Back To Death Valley Badwater With Jason & Joey

A few days ago photos showed up in the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories of this Day email of the time, way back in August, in one of the final years of the previous decade, when my nephews, Jason and Joey, flew me to Las Vegas for a few days of Super Sunshine.

I made a blog post of the photos I saw that day, including one I thought was Jason and Joey at Badwater in Death Valley, that being the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, a couple hundred feet below sea level.

Well, today more OneDrive Death Valley photos showed up, with one I can clearly tell is at Badwater. 

That is nephew Joey walking on the Badwater salt flat, whilst his big brother, Jason, closely inspects the salt flat.

That white dot you see high on the cliff, that marks sea level.

It seems as if it should be a bit unsettling to be so far below sea level.

But, it actually is not.

It never crossed my mind to worry what if the Pacific Ocean suddenly sprung a leak and started flooding Death Valley. I wonder how big a lake would be the result?

Finding World Record Breaking Snow On Washington's Mount Baker

Saw that which you see here, yesterday, on Facebook. Hard to believe that a couple decades ago I could look out my living room window, and, through the forest of fir trees, see the Mount Baker volcano a few miles to the northeast.

I can look out any of my Texas windows and see nary a single mountain in any direction, let alone a snow-covered volcano.

Reading the text indicating the winter of 1998-1999 Mount Baker's snow accumulation had it being the snowiest mountain on record had me a bit perplexed.

I seem to remember such a claim being made many times prior to that last winter of the previous century. 

I Googled "Mount Baker" and clicked on the Wikipedia article about Mount Baker to see if mention was made regarding record breaking Mount Baker snow, and saw only the following regarding record breaking snow...

"After Mount Rainier, Mount Baker has the heaviest glacier cover of the Cascade Range volcanoes; the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world; in 1999, Mount Baker Ski Area, located 9 mi to the northeast, set the world record for recorded snowfall in a single season—1,140 inches (95 ft)."

Maybe what I was remembering was Mount Baker setting records for snow accumulated, as in piled up deep, and not the amount of snow falling in a single snow falling season.

I do remember that upon reaching the Mount Baker ski area, with the road plowed clear, that it was like driving in a snow canyon, with the snow deep on either side of the road.

Of late I find myself wondering if I am ever going to see Mount Baker, or any of the Washington volcanoes, ever again...

Final July Saturday Lucy Park Jungle Hike

With the temperature in the relatively chilly mid 80s, with a wind doing some blowing, but with humidity high, it was to Lucy Park I ventured on this final Saturday of the 2024 version of July for some high speed nature communing in the natural sauna steam bath.

I hiked the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle today for the first time in several weeks. As you can see via the above photo documentation it appears some of the Lucy Park Jungle has been stripped of its ground cover.

Continuing on, eventually we arrive at the yet not stripped of ground cover area of the Jungle.

 I like the Lucy Park Jungle better in full jungle mode, with the grass grown tall.

I do understand, though, why the grass gets cut. Left alone it presents a bit of a wildfire danger.

That earthquake, which had me all shook up yesterday, is now upgraded to a 5.1 on the Richter Scale quake. Apparently, there were two follow-up earthquakes in the hour after the first one, but those two did not shake as far as Wichita Falls.

A Little Shook Up In Wichita Falls

 A little over a half hour ago, 9:38 AM, on Friday, July 26, I felt something I have not felt in Texas, which I fairly frequently felt whilst living in Western Washington.

An earthquake.

The shaking did not last long. And there was no loud explosive noise like I experienced in my old home zone. 

I soon learned the quake was epicentered near Hermleigh, Texas, about 156 miles from my Wichita Falls location, as a bird flies.

During the 1990s there was a period when multiple earthquakes were epicentered a couple miles east of my abode.

Those were shallow quakes, less than 3.0 on the Richter Scale. But, due to being so close, the shaking was strong, and loud. My windows popped, the tall fir trees shook and swayed, the tile on my kitchen floor cracked.

Today's quake, centered near Hermleigh, Texas measured 5.0 on the Richter Scale. This must have been quite a surprising shock to those living near Hermleigh.

Remembering A Twin Bluff In Utah With The Goobers

The photo you see here showed up in my Microsoft OneDrive Memories of the Day, today.

I know what I am seeing in this photo, and who I am seeing, and when this photo memory happened.

In October. Not July. And, I think the year was 1998.

Booking ending Wanda, in the middle, are the entities known as the Goober Twins, Big Ed on the left, Wally on the right.

Wally is Wanda's first husband.

The trio is standing in the town of Bluff, in Utah, known for the twin pillars you see behind the Goober Twins.

I have not been in Utah for a couple decades. The last time, I think, was whilst driving back to Washington in early August of 2001. During the last decade of the last century, I was finding myself in Utah once a year, usually.

It is a tad odd this photo of the Goober Twins showed up today. Yesterday was the twin's birthday.

Happy birthday, Goober Twins...

Being Cautious About Wildlife Walking Around Steamy Lake Wichita Sauna

With the temperature two degrees shy of 90, with no wind and the high humidity making that temperature really feel like 93, it was to Lake Wichita Park I ventured today for some endorphin acquisition in a natural steamy sauna.

I saw no one climbing to the summit of Mount Wichita today. I think if I attempted such I would likely faint upon reaching the summit.

That sign advising the use of caution due to this being a wildlife area has been added since last I was at this location.

What wildlife? I could not help but wonder. Wildlife of the wild sort wild enough that one needs to be cautious" I have seen a deer or two in the vicinity, in the past. I've seen no snakes, armadillos or alligators.

As you can see, it is an almost totally clear blue sky above Mount Wichita. Then I turned around to take a photo looking the opposite direction, across Lake Wichita.

Where did the blue sky go? I see some little clouds, but no bright blue sky. Due to that aforementioned lack of wind, Lake Wichita is being dead calm, with a mirror-like smoothness and reflectivity.

I am ready for summer to be over with...

Microsoft Remembers Nephews Jason & Joey Taking Me To Las Vegas

Another Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day that I actually do remember, though I think the month was August, not July.

A few months before I moved to Texas my two oldest nephews, Jason and Joey, flew me to Las Vegas for some fun in the sun for four days.

That photo at the top is from the buffet at the Stratosphere Tower and Casino. The day before we'd taken the rickety double-decker elevator to the top of the Stratosphere Tower. Upon reaching the top the elevator doors opened with our ears greeted with a screeching alarm.

Electric power had been cut to the tower. Nothing was moving. The elevator made it to the top on emergency backup power. Dozens were stranded on the stalled roller coaster on top of the tower.

The temperature was way over 100 degrees.

The temperature inside the tower quickly became quite warm. After an hour, or so, the natives started getting restless, demanding to know how long this was going to last. I loudly piped up with how about giving us something to drink to keep us cool. A call was made and permission was given to open the bar, with free soft drinks to the kids, free hard drinks to the non-kids.

If I remember right it was almost three hours we were stuck on that tower. When power returned we lined up for our turn to return to ground level. Upon reaching ground level we were greeted by the manager of the casino apologizing for the inconvenience. I asked him if he could comp us for three buffets because we were heading for dinner when we got stuck and are now real hungry.

So, the manager wrote some script, like a doctor's prescription. We found our way to the buffet, showed the script and got treated like we were special guests.

The buffet had the option to play Keno whilst eating. I had never played Keno. The nephews asked if they could play Keno. So, they filled out Keno cards, which I then had to play for them, since they were not old enough. The nephews won some at Keno and thought it to be great fun.

And so, the next morning, waking up at Excalibur, at the south end of the Vegas strip, the nephews wanted to return to the Stratosphere for the breakfast buffet. And Keno. And so, we did, which is photo documented in the photo at the top, Joey sitting next to me, which means Jason must have taken the photo.

On one of the Vegas mornings I read in the local newspaper that conditions were such that Death Valley might break its temperature record that day. I asked the nephews if they wanted to get real HOT in Death Valley. They answered in the affirmative.

I've driven Death Valley several times when it is the HOT time of the year. You don't sweat. The moisture evaporates before you have a chance to sweat. You have to constantly be drinking liquids. Previous times I have followed the signs suggesting not to use A/C, as such may overtask the engine. That and no A/C lets one enjoy the overheated experience. 

But, the nephews insisted the A/C stay on.

We got to Badwater, and walked out into the flats a couple hundred feet below sea level.

It was HOT. There is a thermometer at Badwater, advertising the temperature, as this is the location where the temperature record can be broken.

I believe the above photo was taken at Badwater, with the nephews contemplating if they really do want to walk out onto the dried salt flats. Eventually they did so, but I have no photos documenting this.

Another day we drove to Hoover Dam. This was before 9/11 and so you could easily walk across the dam, to Arizona, with no overbearing security.

After playing on the dam, we were a bit overheated, and somehow found our way to a park slightly north of the dam, with swimming access to Lake Mead.  That is Joey next to me, in Lake Mead, which, again, means Jason must have taken the picture.

I webpaged the Nephews taking me to Las Vegas as part of my Nephews in Danger series of webpages....

Cloudy Semi-Cool Breezy Walk Around Sikes Lake

With a cloud covered sky, the temperature in the low 80s, with a wind blowing, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured this Monday morning in July, for a walk around the lake, hoping not to need to dodge lightning bolts, which are on the weather menu for today.

But, so far, no sky drippage, no lightning bolts, just a pleasant cloudy day respite from getting seared over 100 degrees.

In the photo documentation, you are looking north through one of the Sikes Lake gazebos, strategically placed around the lake to give walkers a respite from the sun, or rain, if needed. 

That is a drinking fountain you see in the foreground. Drinking fountains are a rare amenity in park locations in this town. I know of none in Lucy Park or Lake Wichita Park or the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area.

Today is day two of being back feeling optimistic about the outcome of the upcoming election. I prefer feeling optimistic to the opposite of feeling optimistic...

Why Does Hell Have No Fury Like A Scorned Woman?

 Googling the well known phrase...

‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ is an idiom adapted from a line in William Congreve’s play, The Mourning Bride. The line from which it came is ‘Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”

‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ means that there is no greater anger than that of a woman who has been rejected in love.

Oh so totally pitifully true. That the scorned is scorned for good reason does not lessen the level of the fury. I imagine it is not pleasant to be scorned. But, one cannot help but wonder why those prone to experience scorn do not adapt their scornful behavior so as to avoid experiencing scorn...

Amazon Prime Delivers New Air Fryer But No Herfy's Hefty Burger

A week ago my air fryer died. This was my second air fryer to die. I had grown used to using the air fryer frequently.

The same week my air fryer died, the latest iteration of Amazon Prime came to be. And among the Prime bargains was an air fryer.

That new air fryer arrived at my doorstep, via UPS, yesterday.

I did not get around to un-boxing the new air fryer til this morning.

Now that I am borderline elderly I no longer enjoy figuring out new things. Just unpacking something like an air fryer is a tad daunting.

But I did so. Read the instructions. Did as instructed.

But, when I touched the touch screen the only items to react were the rotate function, the light function, the start function and the cancel function.

I tasked an assistant with contacting Amazon to make the product return arrangements, whilst I continued to try and see if the problem was human error, and not the fault of the air fryer.

After perusing the manual which came with the air fryer I found the troubleshooting section to be of no use.

Then, looking closely at the control panel it looked like there might be a film of some sort covering the control panel. After a few attempts at getting a fingernail under the edge of the control panel, I quickly realized my fingernail was under the edge of a plastic film covering the control panel. I pulled it completely off to find the control panel now brightly shining, such as you see above.

Below is the plastic film which was making me think I had a malfunctioning air fryer.

Now, would you not think that in the set up instructions that mention would be made of this plastic film which needed to be removed before the air fryer could function properly?

Today in the air fryer I am frying fish, in order to make a replica of my all time fish burger, that I used to get, decades ago, at Herfy's.

Herfy's Hefty Burger and Herfy's Fish Burger were the best of that type delicacy I have ever had.

When my cousin Scott was in the army, stationed in Vietnam, his unit became homesick for a Herfy's Hefty Burger. Somehow it was arranged to put some Hefty Burgers on dry ice and ship them to Vietnam. I do not recollect being told the Hefty Burgers were edible upon arrival.

But, I am sure the effort was greatly appreciated...

Remembering Pooling With Nephew David In Arizona

The Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, arriving in my email a few minutes ago, was definitely not from this day in July.

This particular memory happened one day in March of the year 2019.

Over five years ago.

That would be me lifting nephew David out of my sister Jackie's pool in Chandler, Arizona. I think David is 15 years old now, which would have made him 10 when I was able to lift him. I doubt I could do that now.

I can not remember when last I got wet in a swimming pool. I do not like the pool at my current location. No shade and the water gets way too warm.

The cold snap, which last week was predicted for this week, never much materialized. I think one day this week managed to stay in the low 90s at the hottest. 

My Friday walking venue was once again Walmart.

The Walmart anthropological observations are particularly interesting when the temperature is way too HOT, and way too many attire themselves in way too skimpy, ill-fitting clothing, revealing way too many garish tattoos, and other things best not seen in public.

Do some people not own mirrors?

Flying Google Earth From Texas To Visit My Old Washington Home Zone

Last night I flew Google Earth from my current home zone to my old home zone of Washington state. It had been a few years since I had flown home via this method.

I first checked out the town I grew up in, Burlington, going down Fairhaven Avenue, that being the main drag through town. Much had changed, including what looked to be a lot of new landscaping at the area train tracks intersect with, I think, Highway 20, that being the rode which takes you to North Cascades National Park.

When I got to my old home, across from Maiben Park, I saw something which clued me as to why I find a certain aspect of Texas to be a bit appalling.

That being the sad state of sidewalks in the Lone Star state.

The sidewalk in front of the house I grew up in is wide, with a grass median between the sidewalk and the road. A feature I rarely, if ever, have seen in Texas. And now a sidewalk has been added on the park side of the street.

The house I grew up in is the one in the middle. Seeing the sidewalk, with the median between sidewalk and road, I understand why I find the Texas sidewalks so appalling.

After several minutes in Burlington I headed south to Mount Vernon. The first thing I checked out in Mount Vernon was the Riverwalk along the Skagit River.

The Mount Vernon Riverwalk was built as part of a flood control project. Previous to this new flood control method sandbags were used to build a walk to keep downtown Mount Vernon from being flooded. Now a temporary wall can be assembled quickly by just a couple wall builders, not the hundreds of volunteers it took to build a sandbag wall.

The Texas town I used to live in, Fort Worth, has been trying to build a new flood control method in an area which has not flooded since the 1950s, because flood control levees already prevent such from happening. Fort Worth's slow-motion project, limping along for most of this century is known as the Trinity River Vision, purported to be a vitally needed flood control and economic development plan.

So vitally needed that, so for, the only major part of that Vision which can be seen is three simple little freeway overpass type bridges, built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

The river that flows through Fort Worth is the Trinity River. This is not a Skagit River type river. As you can sort of see in the above photo, the Skagit River looks like it is flowing clean, clear water. The Trinity River looks like flowing mud, and in flood mode that flowing mud is covered with litter.

That photo at the top is the house I lived in before moving to Texas. Built in 1985 for only $65,000. Sold in 2002 for $132,000. And recently I saw the house has been sold again for a little under a hall million bucks. 

Such seems so bizarre to me. That anyone would pay that much for that house. Only three bedrooms, two bathrooms. And no walk-in closets. The decks in front and back were rather nice, there is that. I had a great roof top garden in the front patio, with two big blueberry bushes, among many other vegetative things, including a lot of basil.

I'm appalled to see a garage door has been added to the open carport, not matching the look of the rest of the house. I see the stairs leading to the front door have been totally re-done. And why is there what looks to be a big plastic tarp above where my bedroom was?

I guess it really is true, you can't go home again. And expect all to be the same as you remember it...

Cool Lake Wichita Visit To America's Third Dirtiest Lake

A cold front blew in overnight, dropping the high today to somewhere in the 90s.

It was in the 80s, with a strong wind making it feel cooler, when I ventured to Lake Wichita this morning for the first time since some American federal agency designated Lake Wichita with the honor of being the 3rd dirtiest lake in America.

Lake Wichita is a shallow lake, and not a natural lake, but a reservoir created by a dam, which is what I walked on to get to the long fishing pier boardwalk you see above.

At the end of the long pier boardwalk I came upon the little guy you see here, holding a fishing pole. I asked how many fish he'd caught. His dad, sitting to the left of the kid, replied, not a bite, and we've been here over an hour.

I did not feel like asking if they knew they were fishing in the third dirtiest lake in America.

Another guy was fishing on the other Lake Wichita dock, a short distance away. I did not get the chance to ask him how many fish he'd caught.

It is being a nice relief having clouds back, well, a few, blocking some of the sun...

This Morning Finding Aunt Alice Surfing With Abraham Lincoln

Yesterday, on Facebook, I enhanced a photo Aunt Alice had posted, which was a tad faded. Aunt Alice always appreciates it when I do this type thing.

This time Aunt Alice commented with...

"Thanks sweetheart. Miss pictures you used to make me into. Probably some on MySpace still."

Hard to remember back when MySpace was a thing. MySpace sort of deserved to die. Nowadays I find myself thinking the same fate should befall Facebook.

Anyway, way back when MySpace was a thing I had fun making photos of Aunt Alice and sticking them on her MySpace space.  

After Aunt Alice made mention of those long gone photos I found that they still exist on Microsoft's OneDrive. So, this morning Aunt Alice has been seeing photos she likely long forgot about, like the one above, or one where she is biking in the Seattle Fremont Naked Bike Ride Parade, or being a Cowgirl at the Omak Stampede, or being the only celebrator of Naked Gardening Day in Tonasket, or auditioning on America's Got Talent with Aunt Alice's Dolly Parton rendition.

There are dozens of these photos, I had long forgotten about them, as likely also has Aunt Alice. I only remember making a few of them. Like the one where Aunt Alice is surfing. Or on a date with Abraham Lincoln.

Aunt Alice was always to totally onboard and good-natured about the photos, not matter how outrageous. I like that sort of free-spirited spirit....

Microsoft Takes Me To Weatherford's Parker County Peach Festival To Get Misted

The Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day is a memory I remember well, and fondly.

The Parker County Peach Festival, taking place this month in Weatherford, Texas.

It was earlier this century I last visited the Parker County Peach Festival and webpaged the experience.

The Parker County Peach Festival is huge. The biggest festival I have been to in Texas.

An outdoor festival anywhere in Texas, in July, is guaranteed to be HOT. The Parker County Peach Festival, the day I got festive was under 100 degrees, but still plenty HOT. 

One could cool off with the many peach themed refreshments, or walk through the many cooling misting stations, which is what you see photo documented above.

It was way back in March of 1999 or 1998 I first visited Weatherford. This was part of a two-week trip to Texas, checking out if moving to Texas was something doable. Weatherford was the first experience I had with a Texas county courthouse square. Weatherford is the county seat of Parker County.

There is, or was then, a Confederate Memorial Statue in the Parker County Courthouse square. Seeing that memorial was the first I realized, yikes, we are currently in the location of the Confederacy.

I can not remember when I last had me a good peach. I need to rectify that shortcoming soon...

Jason Virtually Takes Me To Jones Family Reunion With Clancy

A month or two or three ago I learned via my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ, that a sort of Jones Family Reunion had been proposed for some date in the, then, upcoming July.

Uncle Mooch, his lovely first wife, Aunt Jane, their daughter, Amy, and grandson Kwan were expected to be in the PNW, flying west from their Boston home zone.

That is Kwan leaning on the Jones sign.

But, the biggest attraction, to reunion with, was incoming, back to live in Washington, after years living on Maui, with her husband, two stepsons and the youngest member of the extended Jones family, Iv, with that being Iv's mom, Olivia, with her right hand on the Jones sign, with Iv behind her.

I do love a good run-on sentence.

Olivia is my cousin Scott's one and only daughter, whilst Iv is my cousin Scott's one and only grandson. Scott sadly passed away whilst we were going through COVID, but not from COVID. Scott was the oldest of the Jones cousins. Scott's sister, Linda, Iv's aunt, is now the oldest of the Jones cousins. With me being the second oldest.

Only one of my branch of the Jones family were in attendance at this reunion, that being Clancy, in blue, to the right of Kwan in the photo.

Iv's Aunt Linda also was not at this reunion.

Jason had this to say about it....

"Clancy was the sole representative of the Jack Jones branch of the family. Your brother, my brother, your littlest sister and myself opted not to join her company yesterday afternoon for a multitude of reasons."

I suspect the rest of the Jack Jones branch of the family will be seeing Olivia and Iv soon, along with Kwan. Niece Ruby and Kwan have a mighty fine time playing together. I remember the pair building a massive blanket/pillow tent on my bed in the condo we were staying in at Birch Bay, way back in August of 2017. 

As for me, I do not know when next I will ever attend any sort of reunion. I have another one coming up later this month, July 27 to be precise. It is highly doubtful I will be there, but, you never know....

Pondering Giant Alligators Arriving In Wichita Falls This HOT Summer

Saw that which you see here, yesterday, via the Wichita Falls Times Record News Facebook page. A report of a large alligator showing up in Coppell, Texas.

Coppell is one of the many towns which make up the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The town is northwest of Dallas, near Lake Grapevine.

I have had me a reptile encounter a few times at Lake Grapevine, Copperhead and Cottonmouth snakes, and Snapping Turtles. But never an alligator.

I did know alligators show up every once in a while. I remember a few years back, a big alligator got run over and killed on Trinity Boulevard, slightly north of the Trinity River. This was not far from my abode in East Fort Worth.

If you visit the Fort Worth Nature Preserve, in far northwest Fort Worth, you may find yourself startled, whilst in the bayou area, seeing Alligator Warning signs.

I do not think alligators ever make it as far as my current location. However, on the section of the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail on the opposite side of the Wichita River from Lucy Park, one comes to a section of the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail mountain bike trail named Alligator Alley, which includes an alligator replica which can be startling to see whilst one is pedaling fast.

I have seen mini-alligators many times in Lucy Park. Cute little lizards which move too fast, making it impossible to take a picture of one.

I wonder if the unusually long bout of unusually high temperatures is causing alligators to venture to areas they usually do not venture, including as far north and inland as my current Wichita Falls location...

Another HOT Texas Friday Frying In The Heat

Currently, on this second Friday of July, it is only 91 edges in the outer world, at my location, with the humidity making those 91 degrees feel like 99 degrees.

So, for the rare second day in a row I opted not to venture out to the outer world for some salubrious endorphin acquiring activity.

I also opted not to go to Walmart, my fallback location in bad weather, for anthropological observations and some high-speed grocery cart pushing.

The weather is wearing me down, way more than previous summers in this HOT location on the planet.

I could escape Texas for cooler climes. But where? My old home zone of Western Washington is in what they think to be a heat wave, with highs in the 80s, overnight lows in the 60s. I have experienced a Washington heat wave after being acclimated to the Texas HEAT. I shiver at those low Washington heat wave temperatures.

There is a high school class reunion, of sorts, the final Saturday of this month. I wish I felt motivated to attend and get well chilled.

I read today that only two American states have never recorded temperatures over 100.

Alaska and Hawaii.

Alaska and Hawaii being the most recent states added to the union, numbers 49 and 50. If I remember correctly, and sometimes I do, Hawaii is state number 50.

Currently I have my A/C set at 78 degrees. I am contemplating going lower...

With Linda Lou Going Back To Arizona & South Mountain

What a coincidence. This Thursday morning the Skagit Valley's Linda Lou called me for our semi-weekly discussion about the current sad state of affairs in this world we live in.

Whilst talking to Linda Lou I saw an incoming email from Microsoft. 

The daily OneDrive Memories from this Day.

Today's Memories have several photos of Linda Lou. Photos taken way back in October of 2018, in Arizona. Today's Thursday is a day in July, not October. Microsoft's Memory is faulty.

In the above photo Linda Lou is befriending a little dog on the summit of South Mountain, in Phoenix.

Before petting the puppy Linda Lou bought some jewelry type trinkets from Native Americans who had their wares laid out for perusal on blankets.

Above Linda Lou is staring at me at the dining room table of the Airbnb we were staying in, in Sun Lakes, a Phoenix suburb, where my mom's house was located.

Apparently, I was sitting in front of my laptop, a now dead Dell product, with a touch screen which I liked, whilst taking photos. There were seven photos of this scene in today's Memories. I do not know why I took multiple photos of this one scene.

I have known Linda Lou since we were little kids, starting in first grade, through high school, and the first two years of college.

There is a reunion next month of my high school class. It is highly unlikely that I will be in attendance...

Getting Hot Endorphins At The Lucy Park Natural Sauna

It was back to the Lucy Park natural sauna, to get me some endorphins, I ventured on this second Wednesday of July. As you can see via the photo documentation, the Wichita River is running slightly higher than its norm, due to the recent precipitation we have had precipitating. 

Last week the weather forecast for this week predicted several days of clouds, rain and thunderstorms.

Well.

Now that that week has arrived none of that weather relief happened. Instead, the sky is a clear bright blue, the temperature has risen into the 90s.

Humidity is high, hence Lucy Park being a natural sauna today.

My old home zone of Western Washington is having what they think is a heatwave, with the high being in the 80s.

At my current Texas location, at this time of the year, if the temperature is in the 80s during the day, that feels like a refreshing chill after day after day after over 100.

Microsoft OneDrive Takes Me Back To An Arizona Desert With David, Theo & Ruby On Horses

 A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, today, that I do remember.

Although it was in March, not July. The year was 2019, the next to last time I was to fly to Arizona to see my mom.

That would be mom, on the right, in her transit chair. Next to mom are my sister-in-law, Kristin's, mom and dad. And on the horses that would be nephew David on the left, nephew Theo in the middle, and my one and only niece, Ruby, on the right.

That was a fun day in March. After the horse ride in the desert, we went to a nearby McDonald's where Uncle Jack had arranged a behind the counter tour for David, Theo and Ruby, along with multiple Happy Meal toys.

After McDonald's we drove to two parks in Mesa. Both the best city parks I have ever seen. With the best playground attractions I have ever seen in a park.

I do not remember what we did after we were done playing in the Mesa parks.

Hard to fathom that in March of this year, it has been five years since I had fun playing in those Mesa parks, with David, Theo and Ruby.

A lot has happened in those five years, some of it good, most of it not so good...

Tourists Looking For Washington's Mount Rainier & Mount Wichita In Texas

Saw the photo you see here, this Monday morning, on Facebook. The mountain hovering over the scene is the volcano known as Mount Rainier. Or just, The Mountain, if you live in Western Washington.

Used in a sentence, "The Mountain is out today".  Meaning the sky is clear of clouds and you can see Mount Rainier.

The ferry, with ferry floaters crowded on the outdoor viewing deck, is in Elliot Bay, heading to dock at Seattle's Coleman Ferry Dock.

When I see photos of Mount Rainier, like this one, a telephoto zoomed in look at The Mountain, I always think it a tad unfair to those who do not live in Western Washington, who come to visit, expecting The Mountain to look like it looks in this photo.

Even when not telephotoed and zoomed in, The Mountain is still a spectacular site.

Seeing The Mountain when you are in Tacoma you are way closer to the volcano and it looks way bigger than it looks from Seattle.

Way back in the last decade of the previous century, I was with nephews Jason and Joey on a cloudy, rainy day, on a ferry heading from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

A couple tourists asked us if we were locals. Yes, we replied. 

Could you point out to us where we would see Mount Rainier if the sky was clear? All three of us, me, Jason and Joey, pointed in the same direction, knowing intuitively where The Mountain was.

At my current Wichita Falls, Texas location it would be a bit of a surprise for a tourist to ask me if I was a local and which direction the mountain was.

Since there is only one mountain within many many miles, I guess I would point in the direction of Mount Wichita, and hope the tourists are not too disappointed if they make their way to the base of Mount Wichita and make the climb to the summit for the not too scenic look at the surrounding landscape....

Sunday Walk Around The Sikes Lake Mirror

With the temperature in the upper 80s, with absolutely no wind blowing, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured this first Sunday morning of July, to commune with nature, and get overheated in the natural sauna.

I do not recollect previously seeing Sikes Lake so dead calm, acting as a reflective mirror.

The current HOT calm is, apparently, the calm before a storm, arriving later today, with the prediction including severe thunderstorms.

Hurricane Beryl is scheduled to hit the Texas Gulf Coast tomorrow, with several coastal counties in voluntary evacuation mode.

My location is not likely to see any remnants of the hurricane after it makes landfall and begins to weaken.

The only time I remember experiencing the remnants of a hurricane was earlier this century, with Hurricane Ike. That remains of that hurricane blew into the D/FW zone with strong winds and a lot of rain.

The coming week is predicted to be cool, as in not over 100 degrees...

Remembering Buffalo Butt Beer At Booger Red's Saloon With Gar The Texan & His German Wife

The photo you see here showed up this first Sunday of July morning, in my email from Microsoft's OneDrive Memories of this Day.

It took me a second or two to remember what I am seeing here. One thing for certain, this memory did not happen on a Sunday.

The entity on the left is known, by some, as Gar the Texan, a west Texas boy who became some sort of computer whiz kid fixing computer stuff all over the world. Well, in Europe, at least. And Germany, specifically, where he met one of his wives.

I believe that is the German wife on the bar stool next to Gar the Texan. I remember going to the Fort Worth Stockyards with Gar and the German. I think her name was Madchen, or Madlen, something like that.

The location of the bar stools is Booger Red's Saloon, in the Stockyards.

Booger Red's is connected to the H3 Ranch restaurant. Or was. I think H3 Ranch may have closed. Just a sec, I shall go check.

Well, I am happy to report H3 Ranch is still in business. I don't know why I thought it closed. Maybe it did so temporarily during COVID.

Booger Red's Saloon is known for its Buffalo Butt Beer. So named because a couple of Buffalo Butts are on the wall above the bar. If you go into H3 Ranch you will see the front end of the Buffalos.

I seem to recollect we had ourselves a pitcher of Buffalo Butt Beer whilst at Booger Red's Saloon, whilst Gar the Texan's German wife chain smoked...

Saturday In Semi- Chilly Muddy Lucy Park

Yesterday's attempt to acquire endorphins at Lucy Park was aborted upon arrival due to rain beginning to pour down.

Today, the first Saturday of July, it was back to Lucy Park I drove again, this time under a clear sky, with the temperature a relatively chilly 81.

Yesterday's rain rendered the Lucy Park backwoods jungle too muddy to walk in, which you can sort of see via the above photo documentation.

The current cold front is supposed to be lasting several days.

It was so cold last night I resorted to getting under a blanket, for the first time in well over a month, sometime after three in the morning.

Hurricane Beryl is currently predicted to hit South Texas on Monday. Remnants of the hurricane may make it as far as Wichita Falls.

Near as I can currently tell, the chronic condition of getting bug bites over and over again, seems to possibly be over.

We shall see, I suppose, if I got any new bites from being outdoors at Lucy Park...

Last Night 4th Of July Fireworks Followed By Friday's 5h Of July Lightning Downpour Fireworks

The 4th of July at my old home zone of Mount Vernon, in the Skagit Valley of Washington, was like being in a war zone. I would sit out on my deck, ready to put out anything burning, landing on my building. The East Thunderbird neighborhood is hilly, hence fireworks going skyward from various elevations. 

Such was kind of fun, but also a bit tiresome.

It is easy to buy all sorts of explosive fireworks in Washington, due to there being so many Indian Reservations, where selling such it totally legal.

When I moved to Texas, what with it being known as such a free-spirited gun toting cowboy themed part of America I assumed the 4th of July would be way noisier than I was used to in Washington.

Well, I was wrong. My first 4th in Texas I heard nary a boom from my location in the far north Fort Worth suburb of Haslet. I did see fireworks way in the distance, but so distant I heard no booming.

Each 4th of July since then has been similar. An occasional firecracker, but no actual fireworks of the light up the sky sort, except at official fireworks shows.

Such must be the case because Texas has only a couple Indian Reservations. I do not know if those are allowed to sell fireworks.

Oklahoma has multiple Indian Reservations. Being just a few miles south of Oklahoma may explain why I hear more 4th of July noise in Wichita Falls than I used to in the Fort Worth zone.

And then last night, it was like I was back in Mount Vernon. Someone nearby, as in real close, was launching the type fireworks that light up the sky. With a lot of booming.

That photo at the top is my only attempt which sort of caught the fireworks, as viewed from my bedroom window.

And now the day after the 4th of July.

Overnight the temperature plummeted.

Friday morning of the day after the 4th, I headed to Lucy Park, intending to commune with nature before going to a nearby pharmacy for an inoculation and to pick up a prescription.

But, as I arrived at the Lucy Park entry, rain began to drip. I'd been seeing lightning strikes in the southwest direction. The sky looked threatening.

So, I aborted going to Lucy Park, drove on to the pharmacy, completed that task and then continued on to the nearest Walmart to do my nature communing.

On the way to Walmart the rain switched to downpour mode, then added hail to the mix. The photo documentation you see above is the wet view from my vehicle's window as I sat pondering if I really wanted to make a run for it through the downpour.

I opted to go for it. Running as fast as I can run, the water puddled several inches deep. By the time I got the short distance to entering Walmart I was soaking wet.

But, not too cold. I was glad Walmart had turned off the air conditioning.

Hours later rain continues to drip. Such a nice change from the recent multi-day heat wave. My A/C has not cycled on today, not once....

2024 Wichita Falls 4th Of July Parade

Woke up early this 4th of July morning and decided, even though the outer world is being a tad warm, the shade of downtown Wichita Falls would be pleasant enough for parade viewing. That and a steady cooling wind was blowing.

Arrived at the parade location about 10 minutes prior to the start of the parade, to see the parade viewing crowd was way smaller than previous years.

The parade came into view right on time, at 9 o'clock.

The airmen carrying the flags of the NATO countries training at Sheppard Air Force base were at the head of the parade, followed by troops not carrying flags, but chanting some sort of marching rhythm. 

The driver of the pickup on which this young lady sat on the tailgate, shouted to the crowd, "She is in the Olympics!".

I do not know this young lady's Olympics story, but, she was followed by the float you see with gold lettering spelling out, "GO FOR GOLD".

It would seem this Sasquatch waving a flag would overheat by the end of the parade.

This was the most motorized of the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parades I have experienced. So many vintage firetrucks, vintage cars, futuristic cars and motorcycle gangs, part of which you see above.

One of many floats being trucked through the parade. 

As was the case with previous Wichita Falls 4th of July Parades, candy in copious amounts was tossed to the parade viewers. But, due to the number of viewers being smaller than previous years, a surplus of candy soon built up on the street.

Here we are near the end of the parade. Those spots you see on the pavement are some of the aforementioned candy tossed in copious amounts.

All things considered, another enjoyable Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade.

I do not understand why more people do not show up to enjoy it. It is so easy to park in downtown Wichita Falls. Not a congested nightmare such as was the case when finding a place to park to view the excellent 4th of July Parade in Arlington, Texas.

Next year's 4th of July Parade may, hopefully, draw a big crowd, celebrating the successful salvation of America's democracy...

Hot Wichita Falls 4th Of July Tomorrow Followed By Big Chill

104 on the day before the 4th.

104 on the 4th.

And then a cold front arrives the day after the 4th, with the Big Chill shivering us down into the 80s.
 
I am looking forward to this break from the extreme HEAT.

I think my air conditioner would like a break, as well.

I have not been to the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade since before COVID.

It is a fun parade, starting tomorrow at 9 in the morning. 

One can find shade along the parade route, courtesy of tall buildings blocking the sun.

But.

Currently I do not much feel like being patriotic at a 4th of July Parade, all things considered.

The local military, from Shepperd Air Force Base, takes part in this parade, in the form of a marching band and marching airmen representing each of the Nato nations training at Shepperd, carrying the flags of the various nations.

Driving to ALDI this morning I saw the red, white and blue is already out in large numbers, in front of many houses. 

I'll be making the traditional 4th of July feast of spaghetti...

First Day Of July Hot Walk In Lucy Park Humid Jungle

With humidity making the temperature of a degree under 100 feel like several degrees above 100, on this first day of July I made my way to Lucy Park jungle for the first time in about a week.

I was beginning to feel the detrimental effects of the lack of endorphins due to cutting back my outdoor activities due to my semi aversion to extreme heat.

As you can see, via the look at the Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River, the river is running inexplicably high. Why? I do not know.

Rain has not fallen in several days.

Unlike what I was used to in Washington, high temperatures in Texas do not melt any mountain snowpacks due to the fact there are no mountains in Texas with snowpacks.

I'd read a couple days ago that the Wichita River was running high, flooding parts of the Wee-Chi-Tah mountain bike trail which runs alongside the river. That information about the flooded trail, documented with a photo, made no mention of what was causing the river to be in flood mode.

I read today that the 4th of July is predicted to get heated to 105 degrees. I was thinking going to the 4th of July Parade, downtown, would be fun, since I have not done so since pre-COVID. The Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade is a fun one.

I have not yet decided if I enjoyed being out in the steamy sauna today. I do feel a bit more upbeat, due to, I assume, the endorphins acquired. 

Later in this first week of the 2024 version of July the temperature is predicted to be well under 100 degrees for several days. I look forward to being chilled....

My July Calendar Takes Me To Guadalupe Mountains National Park In Texas & Yosemite

This year's wall calendar's theme is America's National Parks. I have been to many of America's National Parks, but not to the one for July, which I first saw this morning after flipping the calendar to the new month.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

I have driven by this National Park a time or two, but have never entered the park.

Texas only has two National Parks, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park.

I have visited neither. Would like to experience Big Bend National Park. Guadalupe Mountains, not so much.

June's National Park was Yosemite National Park, in California. Seeing Yosemite on my wall every day last month had me regularly lamenting whether or not I would ever see Yosemite again during the years I have remaining on the planet.

My first time to Yosemite National Park was an October day way back in the 1970s. I was not impressed. The foliage had all gone brown. The waterfalls all dried up. The visit only lasted a couple hours.

And then, back in May of 1993, myself and three friends rented a Cadillac to drive on a long road trip, the highlight of which was staying a few days at Camp Curry in Yosemite National Park.

The second day in Yosemite was May 20, 1993. How do I know the date so precisely? Well, on that second day in Yosemite we went to the restaurant/bar/outdoor patio area of Camp Curry. The bar zone was packed full, due to people watching the series finale of the Cheers sit-com on that date in May of 1993.

We arrived at Yosemite, the night before, after dark. Got checked in, warned about bears, given wool blankets due to the cold temperature. All night long I heard a strange roaring noise. In the morning I opened the tent cabin door to see a big waterfall a short distance away, falling water in copious amounts.

That was to be the first of many waterfalls falling a lot of water, including the iconic Yosemite Falls. Some of the waterfalls you could not get too close to due to the volume of water creating such a thick spray of water.

We did a lot of hiking those few days in Yosemite. I would love to go back there, one more time. Also, to Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks...