Remembering Throwing Life Jugs To Drowning Person In Dinosaur Valley State Park

That which you see here showed up in my email this morning, via Microsoft's OneDrive Memories of this Day.

I have no recollection of what day this photo may have been taken. But, I do remember the location, and the likely time frame, year-wise. As in near the start of the current century.

I was hiking in Dinosaur Valley State Park, down by the town of Glen Rose in Texas Hill Country, when I came upon a swimming hole carved out by the Paluxy River, with two warning signs.

One of which is what you see me standing in front of, with the sun glaring on the lens of my long-gone antique Casio digital camera, with its reverse the lens photo taking, enabling what is now known as a selfie.

LIFE JUGS: THROW A DROWNING PERSON

The other warning sign warned swimming hole swimmers to beware of the snapping turtles.

I had, and still, have no clue if this LIFE JUGS thing was intended as a joke, or serious. I found it a tad inappropriate to see such in a state park.

The swimming hole looked quite inviting, but I did not indulge, due to taking the snapping turtle warning serious.

I previously had had me a scary aggressive turtle episode whilst swimming in Lake Grapevine, back in early July of 2002. My final time getting wet in a treacherous Texas lake...

Last September Sunday Remembering Dinosaur Valley State Park In Texas Hill Country

Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, which I remember.

But, I do not remember if this particular day was the final Sunday of September in a year earlier this century.

The location is Dinosaur Valley State Park.

Dinosaur Valley State Park has the best mountain bike trails I have rolled my wheels on in Texas. 

Actually, Dinosaur Valley State Park has some of the best mountain bike trails I have rolled my wheels on anywhere, as much fun as the famous mountain bike trails in the Moab zone of Utah.

In the photo I am looking at you via my long gone Casio digital camera with its reverse lens option enabling making what are now known as selfies.

Behind me, that is Big Ed. We are standing in the dried up bed of the Paluxy River.

One sees many dinosaur footprints in the dried up riverbed.

The Microsoft OneDrive Memories included a couple photos I took of the dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River bed, one of which is what you see above.

I hiked and biked in Dinosaur Valley State Park many times when I lived a lot closer than I do now. 

One memorable biking time in Dinosaur Valley happened on a Christmas day, early this century. I think the year was 2002. The park was empty. No ranger was bothering monitoring the entry. I had an annual pass, but there was no one to show it to.

I biked for several hours, and then realized it was getting dark. That and I realized I was lost. I got a bit panicky as less and less light illuminated the way. Finally, I came to a trail juncture which I recognized and was then able to make my way back to my vehicle. 

I think I need to get a new mountain bike. And take it to Dinosaur Valley State Park...

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

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

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

Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

 A river to cool off in.

Dinosaur tracks.

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

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

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

My eclipse viewing eyewear, from Amazon, arrived yesterday.

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

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

Microsoft OneDrive Takes Me To Dinosaur Valley With Wanda & Mrs. Lee

Today's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day had one I'd just as soon not remember.

The photo was taken with my now long-gone Casio digital camera, with its selfie taking function, functioning well before taking selfies became something someone does using their phone.

On my left shoulder, in sunglasses, that would be Wanda, first wife of Wally, from Seattle, having flown to Texas about four months after my arrival in the Lone Star State.

On my other shoulder, that would be Mrs. Lee, first name Cathy. Now deceased. The accursed nurse who caused me to think it a good idea to move to Texas.

I am just about 100% certain this photo was taken in Dinosaur Valley State Park. That being my favorite Texas state park. Miles of fun, treacherous mountain bike trails, easy to get lost on...

Google Remembers The Truth About Jesse James Fossil Rim Lake Grapevine With Mom & Dad At The Cotton Bowl

Today, December 7, a date which has lived in infamy ever since this date in 1941, the Google Memories for this day, which show up daily in my email, are things I mostly remember, which does not happen too often.

The top left is from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, located near Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley State Park. The drive through Fossil Rim is one of the funnest things I've done in Texas. The good folks at Fossil Rim liked the webpage I made about that visit, so they mailed me an annual pass and extra tickets, so as to take someone with me. 

I never got around to going back to Fossil Rim and using that annual pass.

Top right, that is mom and dad wearing the cowboy hats I gave them when they visited Texas in January of 2009. I don't know why Google would have this as a memory of today. Hard to believe it is 13 years since mom and dad had their last visit to Texas. Seems like it was yesterday. I was able to drive mom and dad all around the Texas State Fair fairgrounds, and up close to the Cotton Bowl, due to nothing much happening on the fairgrounds on a weekday in January.

Under mom and dad is another Fossil Rim Wildlife Center photo. I think this is the entry pavilion.

Bottom right is a gravestone alleging to be the burial location of Jesse James. If I remember right, I made a webpage of this and the claim that Jesse James is buried in a cemetery in Granbury, Texas.

Just checked, yes, I made a Jesse James webpage, titled The Truth about Jesse James. 

The lower left looks to be Lake Grapevine, a location I used to frequent frequently when I lived in the DFW zone. There are miles of fun mountain bike trails at Lake Grapevine.

Seems like I made a webpage about Lake Grapevine. Yup, and it is called Lake Grapevine.

Well, that is it for today's Google memories that I actually sort of remember...

It Is So Cold In Texas The Dinosaur Valley Dinosaurs Are Not Moving

Yes, today's Ice Storm of freezing rain and sleet extends all the way to Dinosaur Valley and beyond,  to points further south, such as Austin and San Antonio.

No, I am not currently in Dinosaur Valley State Park visiting the frozen dinosaurs. I saw this photo via Twitter a few minutes ago when I went to Tweet about Spencer Jack being in training for the 2028 Panther Island Olympics in Fort Worth.

What with the temperature being below freezing and what with dinosaurs being cold blooded reptiles, the Dinosaur Valley State Park dinosaurs are pretty much not able to move today, frozen solidly in one spot.

Today's winter storm is the first of this winter storm season which has pretty much precisely matched the dire predictions of the weather predictors.

Except I do not remember reading a prediction that last night's thunder booming, which I have seen referenced as Thundersleet, was on the menu.

I currently do not hear much vehicular action going on outside, except the occasional sound of tires loudly slipping on ice.

After the last Ice Storm, last year, Miss Puerto gave me ice cleats which I have yet to use. Maybe I will attach myself to them and go do some icy exploring, later. Maybe not.

I am sort of enjoying not being cold, after yesterday's incident where I got soaking wet via an unexpectedly heavy downpour....

Up A Creek Was Not Up A Creek At The Labor Day Weekend Glen Rose Neo-Relix Film Festival

A fairly reliable source informs us that Up A Creek won the Grand Prize in the Conservation Category at the Labor Day Weekend Glen Rose Neo Relix Film Festival.

Up A Creek is a Trinity River Improvement Partnership (TRIP) documentary in which Ms. Layla Caraway shares her nightmare experiences with Texas flooding, and the aftermath, where Ms. Caraway has tried to get those who should know better to focus their attention on the real flooding issues of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, instead of an un-needed flood diversion channel, a little lake and a forest of magic trees.

Taking the prize at GRNRFF I'm guessing it is now on to the Telluride Film Festival (next year, I think this year's took place this weekend), the Sundance Film Festival, then, of course, the Academy Awards, where I will accompany Ms. Caraway while she accepts the Oscar.

Seattle has a rather big film festival. Maybe we'll be going to that one too.

Glen Rose is a dinosaur-centric town in Texas near Dinosaur Valley State Park, hence the Neo Relix name for the Glen Rose Film Festival.

Who Wants To Rent A Cabin At Turner Falls Park In Oklahoma?

In the picture, that is Big Ed on the right, under the cowboy hat. That would make me on the left, without a cowboy hat. Sitting on a rock wall outside The Castle in Turner Falls Park in Davis, Oklahoma.

I don't remember what year this picture was taken. I do remember it was in August and very hot, with a lot of people in the park and cooling off in crystal-clear spring-fed Honey Creek.

I have a few pages on my Eyes on Texas website that people mistake as being the official website for some location or event. This can cause me to get asked some interesting questions.

For example, the webpage I made of my visit to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup gets me asked a lot of questions from people wanting to buy my rattlesnake skins or rattles. Oddly, many of these inquiries come from the United Kingdom.

The other webpage that generates a lot of questions is the Turner Falls Park webpage. This morning I was asked how many people my cabins can accomodate, what the cost is, are dogs allowed and are any cabins available for the July 30 weekend.

Within an easy drive from my location there are only a few of what I consider to be scenic destinations. One is Turner Falls Park, another is Dinosaur Valley State Park and another is very close to Dinosaur Valley State Park, that being the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

I have been to Turner Falls twice in summer, once in winter. The winter visit was with Gar the Texan. Taking Gar the Texan somewhere always reminded me of taking my nephews somewhere when they were little, due to a sort of babysitting aspect.

With Gar the Texan the babysitting often involved a case of the vapors, or an accident either caused by the vapors or leading to the vapors. Gar the Texan had a horrible case of the vapors on the way to Turner Falls.

By the time Gar the Texan made it to Turner Falls the case of the vapors was a distant memory and he was now in hyper mode, just like one of my little nephews, climbing up steep cliffs, into caves, doing all sorts of things I do not do due to my acrophobia.

Anyway, I do not know how much a cabin costs to rent at Turner Falls, or if you can keep a dog in the cabin, or if one is available the last weekend of July.

What I do know is Turner Falls Park is a scenic surprise in the Arbuckle Mountains, just a couple miles west of Interstate 35, a bit more that 50 miles from the Red River Texas border with Oklahoma.

The Short Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Pondering The Rut He Is In

The sun directly overhead at noon made for a Short Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man, which I am stepping on in the picture.

Today I realized the extent of the rut in which I've fallen.

Ever since I discovered, about 4 years ago, the Tandy Hills trails, less than 4 miles from my abode, it became my default hiking location.

Even after the discovery of the Tandy Hills I used to go to locations like Rockledge Park in Grapevine to hike along Lake Grapevine. Or Bob Jones Park in Southlake. Or Cedar Hills State Park in south Dallas. Or Dinosaur Valley State Park down by Glen Rose.

Or even drive as far as Waco to hike or bike around Cameron Park. Or all the way down to Austin to head west to climb up Enchanted Rock.

But then going to other locations began to taper off. I did go to Bob Jones Park in Southlake on New Year's Day, or maybe it was the day before New Year's Day.

It is 25 miles from my current location to Cedar Hills State Park. 50 miles roundtrip. I don't remember at what point I decided it was ridiculous to drive 50 miles to go on a hike.

I can not remember the last time I went to Dinosaur Valley State Park. I think it was the time I remember getting gas in Glen Rose for $1.50 a gallon and calling my mom to tell her I got gas and how much it cost.

I don't know what I'm going to do to get out of this Tandy Hills rut. I really don't feel like burning 3 or 4 gallons of gas and an hour of time, driving just to go to Cedar Hills State Park just to hike their many miles of very nice trails.

Not when the Tandy Hills is pretty much in my backyard. Maybe I will take up bowling to get me out of my rut.

A Saturday Hike On The Tandy Hills With Mike, Sara & Penny

That is Mike and Sara and their canine hiking companion, Penny, taking a break and having lunch on the Tandy Hills today.

Mike and Sara have lived in Dallas for 3 years. Before Dallas they lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they'd hiked a lot.

Mike and Sara were Googling for places to hike in Texas and somehow found this blog called Durango Texas, which led them to their first visit to the Tandy Hills.

I talked to Mike and Sara and Penny for awhile. Told them about other hiking places in the area.

I forgot to mention some good hiking locations, so I'll mention them now, in the oft chance Mike and Sara visit that Durango Texas Blog again.

Well, Lake Grapevine has some good trails. The trails from Rockledge Park are probably the best. You'll find the entry to Rockledge Park after you drive across Lake Grapevine Dam. Grapevine currently charges an entry fee to Rockledge Park, which I consider an outrage and an abomination.

There are several park areas around Lake Grapevine from which you can access the trails, like the Horseshoe Trails.

Across the Red River, in Oklahoma, there is Turner Falls Park, with hiking, caves and cliffs to climb.

About 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth you'll find Dinosaur Valley State Park. There are miles of good trails in this state park. Very hilly. And it is very easy to get lost. The trails are marked by color. Which does not help all that much with the getting lost problem.

There are a couple other good Fort Worth hiking locations. The Fort Worth Nature Preserve is one. It's got miles of trails, cliffs, prairie dogs, bayous and alligators. Trails that you can access from the Lake Worth overlook in Sansom Park are the steepest I have been on in Texas. Sansom Park is a maze of trails and it is possible to have fun getting lost.

I told Mike and Sara about the trails in Cedar Hills State Park. I neglected to mention how huge this park is. It is a several mile drive, once you enter the park, to get to the first hiking trailhead. At the end of the road you'll find the trailhead for some 13 miles of mountain bike trails, that you can also hike. I told Mike and Sara I've seldom seen a snake on the Tandy Hills. At Cedar Hills State Park I had my biggest rattlesnake encounter. As in, it was HUGE.

This makes twice this week I've run into humans on the Tandy Hills who had not been there before. The hills are coming alive with humans.

Walking In The Tandy Hills Emerald Forest Thinking Of Dinosaur Valley & Turner Falls

We are deep in the Tandy Hills Emerald Forest Jungle in the picture. It sort of looks like a Washington Olympic Rain Forest. Without moss. Or moose, elk, deer or bear.

My low blood pressure dizziness continues. My favorite West Texas Witch Doctor prescribed more salt for me.

When Gar the Texan returns from learning to play football in Italy he's going to go hiking with me.

Some time ago I recollect Gar the Texan telling me he had never gone on a hike. I remember, at the time I heard that, that it struck me as such a sad thing.

So, I drove the boy down to what, at that point in time, was the best place I'd found to hike in Texas, that being Dinosaur Valley.

I was a little apprehensive regarding hiking with Gar the Texan, due to the fact that every time we'd gone on a bike ride he developed a very serious case of the vapors, with only one of those vapors incidents making sense to me, because Gar had had one of the most spectacular bike wrecks I'd ever witnessed, flying over the handlebars and doing a tuck and roll.

It was quite an athletic spectacle.

Followed by a bad case of the vapors. Gar had to stay stationary while I retrieved vehicular transport to rescue him.

There had been another pre-Dinosaur Valley type hiking excursion, that I did not think of as being a hiking destination, but it turned into one. This was at Turner Falls Park in early January. Gar the Texan had had a bad case of the vapors attack on the way to Turner Falls, but, by the time we were there, he was a rock climbing, cave exploring, trail hiking maniac, with no more vapor attacks.

Gar the Texan's hiking at Dinosaur Valley surprised me. For one thing, there is a rather strenuous climb up a cliff. The hike is several miles. By the time we came to a junction, that led back to where we started, I pointed out some trails and said those are mountain biking trails on which it is very easy to get lost. Gar wanted to go hike them! But I was hungry and had had enough hiking for the day.

Anyway, I'm sitting here feeling dizzy. I made burgers and mashed spuds for lunch. Salt went into the spuds. So much for my West Texas Witch Doctor's prescription.

Hiking Turner Falls Park and Dinosaur Valley State Park

A day or two ago, maybe three, maybe yesterday, I made mention of what I thought was the fact that every time I went biking, hiking or roller blading with Gar the Texan he got a case of the vapors that would cause a swoon-like collapse.

Well, I totally wrongly disparaged Gar the Texan's record regarding doing anything that requires physical exertion and its resulting bad case of the vapors.

I'd forgotten I went hiking with Gar the Texan down at Dinosaur Valley State Park. It was a long hike up steep trails. He did not get a case of the vapors. If I remember right he was gung-ho to take off on another section of trail. But I was hungry and ready to quit hiking.

There was a second time that Gar the Texan hiked around without getting the vapors that I also forgot about. Now, that second time he did get a case of the vapors, but it occurred on the drive north to the hiking destination, that being Turner Falls Park up in Oklahoma.

By the time we got to Turner Falls, Gar the Texan was totally over his vapor bout and was a hiking machine, including climbing a steep cliff to get to a cave and at another point standing on top of a pinnacle. I am a bit of an acrophobe, but Gar the Texan, despite his potential for getting a case of the vapors at an inopportune time, was willing to be quite risky.

I even recollect he ran up and down the rock stairway of the Turner Falls Castle.

So, to set the record straight, the Gar the Texan cases of the vapors occurred on 2 different bike rides up by Lake Grapevine, once at the Horseshoe Trails that involved a spectacular wreck and another time at the other end of the lake that didn't involve a spectacular wreck, just a case of the vapors.

Then there was a bike ride along the Trinity Trails, going from the Fort Worth Stockyards to downtown Fort Worth's Heritage Park. This incident was a very bad case of the vapors and included Gar the Texan taking on a sort of green tint.

I previously mentioned the Gar the Texan case of the vapors that occurred a few minutes into, as far as I know, his only roller blading attempt.

Okay, I've now set the record totally straight regarding Gar the Texan's vapor cases history.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center Zebra Attack

A couple years ago I webpaged a visit to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. In one of the rare times that something I did, website-wise, actually generated anything worthwhile for me, I was sent a Season Pass to visit anytime I wanted, along with 2 guest passes.

Yesterday I realized I can not remember the last time I had been outside this Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone. So, with gas being only $3.15 a gallon and with Fossil Rim Wildlife Center being only about an 80 mile drive it seemed like a good idea, at the time, for another visit.

Fossil Rim is like a drive through Safari. Which is very appropriate because I drove my Safari van. At the Visitor's Center you can purchase a bag of animal food. This comes in handy because the animals are very pushy with their demands to be fed. Like the zebras. If they don't get some instant gratification they will stick their head in your open window looking for food. The one you see above took a bite out of my steering wheel. I don't think he liked how it tasted.

I also had an ostrich get a bit aggressive. I guess there are good reasons why you are advised to keep your windows rolled up. Which seem a bit confusing to me, as in how did they expect you to feed the animals with the food they sold at the same time they were saying to keep your windows up? When I snapped this picture of this ostrich it must have thought my camera was something to eat because it lunged at it causing me to back away really fast. And then I rolled up the window.

To see more of my photos from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center go here.

Fossil Rim is near the town of Glen Rose, a very scenic town with a very cool courthouse square. Also nearby is Dinosaur Valley State Park. Outside Dinosaur Valley State Park there is this anti-evolution thing called The Creation Museum. I guess its purpose must be to prove that dinosaurs did not exist. And a new bizarre thing has been added right outside Dinosaur Valley State Park. That being another Dinosaur Park called Dinosaur World. It looked pretty lame. Sort of Flintstonesque.