Atop Wichita Bluffs Pondering Big Blue While Shrinking

Likely the iconic view you see here needs no description, what with it being obvious we are atop a bluff on the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, looking east over the Wichita River at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Wichita Falls.

That skyscraper at the center of the skyline is known a Big Blue. I have yet been able to understand why the locals do not seem to realize Big Blue is a bit of an eyesore, sticking out like an out of place mistake surrounded by buildings which do not look out of place.

Since first seeing Big Blue I have learned in its former glory years it was a classic old style building with a beautiful high ceiling lobby. And then it fell on hard times, which somehow resulted in the building being clad with a blue metal covering to facilitate the easy covering up plumbing and electrical upgrades running up the outer walls of the building, turning it into what looks to be a poorly designed, sorely in need of some sprucing up, eyesore, with a frequently malfunctioning time and temperature sign at its top.

Turning the subject from what looks to me to be the worst Wichita Falls eyesore, well, in the downtown zone, to today's hike on the Circle Trail.

The past couple years I have found myself in Arizona on seven separate occasions, for two to three week visits. Upon each return I have been double non-plussed to find I gained some poundage. Usually in the 10 pound range.

I have found as one gets older it is increasingly more difficult to melt off excess poundage. In years past simply amping up the miles of biking, roller blading and hiking would accomplish the pound shedding. With no dieting of the food intake monitoring needed.

But now, I find the biking and hiking does not seem to reverse the slow creep to 300 pounds. So, I have opted to amp up the calorie burning hiking, and cut back on some of the calorie adding eating.

Hence the hiking the Wichita Bluffs today.

I hope to be able to fit back into my blue jeans before cold weather renders doing so a dire necessity...

Downtown Wichita Falls Dodging Lightning Bolts With Littlest Big Blue Skyscraper

This morning I had a book or two which needed to be returned to their place of residence, the downtown Wichita Falls Public Library.

So, with the weather outside being only somewhat frightful, what with a few lightning bolts with occasional raindrops, it seemed at the time a good idea to take a walk around downtown Wichita Falls.

It had been a couple years since I had walked by the World's Littlest Skyscraper, which is the towering edifice you see here.

I wonder why Dubai does not try to take the World's Littlest Skyscraper title away from Wichita Falls?

The World's Littlest Skyscraper is close to the Wichita Falls Farmers Market. The market was open today, with a few vendors and few shoppers.

Downtown Wichita Falls has had some aesthetic improvements since I first saw this downtown three years ago.

When one walks around the downtown one sees a lot of vacant buildings, some with what looks like good restoration possibilities.

I don't know if anything, restoration-wise, could be done with the pair of vacant buildings you see above. The open space behind the still standing storefront on the right looked like it could somehow be made into a functional space for some imaginative use. Maybe the building on the left could become a saloon with the open space on the right a beer garden.

Downtown Wichita Falls is an extremely eclectic mix of architectural styles. To my eyes the older buildings look good. The modern buildings not so much. Such as the short skyscraper you see below.

The locals call the above building "Big Blue". This building has been a work in progress as long as I have been in Wichita Falls. The exterior of Big Blue has a lot of issues in dire need of fixing.

From what I have been told this was an older building which was updated. To make the updating cost effective blue cladding was stuck on the old building so as to easily facilitate modern plumbing and wiring changes. This has never seemed like a plausible explanation to me.

Near as I can tell most of the locals like Big Blue. To my new to town eyes this blue building sort of sticks out in an obtrusive eyesore sort of way. Methinks removing the blue cladding would be a real good idea.

There is another attraction near the Wichita Farmers Market. A railroad museum.

The railroad museum has what looks like a graveyard of vintage rail vehicles, from locomotives to passenger cars.

I need to return to downtown Wichita Falls sometime soon and check out the railroad museum and maybe takes some photos of some of the impressive looking old buildings, some with explanatory historical markers.