Finally Water Spilling Over Lake Wichita Dam On Mt. St. Helens Eruption Anniversary

It was to Lake Wichita I ventured on this fine May Day.

The third Saturday of the month.

And the anniversary of the day Mount Saint Helens exploded in my old Washington state home zone.

I was taking a bath on the Sunday morning that volcano blew up. I heard three loud concussive booms. Did not know it was the mountain exploding til a few minutes later when the next-door neighbor checked in to see if we knew the volcano had erupted. That turned into one long day of watching the non-stop news.

Anyway, back to Lake Wichita. This was the first time in over a year, maybe way over a year, since water was seen spilling over the Lake Wichita dam's spillway. And spilling in copious amounts it was.

Now we are at the top of the dam, looking through a chain link fence at the water spilling over the spillway.

Walking to the end of the Lake Wichita Boardwalk I saw these two guys fishing amongst the wood piers that are all that remains of the Lake Wichita Pavilion, which burned down way back in the 1950s.

The temperature is heading into the 90s today. The A/C is keeping my interior space cool.

Summer will soon be upon us. Record breaking heat is currently predicated. Not looking forward to that...

The Remains Of The Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda Remain No More

The rain has let up on this third Friday of May.

Since I was in the neighborhood, getting meds from a nearby pharmacy, I opted to continue on to Lucy Park for a bout of nature communing.

A year or two or three ago, time flies, who can keep track, I was surprised to see that the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda had gone up in flames, leaving only the metal framework upon which it had been built.

That remaining metal framework began to look like an intended work of sculptural art. Some suggested painting the metal before it succumbed to rust.

But, such is no longer an option. 

The metal framework remains of the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda have been removed, as you can see via the photo documentation above.

I never saw mention made of the Lucy Park Pagoda flameout in what passes for a newspaper in this town, the Wichita Falls Times Record News.

So, I do not expect to see an article about the removal of the Pagoda's remains. Or if a new Pagoda is planned to arise from the ashes.

I have never been able to learn why a Japanese Pagoda was erected in Lucy Park. There must be a reason for it...

Microsoft OneDrive Memories From Today Of Baby Beauty Sister Nancy & Baby Bobcat

Amusing baby pictures today in my email, via Microsoft's OneDrive's Memories from this Day.

No clue how it might have been determined the Memories from this Day were from May, let alone this day in May.

In this photo of myself on the left, my little brother, Jake, on the right, we see what may be the first instance of our eldest sister, Nancy, all dressed up looking like she must be going somewhere real special.

Nancy won a Baby Beauty Contest around this time, sponsored, if I remember correctly, by the Skagit Valley Herald, that being a real newspaper in my old home zone, a newspaper of the quality sort which had me realizing such was not the case when I began reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, widely regarded as a really bad newspaper, but not quite as bad as the newspaper of record in the town I am now in, the Wichita Falls Times Record News, which mainly covers local sports, local crime, and a few other things, once in awhile, such as recently there was an article about a few new restaurants opening in town.

Okay, that was one super long run-on sentence, beginning with 'Nancy' and ending with 'town'. I just could not stop that sentence from running on and on.

Continuing with the baby theme of today's Memories.

Over my years of biking, hiking and roller blading in Arlington's River Legacy Park, I came upon many critters. Many snake encounters of various sorts. And armadillos.

And bobcats.

My first bobcat encounter scared me. At that point in time I did not realize they were harmless.

My most amazing bobcat encounter was on the park's trail bridge across the Trinity River. I was on my bike, heading onto the bridge, when I saw a big bobcat entering the bridge at the other end. I continued on, as did he. We met in the middle, with me saying "Howdy kitty." The bobcat paid no attention to me, just continued ambling across the bridge.

My best bobcat encounter was with the bobcat kitten you see above. I zoomed in with the camera, knowing I did not want to get too close, which would have made the bobcat mama nervous.

I do not see much wildlife of the bobcat, snake, armadillo sort at my current location. I did come upon a cute lizard a couple days ago at Lucy Park...

Another Sleep Disrupting Thunderstorm In The Wichita Falls Disaster Area

Last night, around three in the morning, thunder booming began, after lightning lit up the darkness. This lasted for hours, along with copious amounts of rain hitting the ground.

I was able to sleep through some of it.

The sun has been doing its daily illuminating duty for about an hour, but it still looks dark, rain is still dripping, thunder continues to boom, off and on.

Yesterday we learned, surprisingly, that Wichita County has been declared a Disaster Area due to recent rains doing damage, none of which I have eye witnessed.

I assume the current drenching is amplifying the Disaster Area into being even More Disastrous. 

Walmart will be my venue today for acquiring endorphins via high speed walking and anthropological observations...

Apparently Rain Has Turned Wichita County Into A Disaster Area

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on the front page of the online version of the local newspaper called the Wichita Falls Times Record News.

Wichita County has seen a lot of rain fall the past couple weeks. But enough to have made the county a disaster area? Apparently there has been some road damage. I have not seen any road damage.

I have been in an area where a disaster has struck a time or two or three, with, if I am remembering correctly, the area not declared a disaster area.

Like when downtown Fort Worth was struck by a tornado, early in this century, killing several and doing a lot of property damage. I do not recollect a disaster area being called.

When Fort Worth and Tarrant County were hit with deadly flash floods, again earlier this century, drowning some, including a little girl named Ally Collins, and leaving Elsie Hotpepper's home teetering on the brink of falling into a raging creek, I do not recollect a disaster area being declared.

In my old home zone I think I recollect when the Mount St. Helens volcano erupted, killing dozens and doing an incredible amount of damage, I do not recollect a disaster area being declared. Maybe because it was so obviously a disaster no one needed to declare it as such.

I remember the valley I lived in before moving to Texas, the Skagit Valley, being hit by destructive flooding due to the Skagit River breeching dikes intended to contain the river during floods. Was a disaster area declared? I do not recollect it, if it was.

Anyway, more heavy rain is on the way at my current location, arriving later today, compounding the situation in this area, which is already, apparently, a disaster...

In Lucy Park With High Wichita River Water & No Bug Bites

It was back to Lucy Park on this HOT humid Tuesday, for some nature communing and a walk to the center of the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge over the Wichita River.

As you can see, the Wichita River is running high. What you can not see is the river is moving fast.

Usually this river lumbers along in real slow motion.

Today's fast-moving river, barely below the suspension bridge deck, a deck which sways at the slightest movement, made for a sort of dizzying effect when looking down through the wooden planks which make up the bridge deck.

I like the color scheme of the river's redrock red, and the blue of the sky. I think I'll paint my house that shade of red, with the trim blue. With a little tree shade of green thrown in, here and there.

Day two of wearing anti-bug-bite bracelets on my wrist and ankles, with no new bug bites. Lucy Park is usually my most bug-bite prone park.

Hot Humid Sikes Lake Walk With Ankle Wrist Bracelet Bug Protection

Yesterday, the day known as Mother's Day, Mother Nature opted to unleash an almost all-day long downpour temper tantrum at my North Texas location.

Including many lightning strikes and thunder booms.

By today, as in Monday, the sky has somewhat cleared, rain is not on the weather menu for today. But all that rain, the past couple days, combined with a lot of sun HEAT, is making both outdoors and indoors super humid.

Yesterday my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation took place in Walmart, due to that aforementioned excessive drippage.

Today I opted to drive to nearby Sikes Lake for some fast humid walking with my fellow fast humid walkers.

This marked the first opportunity I had to make use of the wrist and ankle citronella bracelets I got upon advice from the Skagit Valley's favorite Linda Lou nurse.

That is what you see photo documented above. My left wrist, bug bracelet protected, with my pointing finger attempting to point at the Sikes Lake dam spillway, which is spilling some water today.

So far I make note of no new bug bites. The biting bugs should be out in force today, what with all the rain, the heat and the humidity.

I hope Linda Lou's anti-bug bite prescription works.

I have grown weary of having so many bug bites.

Why I have become attractive bug biting material, this year, after never being attractive bug bite material my previous years in Texas, is a mystery, with no current apparent explanation readily available...

Happy Mother's Day To All You Moms Including Mine

It has been five years since I have made a Happy Mother's Day call to my mom. Hard to believe it has been that long.

The photo you see here is of me wheeling mom towards the restaurant at Tortilla Flats, in Arizona. With mom providing directions I drove myself, mom, Big Ed and Linda Lou on a treacherous twisty road to our final Tortilla Flats destination.

This was in October of 2018.

The next year, 2019, I was back in Arizona in March and July.

Both times being the worst flights I have experienced. Almost half a day stuck in DFW International, waiting to fly to Phoenix. And the other incident having flights out of Wichita Falls cancelled due to weather so bad planes could not land at DFW. So, I had to book a new flight for the next day.

Both incidents had me out of my usual window seat, stuck in the dreaded middle seat.

I have not flown since 2019. COVID put an end to doing such for a year or two. Or was it three? All I know is I really do not have much desire to fly anywhere.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day!!!

Seeing The Northern Lights With David, Theo & Ruby At Dune Peninsula Park In Tacoma

At some point in time yesterday I was told that the Northern Lights Auroa Borrelis light show was going to be visible all the way to the southern United States.

I erroneously opined that this was erroneous, that it is rare for the Northern Lights even to be seen in the northern states, like my old home zone of Washington.

Well, I was wrong. Such happens so rarely it is an unsettling sensation.

All my years in Washington I only saw the Northern Lights once, in the early 1990s, from the roof deck of my house in Mount Vernon, looking at the lights through the wall of trees. I had never seen anything like it before, like a fireworks display on steroids.

When my little sister, Michele, flew the family to Paris earlier this year, or was it late last year. I don't remember. Time flies. Well, the route to Paris had a stop in Iceland on the way. Favorite Nephew Theo was hoping he'd get to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. But, that did not happen.

So, I emailed Michele yesterday, in the oft chance she was not aware that the Northern Lights would be appearing in Washington last night, and tonight. I suggested a better chance might be had by driving over the Cascades to Eastern Washington where cloudiness is much rarer than it is in Western Washington.

Well, Michele emailed back that going to Eastern Washington was not doable due to other plans, something to do with Theo and Ruby and soccer.

But, they'd been told that a new Tacoma park, Dune Peninsula Park, between Point Ruston and Point Defiance, was expected to provide excellent Northern Light viewing, if the clouds cooperated.

Well, the clouds did cooperate, as evidenced by the photo above, sent to my phone, this morning, from Michele.

Last night I totally forgot about the Northern Lighs and did not look outside to see if I could see them. This morning I saw photos of the light show taken in Austin, a Texas town a couple hundred miles south of my North Texas location.

I will try and remember to look outside tonight. Currently the sky is cloud covered....

Lake Wichita Finally Full Floating Former Dry Docks

Went walking at Lake Wichita Park for the first time since the downpours of the past week have raised the lake level to just about full pool for the first time in well over a year.

Thus, for the first time in a long time, the lake is now deep enough for speedboats to zip across the lake. Today I saw two doing so.

And the new kayak launching dock is fully floating for the first time, something I had started to think I would never see.

More rain is on the menu for the coming week.

Meanwhile, if I was up north in my old Washington home zone, tonight I would be seeking a clear sky so as to see the Northern Lights light up the night. I have only seen this once, from my house in Mount Vernon. It was spectacular.

I just learned from sister Michele that she has been told the new Dune Peninsula Park at Point Defiance is a recommended viewing location. I'd suggested heading over to Eastern Washington, which regularly has way fewer clouds than Western Washington, but that is not doable due to the twins, Theo and Ruby, have soccer games on Saturday.

I do not know if Theo and Ruby play on the same team. I suspect not...

Floating With Mr. B Seeing The Mount Baker Volcano

 

The past couple weeks, on Facebook, the entity known as Mr. B, the Forrester, has been documenting something I did not know was something someone could do.

As in fly from Seattle to Sydney, Australia, to get on a cruise ship, to float to New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and then back to Seattle.

This morning's view from the boat is from Puget Sound, looking east at what looks to be the Mount Baker volcano.

That is a view of Mount Baker I do not recollect myself previously seeing, even though I have been on boats in Puget Sound many times.

Bug-Free Muddy Lucy Park Nature Communing

 It was back to Lucy Park I ventured for the first time since last month, on this second Wednesday of May.

Recent rain has the Wichita River running slightly higher than the norm, as you can see via the look across the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge.

The area I call the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle apparently was flooded by the recent rain. The grassy undergrowth appeared to be covered in mud, thus not accessible for easy walking.

So, it was on the bug-free paved trails I stayed today. And so far I have made no note of any new bug bites.

The temperature seemed perfect today. Not HOT. Not cold. Simply pleasant with a gentle breeze blowing.

Summer is rapidly approaching, in a little over a month.

I fear this is going to be a record-breaking Summer, heat-wise.

I need to shed some more pounds to rid myself of any extra insulative adipose tissue rendering me cooler than if I still had that extra insulation heating me up...

Tuesday Sikes Lake Walk With Monarch Waystation

It was to nearby Sikes Lake I ventured on this first Tuesday of the 2024 version of May. 

A HOT and humid Tuesday in May. 

I'd previously walked near the sign you see here, but had never, til today, walked up close enough to see that the sign was signaling that this location is something called a Monarch Waystation.

A butterfly protection zone.

I saw plenty of flowers, but no butterflies.

Of late I have made note of the fact that there seems to be an uptick in the number of people I see out and about in the various parks I visit.

Methinks that, perhaps, a lot of people are finally getting around to doing something about the weight they gained during the long COVID nightmare.

I know I am finally shedding all that weight I gained during the long COVID nightmare...

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge & Mount Rainier & The Imaginary Panther Island

I saw that which you see here on Facebook, yesterday. The Tacoma Narrows Bridges, with Mount Rainier hovering on the horizon.

Unlike those zoomed photos of the Seattle skyline which make it look like Mount Rainier is way closer than it really is, this Tacoma photo of Mount Rainier is pretty much how it actually looks.

When you drive around Tacoma it can seem like the mountain is moving. It's a weird optical illusion. 

I was in Tacoma several times during the construction period of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. That would be the span on the right, with more lanes than the original bridge.

I realize it would have been difficult to make the new bridge look just like the much older, original bridge. There seems to have been some attempt to do so, but can't the towers be painted green to match the other bridge?

It was interesting to me to get to see this bridge under construction. Built over deep, fast moving saltwater.

During the same time frame, I marveled at the bizarre spectacle of Fort Worth, Texas struggling for seven years to build three simple little freeway overpass looking bridges, known as the Panther Island Bridges, over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, with the hope that one day a cement lined ditch will be dug under the three bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, creating the imaginary island.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge does not cross from Tacoma to an island. It crosses over the Narrows to the Olympic Peninsula....

Big Bella Fort Worth News With Texas Cowboy Cutting Horses

I saw that which you see here, this Sunday morning on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram online edition.

Apparently, it is big news that the younger sister of super model, Gigi Hadid, has moved to Fort Worth to cut horses with her Texas cowboy partner.

Years ago, I found myself finding one or two of Bravo TV's Real Housewives shows to be amusing.

Yolanda Hadid was one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. When she was a lot younger Yolanda Hadid was a super model. Eventually becoming the mother of Gigi and Bella.

I do not remember Bella showing up on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I do remember Gigi, and the storyline which had her moving to New York City, to an expensive apartment her uber-wealthy Hadid dad got for her. Soon thereafter Gigi followed her mother's path and became a well known super model.

I think Bella Hadid also does the super model thing, but is not as well known as her older sister.

Why it is front page news that Bella Hadid has moved to Fort Worth to help her Texas cowboy partner cut horses, I have zero clue...

Hot Humid Friday Sikes Lake Walk Around With Coyotes

This first Friday of May it was to Sikes Lake I ventured today for a humid walk around the lake. The temperature was in the upper 70s, but felt way HOTTER due to that annoying humidity.

The Sikes Lake Pack of coyote goose guards seems to grow each time I return to this location.

Some coyotes have now been spotted on the MSU (Midwestern State University) campus.

I have seen a few geese willing to risk being in the presence of the artificial coyotes, but doing so at a coyote-free location, like the coffer dam that crosses Sikes Lake, with a fence making coyote access to the geese impossible.

Thunderstorms and possible tornadoes were on the weather menu yesterday, but there was no booming or twisting. The same thing is on the weather menu for today. So far, nothing has thundered or been excessively windy.

Wichita Falls 2nd Day Of May With Thunderstorms & Possible Tornadoes

This morning Miss Chris, of the duo known as Chris & Sheila, a pair of my favorite Washingtonians, who were often an island of sanity for me, in a sea of madness, whilst I was visiting in Washington, asked me a question last night via Facebook...

"Is the town you live in threatened by a tornado?"

I replied that, yes, the town I live in is currently being threatened by tornadoes. A couple have touched down in recent days slightly to the west of the Wichita Falls city limits.

The above is a screen cap about today's, second day of May, weather prediction for Wichita Falls.

And yes, a tornado is on the menu again today.

Last night, around three in the morning, a thunderstorm arrived, booming, and dropping rain for a couple hours.

I think I will do my daily nature communing in Walmart today, safe from lightning strikes, possibly not so safe from a tornado....

May Day Memory Of Galveston Crawdads & Moody Gardens

No, that is not a throng of people enjoying the first day of May at the newly restored beach at Lake Wichita, restored after recent downpours of lake restoring water, raised the lake's level to almost normal.

It took me a moment or two to remember what this Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day was.

Galveston.

On the Texas Gulf Coast.

Galveston is just about the best tourist type town I've been to in Texas.

As you approach the island, on the bridge connected to the mainland, you see large pyramids of various colors. That was the first surprising thing. Later to be learned the pyramids are part of the Moody Gardens complex.

When I got to the gulf side of the island, I quickly found a place to park. As soon as I exited my vehicle I was hit with two things I had not experienced since I was last in Washington. The smell of saltwater. And the sound of waves.

I think it was soon after smelling that saltwater smell and hearing those crashing waves that I saw the throng of people playing in the water.

The water did not look too inviting, to me. It looked murky, muddy, dirty.

I later that day learned the quality of the water was being affected by the Spring runoff of the Mississippi River draining dirty river water into the gulf.

I had my evening feeding that day in a seafood restaurant on a pier out over the water. This marked the first time since I had been in Texas that I eye witnessed people eating bowls of crawdads, looking to me like they were biting off the heads of the reddish insect looking things and then sucking out the contents.

I have had many opportunities since to avail myself of the crawdad delicacy. I have not succumbed to the temptation...

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!!!!!