comment from Anonymous...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Fort Worth One Of The Most Breathtaking Skylines In America?":

Q: What does Fort Worth have that Dallas does not?

A: A major city nearby.

A prominent TCU professor has said that Fort Worth is the dumbest city in the dumbest county in the dumbest state.

Fort Worth no longer has a downtown central library. Seattle and Austin have incredible central libraries. Foat Wuth dont need no grand palace for that book learnin, boy!

_______________________

I suppose it is a tad mean-spirited to make fun of Fort Worth.

But, the town sort of invites it.

For over two decades the town has had a mess at the north side of its downtown, known as the Trinity River Vision. A vision which sees much needed flood control where there has been no flooding for well over half a century, due to flood prevention levees already in place.

Late in the previous century Dallas came up with its own Trinity River Vision type vision. That vision included three signature bridges over the Trinity River. Two of those bridges have become reality.

Fort Worth copied the Dallas vision near the start of the current century. The Fort Worth vision also saw three signature bridges. Fort Worth has built all three bridges, taking over seven years to do so. Over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

The Fort Worth signature bridges turned out to be ordinary looking freeway overpass type bridges, nothing signature about them, unlike the Dallas bridges which have become iconic Dallas images.

One day, in the future, Fort Worth hopes to dig a cement lined ditch under those three little bridges, then divert Trinity River water into the ditch, thus creating the imaginary island.

Like I said, Fort Worth sort of invites being made fun of...

Is Fort Worth One Of The Most Breathtaking Skylines In America?

 

Another interesting Microsoft Windows Edge browser Start Page gallery of photos. This gallery purports to name The 30 most breathtaking skylines in America. I do not know if the link to the skylines works in all browsers or mobile devices.

The text at the start of the gallery of skyline photos...

The 30 most breathtaking skylines in America

The US is a wide and diverse land of intense and unique bursts of development, with higher buildings and more interesting structures popping up each year. These skylines emerge like a fingerprint of each city, revealing their characteristics through architecture, atmosphere, and culture. Check out this gallery to see the top 30 skylines in the country.

I assume the list of 30 is ranking the skylines in order, what with the list starting with Washington, D.C., a town which really does not have much of a skyline and ending with New York City at #2 and Chicago at #1.

I would have guessed New York City would be the town thought to have the most breathtaking skyline.

I am familiar with the skyline which was right behind New York City.

Seattle, WA

The combination of the Space Needle Observation Tower and Mount Rainer looming in the background makes Seattle's skyline hard to forget.

Seattle does get a bit of a boost, breathtaking skyline wise, what with there being mountains no matter which direction you look, east, west, south and north.

I am also familiar with the breathtaking skyline 5 spots below Seattle.

Dallas, TX

Dallas' skyline isn't extremely new, and although it has high-rises like the Bank of America Plaza (which reaches 921 ft), its best feature is the colorful, interactive lighting that adds a layer of festivity and celebration to this already beautiful skyline.

The Dallas skyline is impressive after dark. Nice during the day too.

Further down the list are two other Texas towns, Austin and Houston.

I was impressed with both Austin and Houston's skyline upon my first visit to both towns.

When I see lists like this, remembering my experience of living in Fort Worth, a town which has a kind of civic inferiority complex, due to being sort of the homely little sister to handsome big brother, Dallas.

Anytime there is any sort of positive mention made of Fort Worth, no matter how remote, the locals, well, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and others, make a big deal of it. 

Such as, recently a British travel writer wrote a column published in a UK newspaper touting Fort Worth as now being the coolest town in Texas, replacing Austin in that cool distinction. I read the article and found it rather delusional, and odd, real odd.

I wonder how long a list of America's Most Breathtaking Skylines would have to be before Fort Worth showed up on the list. 100? 200?

Looking At America's Most Beautiful Sites & Colorful Tulips

I saw that which you see here via Microsoft/s Windows Edge browser's Start Page, a photo gallery purporting to be America's Most Beautiful Sites And Destinations.

The text explaining this collection of beautiful American sites...

America the beautiful

America is home to some of the most beautiful sights on the planet, from teetering skyscrapers to wildflower meadows and glacier-filled national parks. Here we take a virtual tour of the USA's most stunning places and attractions to inspire your next stateside trip.

I do not know if the America's Most Beautiful Sites And Destinations link will work in all types of browsers and mobile devices.

The above screen cap is page 1 of this gallery. Upon seeing it I thought it looked to be a tulip field in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley.

Upon reaching Beautiful Site #22 I had confirmation this was a photo of a tulip field in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley.

The text accompanying the photo...

Skagit Valley, Washington

In the northwest corner of Washington state lies a valley that could have been plucked straight from the Netherlands. Come spring, millions of kaleidoscopic tulips, irises, and daffodils spread out in neat ribbons, brightening over 1,000 acres in Skagit Valley. It's one of the best floral displays in the western States.

There were three other beautiful American sites in my old home zone of Washington state. Mount Rainier and the mountain's wildflowers, the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, and the hills of the Palouse in Eastern Washington.

My current home zone of Texas has three of America's most beautiful sites. The bluebonnets of Texas Hill Country, the Hamilton Pool Preserve, and Caddo Lake.

Of the Texas beautiful sites I have only been to one, that being the bluebonnets of Texas Hill Country. The bluebonnets, along with other wildflowers, really are a beautiful site to see..

A Windy Wavy Lake Wichita Dam Boardwalk Dock Walk

It was to Lake Wichita Dam I ventured today for some windy walking on the dam and the boardwalk and floating dock. In the above photo we are at the end of the boardwalk, looked west, with that little pimple on the horizon being Mount Wichita.

Those sticks you see sticking up beyond the boardwalk's railing, are all that remains of the pavilion which was a big tourist attraction starting early in the previous century. There was a roller rink, dance floor, swimming pool, and other amenities.

The Lake Wichita Pavilion burned down in the 1950s, with only those pier sticks sticking out of the water remaining.

The lake now has enough water to float the Lake Wichita floating fishing dock. This dock was dry docked the last time I was at this location. But, today it is back floating, and rocking and rolling with the waves.

Now we are on the rocking and rolling dock. With the waves looks a tad menacing. Again, that pimple on the horizon is Mount Wichita.

More rain is on the weather menu in the coming days. Maybe Lake Wichita will finally get enough water to be back at full pool...

The Pack Of Sikes Lake Coyotes Continues To Chase Away The Geese

The temporary return to Winter ended yesterday, with the return to a clear blue sky and the sun heating the air to a warm temperature.

This 4th Monday of the 2024 version of April is another warm, clear blue sky day. And so I drove to Sikes Lake this morning to commune with nature and to acquire some endorphins via aerobic stimulation.

The recently installed Sikes Lake pack of coyotes seems to have had the intended effect, scaring the geese flock to move to a new location.

However, the coyotes do not seem to worry blue herons. You can see a blue heron at the top left of the photo, in the direction the coyote is looking.

I wonder where the geese that survived the mass execution of 384 geese have moved to. I saw a few geese at Lake Wichita Park yesterday. I do not recollect previously seeing geese at that location...

Sunny Sunday In The Park With Mount Wichita

Rain dripped for many hours yesterday, along with a lot of thunder booms. But, on this third Sunday of the 2024 version of April, a clear blue sky has returned, with nary a cloud to be seen, no matter what direction one looks.

So, it was to Lake Wichita Park I drove today, hoping to see the lake level higher than the last time I was at this location.

Well, all that rain does not seem to have had much impact on Lake Wichita.

There were a lot of people in the park today, enjoying the sunny Sunday, including multiple people trying to catch fish, and having no luck hooking anything.

I do not recollect previously seeing so many hikers making the treacherous trek to the summit of Mount Wichita as I saw today.

I would think the brown color on the mountain would be muddy. I did not feel like finding out if that is the case.

Have I ever made mention of the fact that Mount Wichita, a manmade mountain, was made from mud dredged from Sikes Lake, back in, I think, the 1990s. 

Methinks Sikes Lake needs to be dredged again, with another mountain made next to Mount Wichita, making for twin peaks...

Return Of Winter To Wichita Falls With Lightning Strikes & Rain

Winter has returned on this 3rd Saturday of the 2024 version of April.

Overnight a thunderstorm came to town, dripping copious amounts of water. 

Along with the rain and lightning strikes, cold air also came to town.

It is so chilly I felt compelled to switch my interior climate control device from air-conditioning mode to heat mode.

I do not recollect previously switching to heat mode, this time of year, at my current Texas location.

Colorful Wildseed Farm Visit In Fredericksburg Texas

A Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, which I actually remember. Earlier in this current century, around this time of year, I drove south to Texas Hill Country, with Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock State Park as the intended destinations.

Fredericksburg was the first Washington style themed type towns I found in Texas. Fredericksburg is sort of German themed, due to all the German settlers who settled in this location.

Washington has a German Bavarian themed town called Leavenworth. It is a bit more developed, theme-wise, than Fredericksburg. Both have German-themed McDonald's. 

At Fredericksburg I came upon a mass of various colors, of wildflowers, at a farm called Wildseed Farms.

Wildseed Farms reminded me of Roozengarde in my old Skagit Valley home zone. Only Roozengarde is all about the colorful tulips, whilst Wildseed Farms is about a variety of colorful wildflowers.

Both are super busy tourist traps...

Walk Around Sikes Lake With Pink Evening Primroses

Since I last walked around Sikes Lake a couple days ago, the lake has become surrounded by pink evening primroses, one of my favorite Texas wildflowers.

If memory serves the evening primroses are usually the first wildflower I see when wildflower season starts up.

My first encounter with evening primroses happened way back late in the previous century, when I drove to Texas, from Washington, to see if moving was something I might want to do.

It was at some point east of Amarillo, heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone, on Highway 287, that I began seeing pink flowers carpeting the landscape alongside the freeway.

At some point I felt compelled to geta closer look at these delicate looking flowers, so I got off the freeway to get a good look and a good photo.

It was a year or two later I came to learn the name of these pink wildflowers.

Texas wildflowers are sort of a natural wild version of coloring up the landscape like my old home zone does with cultivated flowers of various types, like tulips, daffodils and others I am not remembering.

The State Wildflower of Texas is known as the bluebonnet. I see few bluebonnets at my current Texas location, during wildflower season.

In my old home zone of Washington I would see bluebonnets, only in Washington the flower is known as a lupine. I recollect seeing a lot of lupines blooming the last time I was at Mount Rainier, August 11, 2008.

I recollect remarking that I did not know Texas bluebonnets blossomed in Washington, to find myself being told that those are lupines.

Googling "lupine" I learned the following...

Lupinus, commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur in North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Maybe Texas needs to consider what the State Wildflower is... 

Ferry Boating To Washington's San Juan Islands & Beyond

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook. Such puts me in mind of how different it is where I live now, than where I lived the majority of my existence on planet Earth.

From my abode in Mount Vernon I could drive a few miles to the east and be in the Cascade Mountain foothills.

Drive a few miles west and I could be at a saltwater beach, digging for clams, or jigging for crabs.

From Anacortes I could hop a Washington State Ferry and float to the various San Juan Islands. Or float to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.

The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Hence way less rain than the Western Washington locations located closer to the Cascade Mountains.

You can drive your vehicle onto a Washington ferry. Or just walk on. Or take your bike. I've done all three, with the vehicle option the most frequent.

There are no ferry boats or saltwater beaches or mountains in any direction, hundreds of miles, from my current location...

Remembering Being Enchanted In Texas Hill Country

That which you see here showed up a couple minutes ago in my email, in the daily email from Microsoft OneDrive of Memories from this Day.

Took me a moment to remember that it was around this time of year that I hiked to the summit of Enchanted Rock, down south in Texas Hill Country.

It was prime wildflower season.

Getting into Enchanted Rock State Park can be challenging. It is extremely popular, and only so many are let into the park at a time. I was lucky and managed to get in without a long wait in line.

A True Washingtonian Knows A Geoduck When He Sees One

Saw that which you see here, on Facebook, this morning. With text saying, "You know you're a true Washingtonian if you can pronounce 'geoduck' properly."

Well. I am a true former Washingtonian and I know how to pronounce the name of this giant clam.

Gooey Duck.

In my old home zone of the Skagit Valley there is a location called Samish Island, which has not been an actual island since early in the previous century, due to Dutch dike builders blocking off the saltwater, so as to create more farmland.

Samish Island is a clam diggers paradise. 

On an extremely low tide, a sandbar appears. You have to wade through semi-deep water to reach this sandbar. And, once you do you, are at a location known for growing a lot of geoducks.

When you start digging for a clam, after spotting the telltale sign in the sand, you don't know if it is gonna be a horse clam or hit the jackpot with it being a giant geoduck.

Horse clams greatly outnumber the geoduck population.

I can not remember when last I had homemade clam chowder made from freshly dug clams...

Belated Michele Happy Birthday From Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle

All day yesterday I thought it was Friday, which had me thinking today was Saturday, April 13, when the day is actually Sunday, April 14.

I learned I was a day off after I texted my little sister, Michele, a Happy Birthday message.

I was hiking the Lucy Park backwoods jungle when Michele texted me back saying, "Uh, that was yesterday!!!!"

This morning I hit the button on a reposting of last year's Happy Birthday To Half Century Plus Baby Sister Michele and could not understand why it showed up after yesterday's afternoon blog post. 

Now that mystery is solved. With a new mystery being wondering if not knowing what day it is is an early dementia indicator.

Anyway, I had my a hot time hiking the Lucy Park backwoods jungle today. The high today will get into the 90s. With a big storm brewing for tomorrow, which I now know is Monday...

Apparently Wichita Falls Is The 22nd Best Place To Live in Texas

I do not know by what criteria USA Today ranked the best places to live in Texas, but, apparently, the town I am currently living in, Wichita Falls, is the 22nd best place to live in Texas.

With Wichita Falls being a better place to live than Frisco, Plano, Denton, Austin, McKinney, Fort Worth and Dallas.

I have been to those towns which are supposedly not as nice a place to live in as Wichita Falls. And I've lived in one of those towns listed.

Fort Worth.

I definitely think Wichita Falls is a much better place to live than Fort Worth. In so many ways.

I think I'd like living in Dallas or Austin...

Happy Birthday To Half Century Plus Baby Sister Michele

On today's date, April 13, over half a century ago, after a long day at Burlington-Edison High School, I drove my 65 Mustang, with Linda Lou onboard, to United General Hospital to meet my new baby sister.

I remember this like it was yesterday.

The arrival of our new sibling was eagerly anticipated. Back then one did not know if the new arrival was going to be a boy or a girl. A long family discussion regarding what to name the new sibling resulted in it being Joey if a boy, Michele if a girl.

That would be Grandma Slotemaker-Jones holding Baby Michele. Michele, being the baby of the family, never got to experience the arrival of a new sibling. I do not remember the arrival of my two oldest siblings. But, I clearly remember the arrival of the sibling that arrived before the arrival of Michele, she being sister Jackie.

Michele liked to go for rides in my aforementioned 65 Mustang.

Michele also liked to drive her own car.

And here we see Michele on a horse with aforementioned sister Jackie. I have zero memory of a horse being in our Burlington yard. No clue where the horse would have come from.

Via the candles on the cake I think I can intuit that the above was from Michele's 4th birthday party. I recognize sister Jackie at the upper right. And next to Jackie, in blue, is Barbara Brown. I do not know who the others are.

The last time I saw Barbara Brown was back in July of 2019, I think. It was at my mom's in Sun Lakes, in Arizona.

I knew Barbara and her husband Dave were visiting Jackie, a stop on a long roadtrip. Jackie did not know if a visit to mom's was going to happen. So, that day I brought up the subject of Barbara Brown, so she'd be fresh on mom's mind, if a visit did happen.

And then around five that afternoon Jackie texted me that they were on their way. I did not let mom know. Barb, Dave, Jackie and Jack arrived. I went outside to greet them.

They walked into mom's house, to the living room, where mom was sitting. I said, "You have some visitors".

I don't know if I have previously mentioned mom had macular degeneration and was thus pretty much blind.

Mom said "Who is it?"

Barbara then said, "Shirley, it's me!" 

To which mom said, recognizing the voice, "Barbara"? 

"Yes, Dave's here too".

Mom then said something like we were talking about you just today.

I don't know if I told this tale very well, but it was a memorable visit. Made mom real happy.

Anyway...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELE!!!!!

Friday Lake Wichita Park Walk With Windy Waves

The second Friday of the 2024 version of April is another totally clear blue-sky day at my location in North Texas.

It was to Lake Wichita Park I drove this morning to do some high speed walking in order to get me some endorphins.

Recent rain has made Lake Wichita not quite as dried up as it has been for months. But, insufficient rain has made its way to the new Lake Wichita dock which has been waiting a long, long time to float for the first time.

I think the purpose of this dock is to serve as a kayak launch pad, if the lake ever gets enough water to float a boat.

A steady strong wind was a-blowing today. You cannot tell it via the photo documentation, but the wind was whipping up waves with whitecaps. 

No one was seen trying to surf the waves...

Endorphin Acquisition At Sikes Lake With No Geese, Swimming Or Boat Floating

It has been a day or two since I have gotten myself an endorphin fix via aerobic stimulation. I get grumpy when I don't get some endorphins.

Yesterday rained and thunderstormed til late afternoon. When the rain finally stopped I drove downtown to the library, to refresh my reading material.

Today, Thursday, the 11th day of the 2024 version of April, the sky at my location is totally free of clouds.

So, it was to Sikes Lake I drove today to get me some endorphins. The rain did not drip enough to flood Sikes Lake to more than a drizzle drizzling over the Sikes Lake Dam Spillway.

Every time I see that NO SWIMMING sign, at this location, it causes me to wonder if they actually had a problem with people trying to swim at this not appealing to swim at location.

And NO BOATING CANOEING OR KAYAKING WITHOUT UNIVERSITY APPROVAL also causes one to wonder. I've never seen anyone floating in a boat, canoe or kayak on Sikes Lake. Does mean the university universally denies approval for anyone asking to go floating? 

Or, more likely, no one has ever asked to get approved by the university to go boating on Sikes Lake.

The multiple installations of coyotes around Sikes Lake seems to have greatly reduced the bird population. I saw no geese or ducks today. I saw one seagull. 

Where have all the birds gone?

Thunderstorming On Terrible Tuesday Tornado 45th Anniversary

The view is stormy, looking north from one of my living room windows, on this second Wednesday of the 2024 version of April.

Lightning is striking, thunder is booming, wind is blowing, rain is downpouring.

I shall stay dry inside today. I don't even think I will try to venture out in it to drive to Walmart for some salubrious indoor fast walking. I'll just try and get by today without my regular endorphin fix.

Today is the 45th anniversary of the deadliest tornado to twist its way through Wichita Falls.

I learned this when I clicked on this morning's edition of the Wichita Falls Times-Record News, That would make the above a screen cap from today's local newspaper.

The tornado known locally as Terrible Tuesday struck on April 10, 1979.

My current abode is a short distance south of the path of that tornado.

I have seen three tornadoes since I have been in Texas. All have looked like the above photo of the Terrible Tuesday tornado. I have never seen the stereotypical twister type tornado.

Madame McNutt & Miss Carol Visit Fidalgo Drive-In & Grandpa Jake

The photos you see here arrived a few minutes ago. I am related to one of those in the photos.

The gigglemugging blonde in pink is the entity known as Madame McNutt, currently visiting Washington, but usually located in Virginia.

The other gigglemugger, who looks like a blonde, but used to be a Lucy-esque redhead, is not visiting from Virginia, but is a lifelong resident of the Skagit Valley, known as Miss Carol BD. 

All of these people, except the one I am related to were high school classmates of mine. The one seated, who is semi-gigglemugging is named Steve Henery, nicknamed Clyde. I think he is the president of an Anacortes bank, or some such thing.

Whilst in Anacortes Madame McNutt and Miss Carol stopped in at the Fidalgo Drive-In to see my Favorite Nephew Jason, who refused to be photographed. I do not know if the girls bought a Fidalgo Drive-In Tulip Field visiting ticket, for $4.50, which included a hamburger.

The one in the photo to whom I am related is Jason's paternal parental figure, the grandpa of Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

Grandpa Jake lives next to Hank Frank. I do not know if the girls also visited Hank Frank. Or who the photographer in these photos was...

Tuesday Morning Post Solar Eclipse Sunburn Neck Ache

That is me at the lower left, craning my head skyward. Even though the sun was being blocked by the moon, enough sun rays managed to hit my face to cause the first mild sunburn I have had in years. 

It did not occur to me that I should lather on some sunscreen before gazing at the disappearing sun for well over an hour.

Gazing skyward for over an hour has also resulted in a slight neck ache this morning.

Seeing The Sun Eclipsed By The Moon In Wichita Falls

Well, the eclipse of April 8, 2024 is over, for me, at my location. I walked the short distance to a rocking bench on the Circle Trail around half past noon.

When I got to the bench I put on my eclipse viewing glasses to find myself surprised to see the eclipse was underway.

For well over an hour I watched as the moon covered up more and more of the sun. There were odd lighting effects, sort of glowing orangish-red at the sun's edge.

I took photos with the phone, with the photo not showing the eclipse. I then put one of my eclipse viewing glass lenses over the phone's camera lens, thinking that might make the eclipse show up. 

It did not work. That is the best result, what you see above.

The eclipse viewer you see here shared the rocking bench with me. Daylight noticeably darkened as more and more of the sun was blocked by the moon. The temperature noticeably dropped. The wind picked up. Birds got noisy.

The moon shadow phenomenon I have seen pictured before, did happen as I walked back to my abode after the total eclipse part of the show was over.

So, in conclusion, I have to say the solar eclipse was more interesting than I thought it would be....

Remembering Jason & Joey At Lake Grapevine

That which you see above showed up in my Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, this morning.

I do not remember if this memory actually happened in April. But, I think the year was 2005.

FNJ1 and FNJ2, also known as Favorite Nephews Jason and Joey, had been on a cruise with their then girlfriends. I think, if I remember right, the cruise launched from Florida.

Jason and Joey's mom, my Favorite Ex-Sister-in-Law, Cindy, had told me the boys would be landing at DFW with a couple hour layover before continuing on the journey back to Washington.

Somehow the info was relayed to Jason and Joey that I would be at the airport if they wanted to exit the security zone to see me.

And so they did.

Soon after seeing them, Jason's then girlfriend showed me a ring on her finger. On the cruise Jason had made a marriage proposition. In April of 2006 I was in Washington for the wedding. Jason's future wife and mother of Spencer Jack's name is Jenny.

I forget Joey's girlfriend's name. I know it was not Monique, who became Joey's wife and mother of Hank Frank many years later.

Jason and Joey had not been to Texas previously. I coaxed the quartet to follow me to my vehicle, then I drove them out of the airport to Lake Grapevine, which is where the above photo was taken. I think I used a self timer to take the picture.

And then it was back to the airport, because Jason was getting a bit antsy about making sure they got back in time...

Killer Whale Orcas Enjoying Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Amusing photo on Facebook, this Sunday morning of the 7th day of the 2024 version of April.

The photo was posted by KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography's Facebook page.

KOMO is the call letters for Seattle's channel 4 ABC network TV station.

The attempt at humor here, with the text, "Seems the Skagit valley had some heavy rain..." is suggesting that so much rain fell that Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, made it to the tulips.

Those who have never seen the Skagit Valley tulips, this photo is what it actually looks like, other than the Orca. You can see the Mount Baker volcano hovering above the Cascade mountain foothills.

It is not too far fetched to think an Orca might make its way to the Skagit Valley, via leaving Puget Sound, by entering the Skagit River. Orcas like salmon. The Skagit River is host to a lot of salmon. 

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has an excellent website. This festival is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, to take place annually in Washington. And is the biggest tulip festival to take place in America.

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival runs from April 1 to April 30. In other words, the entire month of April.

There are tulip events and attractions all over the valley. The traffic jams are horrendous. A bird's eye view of the tulip fields can be had by driving to the summit of Mount Vernon's Little Mountain.

Fully Prepared Ready To Be Almost Totally Eclipsed

Eclipse viewing glasses arrived from Amazon on Friday. Which would make that me modeling a pair of the eclipse viewing glasses superimposed on a graphic showing how close Wichita Falls is to the total solar eclipse.

Apparently, I am in the 95% of total coverage zone. 

The eclipsing begins sometime after 1 tomorrow afternoon. The total eclipse only lasts a couple minutes, but the entire eclipsing from start to when the moon finally relents and lets the sun go back to full shine mode, is a couple hours.

At least, that is my understanding of how this epic event will unfold.

I have decided I am not driving anywhere tomorrow to view the eclipse. I am just going to walk the short distance to the Circle Trail and find a bench to sit on as my observation platform.

Bronto & Rex In Dinosaur Valley Are Ready For Monday's Solar Eclipse

I saw that which you see here, on Facebook, via the Texas Parks and Wildlife page, this first Saturday of the 2024 version of March.

Dinosaur Valley State Park is one of the best parks I have visited in Texas.

Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

 A river to cool off in.

Dinosaur tracks.

And two full-size dinosaurs, Bronto and Rex, who you see above.

Apparently, one needs a reservation to get into the park on Monday, April 8, to view the solar eclipse.

If the photos are accurate, Bronto and Rex are already fitted with eclipse viewing eyewear.

My eclipse viewing eyewear, from Amazon, arrived yesterday.

I have not yet decided where I am going to go to experience the eclipse. Definitely not Lucy Park. Too many trees. Most likely I will opt to go to Lake Wichita Park. 

Downtown Wichita Falls is having an eclipse viewing party at a park near one of the town's few semi-skyscrapers. One would think tall buildings might block the view of the sun.

Snake Danger In Texas Toilets

I saw that which you see here on the front page of the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Apparently there is a danger of snakes coming out of ones toilet bowl.

I can't imagine how such could possibly happen, or that it actually has ever happened.

But, such must have happened, or why would the Star-Telegram issue such a warning?

Snakes are just about my least favorite member of the animal kingdom.

Since I have been in Texas I have had many snake encounters.

Thrice coming upon copperheads whilst biking and roller blading in Arlington's River Legacy Park. A cottonmouth encounter in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area. Big snakes of unknown type at other locations, including Gateway Park and the Tandy Hills in Fort Worth.

And two rattlesnake encounters on the DORBA mountain bike trail in Cedar Hills State Park in Dallas.

The Dallas rattlesnake encounters were in the wild. But, the most rattlesnake encounters I have encountered happened at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, where I say hundreds of rattlenakes, rounded up, waiting to be milked and butchered.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup may be the weirdest event I have ever been to.

And now, til the arrival of winter, I must add checking my toilets for snakes to my to do list...

Microsoft OneDrive Taking Me On A Log Ride Memory With Mom & Dad

That which you see here showed up in my email this morning in the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

You are looking at my dad, my mom, my uncle Mel, aunt Judy, and Mel and Judy's eldest grandson, Kevin, on, I think, the log ride in Knott's Berry Farm

It was back somewhere in the mid 1990s. My dad had retired. A group, including some of my siblings, and others, went on a cruise to Mexico, sailing out of either Long Beach, or San Diego. I don't remember which.

What I do remember is I don't think I was invited to go on this cruise. I was tasked with something else related to the cruise.

Upon ending the cruise, the cruisers ended up in Anaheim.

My cousin Jeff's ex-wife, Ellaina, met me at Sea-Tac, with little Kevin in tow. I had my nephews, Chris and Jeremy with me.

We were putting the three little boys on a plane, with no adult accompanying them, to fly to meet up with the grandparents, to go to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm.

It was a different world back then, pre-9/11. I don't remember even going through any sort of security to get to the gate and wait with the kids to put them on the plane. We explained the situation to the stewardess and she was real nice about it, saying she'd look after them til they found their grandparents.

I'm surprised my mom agreed to do the log ride. 

Around that same time frame, mom and dad had made a cross country roadtrip in their RV. Thanksgiving of 1995 I was in Las Vegas, staying at Treasure Island. I do not remember how it got arranged, pre-cell phones. But, mom and dad showed up at Treasure Island. I took them to Luxor for the lunch buffet.

Luxor, back then, don't know if it is still the case, had several fun adventure rides.

One was an extremely realistic simulator which made you think you were flying deep underground.

I was sitting next to mom. When the seat started moving, making it feel like you really were zipping steeply down, mom gripped my arm and acted all panicky. I told mom, just close your eyes and it'll be okay.

I don't think mom closed her eyes. I think she enjoyed the ride, though she would not admit it...

Ranking Blogger Has Me Comparing Oregon & Washington & Texas

The Microsoft Start page in the Window's Edge browser is a treasure trove of information tidbits. Some a bit dubious, like ranking the best frozen pizzas, or fast food fries.

Or, like the All 50 states ranked from worst to best, according to a 45-year-old blogger who has been to each one multiple times you see screen capped above.

I did a good guess at which states would be in the Top 10 best. I've been to all of them, except Hawaii.

The state I am currently in did not rank nearly as well as the state I was born in, Oregon, or the state I was living in before moving to Texas, Washington.

24. Texas

Abbamonte wasn't charmed by any of Texas' major cities and especially disliked the traffic in Houston.

But he said he loves Big Bend National Park near the border with Mexico.

The Abbamonte blogger did not have a lot to say about Texas. Did he visit Hill Country? Visit in wildflower season? Visit Galveston and the rest of the Gulf Coast? San Antonio and its Riverwalk? Did not like any of the Texas major cities? Dallas has a lot going for it. I liked Dallas upon first meeting the town. Now, if Fort Worth was the only major Texas city the blogger visited, I would get the not being charmed comment.

And then we get to my old home state, which the Abbamonte blogger seems to have liked a lot.

 8. Washington

Abbamonte said Seattle is the "most beautiful city, surely in America and maybe anywhere." In the summer, he added, Mount Rainier can be visible from the city, which is "a stunner."

Besides Seattle, Abbamonte loves how Washington state reminds him of Canada. "You feel like you're in Canada, but you're in America," he said.

How often it rains is the only downside of the state, in Abbamonte's view.

Seattle is a beautiful city, but the most beautiful anywhere? And yes, it does rain a lot in Western Washington, but even in Western Washington there are areas which are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, hence way less rain. And all you have to do, to be rain-free, is drive over one of the Cascade Mountain passes to Eastern Washington and you are in a sort of desert environment, with a lot of orchards and vineyards.

The blogger liked California best. Also in the top ten where states like Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Nevada.

And Oregon. The blogger like Oregon more than Washington.

I've long liked Oregon, but Washington has way more going for it.

The states share the Columbia Gorge.

Oregon has only one active volcano. Washington has five.

Oregon has only one national park. Washington has three.

Oregon has Portland. Washington has Seattle.

Washington has a much longer coastline, and a much less accessible Pacific coastline than Oregon's scenic coast.

Eastern Washington grows a large percentage of America's apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, grapes and stuff I'm likely not remembering. Eastern Oregon is not an agricultural wonderland like Eastern Washington. Likely due to no big rivers providing irrigation.

Washington has one of the world's largest ferry fleets, taking people across Puget Sound, or to the San Juan Islands. Oregon has no islands in need of a ferry. There is even a ferry in Eastern Washington, to ferry you across Lake Roosevelt, you know, the reservoir formed by Grand Coulee Dam. Oregon has zero dams of the Grand Coulee sort.

The blogger made mention of Canada. Washington shares a border with Canada. It used to be so easy to cross the border and spend the day in Vancouver, or elsewhere. I understand that, post 9/11, that is no longer the case, with cross border traffic not what it used to be. That needs to be fixed.

All this Washington and Oregon talk is making me homesick...

Remembering Blackberry Milkshakes At Fife's Pick-Quick With Theo, David & Ruby

Last night, scrolling through the gallery of Microsoft OneDrive Memories of the Day, a feature I did not realize, til last night, was something one could do, I came upon the photo you see here.

One of my all-time favorites.

Theo, David and Ruby and their parental units, Mamas Michele and Kristin, were taking me to the Sea-Tac airport to send me to Arizona for a week, before making my way back to Texas.

On the way to Sea-Tac we stopped at the iconic Pick-Quick Burger restaurant in Fife. In addition to Pick-Quick Burgers we all had fresh blackberry milkshakes.

The Tacoma Trio of Theo, David and Ruby were still kids way back in August of 2017.

All three are now teenagers.

That week in Washington, back in 2017, was the most fun I have had being an uncle in a long long long time. I'd thought my fun uncle days were over.

I was quite pleased to learn my fun uncle days were not over...

McNutt's Real Island View Of The Mount Baker Volcano

Currently the former Washingtonian, currently a Virginian, known as that whackydoodle McNutt woman, is visiting her old home zone. 

For the first part of her Washington visit the McNutter is staying on Camano Island at the home of an aunt and uncle. 

Camano Island is a real island, located in Puget Sound. Not an imaginary island of the Fort Worth, Texas sort, where a chunk of land is being called an island, Panther Island to be exact.

But, currently Panther Island is not surrounded by any water. 

However, the chunk of land is already referred to as an island, in anticipation that one day a cement lined ditch might appear, filled with diverted Trinity River water, flowing under three freeway overpass type bridges, built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to that imaginary island.

A bridge is what gives one access to Camano Island, a bridge which crosses actual water.

The above photo is the view from McNutt's Uncle's deck, looking northeast across Puget Sound. You can see the Mount Baker volcano in the distance.

I see no volcanoes, in any direction I look, at my current location...