Cautionary Flood Advisory From the City of Wichita Falls

A cautionary posting on Facebook from the City of Wichita Falls, Texas Government, advising that it would be wise to not drive on a flooded street without knowing how deep the water is.

Copious amounts of rain drenched Wichita Falls the first Sunday of June, with more drenching on the weather menu for today.

I do not recollect a thunderstorm seeming as violent as what struck yesterday.

The lightning strike and thunder were simultaneous several times. Felt concussive, like an explosion. The first instance startled me so much I fell out of my chair, wrenching my back.

Yesterday's daily walk took place in Walmart, due to the outer world being a bit wet, and dangerous, what with those aforementioned lightning strikes.

Sikes Senter Mall is closer than Walmart. Maybe that will be my walking venue today.

The mall is way more boring to walk in than Walmart, with not nearly the number of oddball types in the mall that one is sure to see in Walmart.

11/16/2021 Jason Drives Us To Downtown Mount Vernon To See Flooding Skagit River

In the above video my Favorite Nephew Jason drives south on I-5, beside the flooding Skagit River.

And then Jason takes us to a closeup look at the Mount Vernon Skagit Riverfront's first major test of the new flood wall.

Flooding Memorial Day Wichita Bluff Nature Area Hiking With Linda Lou

Feeling the need for some Memorial Day aerobically induced endorphins, acquired via hiking some elevation gain, at my current rather flat location on the planet I have only three options of which I am aware available within a reasonable distance, as in less than ten miles from my home location..

Those three locations which rise above the surrounding flatness would be hiking to the summit of Mount Wichita, hiking to the top of the Wichita Falls manmade waterfall, or the option I took today, which is by far the best of the three, that being hiking the Wichita Bluff Nature Area section of the Wichita Falls Circle Trail.

As you shall soon see the Wichita River is again in over its banks mode. Thus the Circle Trail accessed from the newly opened east access to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area is currently under water. So, it was to the original west access I took myself, which would make it soon past the WBNA entry point you are looking at above.

I did not check it out so as to be certain, but I am assuming Lucy Park is also once again under water, and thus the Circle Trail access to the manmade Wichita Falls is currently not accessible.

Today on this Memorial Day hiking occasion I saw more people than I have ever previously seen enjoying this location, which is one of the most scenic one can find at this location on the planet.

Above you are at the highest point in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, looking down at the flooding Wichita River, looking way bigger and closer than it usually looks.

And below we have gone as far as we can, without going into swimming mode, which would not be a practical thing to do at this location.

If you look closely you can see the rapidly flowing Wichita River on the other side of the line of green trees.

I do not plan on doing any BBQing on this Memorial Day. It is too HOT and humid.

Yesterday I heard from my favorite Skagit Valley nurse, Linda Lou, that she will be on assignment in Seattle most of June, staying at a location in Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood.

Since I knew this area overlooked Lake Washington, and that the I-90 tunnel goes under Mount Baker on its way to floating across the lake, I asked Linda Lou if she would be having a good view of that bridge for photo documenting purposes, so as to show people who can not even manage to build a simple little bridge over dry land that in modern America they somehow manage to float big bridges over actual water.

Linda Lou confirmed she will have a good view of the bridge, and yes was the answer to my question asking if the Seattle Link light rail ran through the Mount Baker neighborhood. Linda Lou confirmed that that was the case and that a station was within close walking distance.

So Linda Lou will be using modern public transit to move herself all over the Seattle zone. What a concept.

Maybe Linda Lou will take some closeup photos of the new Seattle Waterfront when she is out and about.

I am also curious to see via a photo of the I-90 floating bridge if the Link light rail installation is underway. That link of the Link, when completed, will make a loop through Bellevue, and then over the other floating bridge at the north end of Lake Washington. With a link, I think, off that loop, going to Redmond and the Microsoft complex. I know the downtown Bellevue section of that link is via a tunnel, of which the boring has been underway for quite some time. But, I have read no news about it for quite some time.

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, when will Molly the Trolley be able to roll over any of those pitiful little bridges which have been under slow motion construction for years? Will Molly the Trolley roll by what remains of Radio Shack's corporate headquarters? What a boom town...

Checking Out Wichita Falls Lucy Park Flood

Earlier today I mentioned I was going to be going to Lucy Park today to see if the Wichita River has flooded into the park.

And that if Lucy Park was flooded I would make my way to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area's west end, because I assumed if Lucy Park was flooded, then the east entry to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area would also be flooded.

Well.

Lucy Park was flooded beyond what I thought possible. A gate blocked access to Lucy Park, with the Wichita River flooded to a point just a few feet past the gate.

The paved trail you see above leads from the currently gated entry to the now flooded Circle Trail. To the right the Circle Trail underwater leads to the manmade Wichita Falls. Likely currently not falling any water.

A look deeper into flooded Lucy Park, looking in the direction of the swimming pool and log cabin. To the left would be the duck pond we visited last Sunday. I was unable to tell if the swimming pool, log cabin and duck pond are flooded.

Leaving Lucy Park I headed west to the east access to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, expecting the parking lot to likely be flooded.

I was wrong. The parking lot was not flooded, and the Circle Trail was not underwater for, maybe, a quarter mile, when I came to the location above, where the Circle Trail is underwater, a condition also known as flooded.

The above view looks across the flooded Circle Trail to the Wichita Bluff, where you can see a flood viewer standing on the bluff, who would have accessed the Wichita Bluff Nature Area from the far above the flooded river west parking lot.

Above, you are looking north at the Wichita River, the main channel of which is past the trees you see making the scenic shadows in the muddy water.

I have no idea if this flood is record breaking. I hope it has not damaged, or destroyed, the suspension bridge across the Wichita River. Or damaged the log cabin and duck pond. Or anything else. Like the Japanese Pagoda.

I am ready for warm air to return in the new year for some drying out action...

Santa Checking Holliday Creek Flood Before New Year's Eve Smoked Salmon

On this icy cold Sunday before the last day of 2018 I stepped outside for a minute to see if Holliday Creek was still running excess water due to last Wednesday's extreme downpours.

Yes, as you can see to the right of the extremely rare selfie of me, Holliday Creek is still running excess water.

Regarding that selfie.

As you can clearly see, I am still sporting part of my Santa Claus disguise.

Back to Wednesday's storm's aftermath.

Wichita County was declared a disaster area, following the storm, due to flood, wind, and loss of power, damage.

Near as I can tell this disaster area declaration has been a local county declaration, not the state of Texas declaring Wichita County a disaster area, or the federal government doing such.

I may be wrong about this, but I do know I've seen nothing of FEMA anywhere I have been.

In a few minutes I will exit my abode again, and this time use my mechanized motion device to drive to Lucy Park to see how high the Wichita River is, and if Lucy Park is flooded.

If Lucy Park is flooded I will continue on to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area where the Circle Trail from the western entry is high above the river, and thus no possibility of being flooded. If Lucy Park is flooded, the east entry to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area is likely also flooded.

Tomorrow my New Year's Eve Party begins promptly at 6 pm.

Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Anacortes will be the main protein on the buffet table. If you are planning on bringing anything to contribute to the buffet table please make sure it does not conflict, taste-wise, with Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Anacortes.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this serious taste conflict issue...

Spencer Jack Back From Utah With Skagit River Flooding

Spencer Jack and his dad are back home in Washington, after Thanksgiving in Utah. David, Theo and Ruby and their parental units are also back in Washington, after Thanksgiving in Arizona.

Spencer Jack and his dad got back to Mount Vernon just in time to help the valley deal with the Skagit River in flood mode for the first time this flood season. I began seeing drone videos of the flooding Skagit yesterday, with those videos showing the Skagit in the downtown zone of Mount Vernon, which is like New Orleans, as in, below river level when the river goes high.

A few years ago Mount Vernon decided to copy a bigger town in the south called Fort Worth when Mount Vernon developed its virtual Skagit River Vision, only with Mount Vernon's vision being an actual legitimate economic development scheme, combined with an actual vitally needed flood control scheme.

Minus corruption and nepotism. In other words, Mount Vernon did not give the unqualified son of the local congressperson the job of director of the Skagit River Vision, in order to motivate the parent to secure federal funds to pay for the project. Mount Vernon did what towns wearing their big city pants do, as in mostly paid for the project itself and hired qualified adults to oversee the project.

Hence the Skagit River Vision's timely completion.

As in, unlike Fort Worth Trinity River Vision's ill-planned scheme, Mount Vernon's is up and running. And, apparently, currently saving downtown Mount Vernon from a disastrous flood.

Prior to the Skagit River Vision and its flood control aspect, when a flood threatened downtown Mount Vernon a literal army of locals sandbagged for hours to build a wall to hold the river back.

Post Skagit River Vision a Dutch-designed flood wall can now be put in place in a couple hours by a handful of workers. The new flood wall is what you see holding back the river in Spencer Jack's photo documentation above.

On the right side of that flood wall is another aspect of the Skagit River Vision, a long riverwalk type attraction, complete with a plaza, or two. I do not think, unlike Fort Worth, the plazas have Japanese car company sponsors.

I remember twice helping sandbag downtown Mount Vernon. The most dramatic incident was in the early 1990s. A warm front had melted the mountain snowpack. The lowlands were drenched in hours of downpour. All the rivers of Western Washington went into flood mode. One of Washington's floating bridges sank.

I was at home, in far east Mount Vernon, high above the river, watching Seattle TV cover the situation live in Mount Vernon. About one in the morning the news started to make the situation sound dire. The National Guard was arriving. All possible help was being asked to come to downtown Mount Vernon to the staging area by the library.

I woke up my house and soon the occupants were at the downtown library, which was a beehive of action. Soon we found  ourselves part of a bucket brigade of sandbaggers, building a sandbag wall where today there is that Dutch flood wall.

At some point maximum sandbag height was reached. We were told to retreat, and that the anticipated flood crest would be about 11 that morning. At that point in time, myself and many others, flooded the high points above downtown Mount Vernon to see if the sandbag wall was going to save downtown Mount Vernon.

We could see the water start to crest over the sandbags.

And then, suddenly, the water level dropped, instantly, it seemed.

What just happened everyone wondered.

Soon all hell was breaking loose. Sirens, helicopters in the air. I do not remember how long it was before we learned the dike protecting Fir Island breached, flooding the island, and taking pressure off the river, hence the sudden drop.

For those of you reading this in Fort Worth. Fir Island is what is known as a real island, surrounded by water, two sides of which are forks of the Skagit River, the third side being the Skagit Bay of Puget Sound.

And there are two bridges connecting the Skagit mainland with Fir Island, both built over the rapid moving water of the Skagit River. Neither promoted as being signature bridges. Both built in a fraction of the time Fort Worth has been spending trying to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, which could never suffer a catastrophic dike breach such as what Fir Island suffered. Twice. Because Fort Worth's imaginary Panther Island will never be what any sane person would call an island ....

Houston's Got A Water Problem While Seattle Swelters With Record Breaking Heat

Houston's got a problem.

Way too much water.

What would happen in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone if 14 inches fell in less than 24 hours?

What would happen if 14 inches fell in less than 24 hours if the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision ever becomes something someone can see?

With the myopic vision taking down the levees which have kept Fort Worth dry for over half a century? With the Boondoggle replacing the levees with a flood diversion channel handling that which the levees successfully kept in check.

Meanwhile, in other weather news, up north in my old home zone of Western Washington yesterday broke the temperature record for April 18.


89 degrees in Seattle.

Hotter than Honolulu, Phoenix, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth.

89 degrees would have had the Puget Sound beaches swarming with people yesterday.

There are very few beaches to swarm to at my current location.

Today I found myself driving on Beach Street, first in Fort Worth, and then in Haltom City.

I have wondered previously, and wondered anew today, why is Beach Street so named? When there is no beach to be found?

Spencer Jack Driving Through A Flooding Skagit River

Earlier today I mentioned that I expected I would be seeing Skagit River flood documentation from Spencer Jack and his dad.

What I did not expect I would be seeing is video documentation of Spencer Jack driving through a flooding Skagit River.

Seems like only yesterday Spencer Jack took us on a virtual drive on a super dry Skagit River bed.

One bridge has been constructed across the Skagit River since I evacuated the valley to begin my long exile in Texas. That bridge connects Burlington and Mount Vernon. This bridge was built in far less than four years and was built over a big river that can  move a lot of water at times.

Fort Worth is currently taking four years to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Four years.

Over dry land.

Anyway, below Spencer Jack takes you on a very short drive which ends in a big splash, in which you see the new bridge over the Skagit River, with its very special signature one of a kind piers....

Rainy Walmart Drive With Mom To A Mallard Cove Mystery

When I was a young lad I recollect on days like this my mom would sing a song part of which went something like "rain rain go away, come again another day..."

Since Thanksgiving Texas has been reminding me of what a Washington winter can be like. Day after day after day after day after day of rain.

And cold.

But there is one HUGE difference. When the rain in Washington finally stops and the sky is once again blue you look in just about any direction and you see these things called mountains, snow-capped, this time of year. If the sky ever turns blue again, at my current location, no matter which direction I look I will not be seeing any snow-capped mountains.

I tried going jogging this morning. That did not go well after a downpour started getting me extra wet. About an hour before noon I texted my mom and dad to ask "Are you kids home and by the phone?" My dad texted back with a "Yes".

So, I called and asked mom if she wanted to ride to Walmart with me in the rain. Mom was onboard for the Walmart trip.

I got gas a couple days ago but it was not convenient to call my mom, like I usually do, when I get gas, to tell mom how much it cost. That and usually also mentioning the temperature.

After I finished my walk around Walmart I returned to Mallard Cove Park for the third day in a row. I figured the flood would be flooding much higher, what with a lot of rain continuing to fall.

Instead, when Mallard Cove came in to view I was surprised to see the water had receded quite a distance. Today's photo through the rain spattered windshield sort of shows you the Mallard Cove reduction, compared to the photos from Friday and Saturday.

Why has the river level gone down whilst rain still falls in copious amounts?

If this were in the aforementioned Washington, in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley, when the flooding Skagit River suddenly drops it means only one thing. A dike downstream has broken.

I remember a flood event back in the early 1990s. The storm that sank one of the Lake Washington floating bridges. Downtown Mount Vernon was in major emergency mode. An army of locals poured into downtown to help sandbag, along with a couple hundred servicemen from the Whidbey Island Naval Station. Or was it the National Guard?

I remember I was at home, about midnight, watching the flood news on TV, when the coverage went live to Mount Vernon, where the KING 5 news guy was making it sound like hundreds of people were making their way to downtown to save the library.

It was about a three mile drive from my abode to downtown Mount Vernon. About 15 minutes after hearing the library was in danger I was parking on a hill above downtown and making my way to the library.

Where I learned the library was not in actual immediate danger, but was ground zero for sand bag filling operations, I was told they had plenty of sandbaggers, but able bodied sorts were needed on the revetment (think dike with a parking lot on top) to help build a sand bag wall.

Soon I  found myself in a bucket  brigade type operation. This went on for a couple hours til about a 5 foot wall extended the length of downtown.

The river was predicted to crest around noon, if I remember right. It was expected to topple over the sandbag wall, by a slight amount, hopefully not enough to flood downtown Mount Vernon, which is sort of like New Orleans, as in below the river level when it is in flood mode.

So, before the expected crest I made my way to downtown Mount Vernon again, along with a lot of other people. We were kept a distance away, safe from a catastrophic flood wall failure. We watched as the river rose higher and higher, reaching to the top of the sandbag wall, then starting to go over the wall in spots.

Then, suddenly the water level dropped by a foot, or more.

What happened? No one knew. Soon emergency sirens were wailing. Helicopters were in the air.

I do not remember how long it was before it was known that the dike had broken downriver a couple miles, about a 200 foot breech in the dike that protected Fir Island from a flooding Skagit River.

When the Skagit River reaches Fir Island it splits into two forks, the north and the south forks of the Skagit River. The west side of Fir Island is a body of water known as Skagit Bay, which is part of another body of water known as Puget Sound.

Those reading this who live in the environs of Fort Worth, Fir Island is a real island, surrounded on all sides by moving water. There are two bridges that cross the Skagit River on to Fir Island. Both built in well under four years, and both built over a wide deep river, not dry land.

Those reading this who do not live in the environs of Fort Worth, who are wondering why I am explaining Fir Island's island status and bridges, well, here in Fort Worth we have this pseudo public works project which has been boondoggling along for almost all of this century, with very little to show for the effort.

This project has gone by many names. Currently it is the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision.

Known by many as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Over a year ago The Boondoggle had a big celebration to celebrate the supposed start of construction on its three simple little bridges being built over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

A month or so ago The Boondoggle launched a publicity propaganda burst to proudly share the news that wooden forms were able to be seen being constructed at the location where the only one of the three bridges is currently sort of under construction.

I think I got off subject.

So, the breech in the Fir Island dike caused the Skagit River to flood Fir Island, doing a lot of damage.

When the river receded the dike was quickly repaired. Then, two weeks later, another storm caused another flood. The sandbag wall was still in place. Once again the river rose to a level which was going to top the sandbag wall and once again the Fir Island dike broke. This time not as catastrophically, because the damage  had already been done two weeks previous.

So, what caused the water level in Mallard Cove to drop since yesterday? I drove no further east, on Randol Mill Road, than Mallard Cove. That road is a bit of a pot holed bump fest to drive on any old time. With the flooding driving that road becomes a bit treacherous, what with flooding creeks rushing water over the road and deep puddles.

The sky is actually looking brighter right now than it has in days. Is the gray coming to an end? Will blue sky return tomorrow with clear views of the gorgeous surrounding landscape....

Saturday Look At Texas Flooding & Town Talk

Swimming and hiking were not doable on this last Saturday of the next to last month of 2015, due to rain and air chilled to only a few degrees above freezing.

I did go jogging in the rain this morning, though. I did not get too cold.

Before noon I headed west, towards Town Talk, via Randol Mill Road, not knowing if the road was open or closed due to flooding.

As I drove by Quanah Parker Park I saw the park was flooded more than I'd ever seen previously. Then I got to the bridge crossing the Trinity. I decided to park and walk out onto the bridge to see how the new  bridge construction was faring with the flooding.

As you can see the Trinity River is moving a lot of water. I don't recollect seeing it this high before. The river appears to have wreaked some havoc with the new bridge construction. Unlike America's Biggest Boondoggle, this Trinity River bridge project did not have the option of being built  over dry land, with the water to be installed at some distant point of time way in the future.

Were no warnings given that gave the road and bridge builders time to evacuate their heavy equipment? Did the river rapidly rise due to the reservoirs being full from last spring's flood? Mary Kelleher has a farm on Randol Mill Road that also got flooded with Mary not warned a flood was on its way. Mary was alerted to the flood in the middle of Thanksgiving night when she heard her water trapped cows crying.

After checking out the flooded bridge construction I was back in my vehicle, heading west towards Town Talk, dodging some deep water covering the road in several  locations.

Town Talk was not busy and was a bit of a bust, again, in the treasure finding department.

After Town Talk I headed back east, again via Randol Mill Road, continuing to Mallard Cove Park to see how much higher the water has risen since yesterday.

Well, this flood has flooded higher than last spring's flood, at this location. When the previous flood subsided I figured a mess would be left in its wake in Mallard Cove Park. Instead, the water quickly receded with nary a sign of it having been there.

I saw a lot of flood looky-loos, both at Mallard Cove Park and in the Gateway Park/Trinity River Bridge zone. I forgot to mention, the north entry into Gateway Park is currently not doable, due to too much water.

The above was one of the Mallard Cove Park looky-loos. I do not know what this person is doing in the picture. Framing something with his hands? As he was doing this he was also talking to himself. I kept my distance.

I have not witnessed any precipitation precipitating for several hours. Is the worst of this over now? I thought I read the remnants of a Pacific hurricane was scheduled to arrive in Texas after visiting Mexico.

Will this flood be the final nail in the former Cowtown Wakepark's coffin? How has that other project of The Boondoggle, that being those V-pier forms under construction that The Boondoggle seemed so proud about, fared during this latest deluge?

I suppose The Boondoggle's one little bridge being built over dry land likely has not been too impacted by too much water....

Black Friday In Walmart Wondering About Humanity Sanity Before Seeing A Flooding Trinity River

Donald Trump being the Republican front runner has a lot of people concerned about the sanity of a large number of my fellow Americans.

Well, I was finding myself concerned about the sanity of a large number of my fellow Americans when I had myself a Walmart visit on this Black Friday.

As I drove on to the Sam's Club/Walmart parking lot I saw the largest woman I have ever seen. She was loading stuff into her trunk. She was as wide as her trunk. How was she able to drive I found myself wondering. But, I did not linger long enough to satisfy my curiosity.

The two ladies you see using motorized transplant inside Walmart were dainty in comparison to the large woman I just got done telling you about.

In Walmart today I saw an inordinate number of people ill-fitted into clothes, sporting too much weight for the clothes they were stuffing themselves in to, along with sporting tattoos, piercings and one with his ear lobes enlarged into big circles.

The guy with the expanded ear lobes looked quite slovenly.

It always perplexes me when I see such things, wondering why would getting tattoos and piercings and ear lobe expansions be something one thought improved or enhanced their appearance, when there are other things one would think would come first. Like losing weight, getting a haircut, wearing clothes that fit, that type thing.

I did not realize so much rain had dropped during the current storm til I  learned, on Facebook, via Mary Kelleher, that the Trinity has once again flooded her ranch, with some of her cow babies needing a middle of the night rescue from the unexpected flood.

After leaving Walmart, on the way back to relative safety, I drove Randol Mill Road and was surprised to see how high the flood waters  had risen.  Eventually I drove into Mallard Cove Park.

The water appears to have risen higher than last spring's flood, which was the first time I ever saw Mallard Cove Park flooded. I did not get out of my vehicle. Those are big raindrops hitting my windshield you see above looking like Village Creek ghosts.

More rain is on the menu for the next several days. Not good.

Spencer Jack Takes Us On A Drive Through The Flooding Skagit River

Last August my Favorite Great Nephew, Spencer Jack, who I just realized is currently my Only Great Nephew, took us all on a drive where the Skagit River used to flow.

Well, Spencer Jack is taking us to the river again, only now, a few months later, the Skagit River is back full of water to the point of being over filled, as in flooding.

The current flood is the second Skagit flood of the flood season. It would seem the drought has ended in the Western Washington part of the West Coast. Early snow has closed the North Cascades Highway til Spring. A winter or two, well, maybe only one, there has been so little snow that that mountain  pass has managed to stay open through the winter. But this year it is already closed, with winter still a month away from arriving.

The below is a screen cap from yesterday's Skagit Valley Herald online version.

I read in the Seattle Times this morning that the storms of recent days have killed three and left hundreds of thousands without power.

Texas floods seem to have a tendency to be much more dramatic than what I remember of Washington floods. One would think Washington would get downpours at a Texas level, what with being so close to the Pacific and what with there being areas which are rain forests due to so much rain. I don't think Texas has any rain forests.

Washington does tend to have more horrific mudslides than what happen in Texas, likely due to Washington having steep hills and mountains down which walls of mud and debris can slide.

Below is another picture of Spencer Jack and the Skagit.

I see the Riverside Bridge and the Tulip Tower in the background,  which means Spencer Jack is in Mount Vernon. I can not tell if Spencer is on the east bank or the west bank of the river. What looks likes submerged playground equipment behind Spencer Jack confuses me. I don't remember any park type location being near the west bank of the river as it passes by downtown Mount Vernon.

Texas locals who observe the Trinity River when it is in flood mode and have been astonished by the volume of litter floating towards the Gulf of Mexico, make note of the fact that you see absolutely no litter in the Skagit River floating towards either the Gulf of Mexico or Puget Sound.....

Fort Worth Weekly Feels We Are Lucky Fort Worth City Leaders Prepared For Storm Bill's Flooding

This afternoon Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to something somewhat amusing in Fort Worth Weekly's online Blotch blog.

That is that which I am talking about, screen capped, but I edited the title due to this being a family friendly blog, which for common decency's sake does not use vulgarities of the F-word sort, lest some young impressionable mind see such and conclude such is appropriate in polite society.

So, I changed the title to "More Fun Rain!"

The blurb which caught the Hotpepper's eye was....

Did you ever think we’d be complaining about too much rain in Texas? Even Pete Delkus is wearing arm floaties to work. Luckily our city leaders are preparing for the latest round of rainfall brought by Hurri-storm Bill, the least menacing-sounding name for a storm since Hurricane Mildred is the ’40s.

Who would these Fort Worth city leaders be who are preparing for this latest round of flooding? And how is it they are preparing?

The same city leaders who led so ineptly when the West 7th area was rapidly developed, with little attention paid to drainage, turning the area into a lake when too much rain falls?

The same city leaders who go along with America's Biggest Boondoggle, that supposed flood control project combined with an economic development project which has been going basically nowhere in slow motion for well over a decade?

The same city leaders who have done nothing when gas drillers drilling in Fort Worth, particularly East Fort Worth, alter the topography, causing flooding where no flooding had occurred previously?

What has gone awry at Fort Worth Weekly?

It's like what used to be the only publication Fort Worth had which came close to being a real newspaper has now been co-opted and has taken to operating in the Fort Worth Way, as in kowtowing to the ruling oligarchy, blindly spewing the party line's propaganda, the flooded people be damned....

Witnessing The Miracle Of A Litter Free Flooding Trinity River Under A Bumbershoot

On the way to Town Talk I decided to park at Quanah Parker Park and take my Bumbershoot on a short walk in the rain.

The last time I saw a flooding Trinity River from this location, years ago, the river had an amazing amount of litter, in a wide range of color and size, flowing by.

During this current flood event I have seen the Trinity River in several locations and have not seen much litter flowing by.

Does this indicate the chronic Texas littler problem has improved? Or has all the rain already flushed most of the litter to the Gulf of Mexico?

I just realized I do not know where the Trinity River enters the Gulf. I suspect  the beaches in that area, wherever it is, would make for some interesting beachcombing.

Today's Town Talk treasure hunting went well.

Organic Fuji Apples from a town in Washington called Wenatchee, Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit, Carrots, Cinnamon Rolls, 5 pounds of Gorgonzola and a gallon of Organic Milk, plus other stuff I am not remembering right now.

Under Water After A Night Of North Texas Booming

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook via Elsie Hotpepper.

I wish the thunder would do its booming during the day instead of causing me sleep deprivation. The latest night of booming had some close strikes, with the boom arriving simultaneous with the lightning flash.

Earplugs block the distant booming, but when the booming gets close it wakes me up, and I stay awake, with the earplugs no longer doing their job.

Last night's booming sleep disturbance was compounded, when it woke me up, by a bedroom so cold I got up to see if I left the A/C on.

The A/C was off. But by dawn's early light I found out why my bedroom was unnaturally cold and why the booming seemed louder than the norm.

I don't remember opening it, but my bedroom window was slightly open, thus allowing the naturally air-conditioned outer world air to blow in.

Currently that aforementioned outer world is being chilled to only 56 degrees. That is way colder than air-conditioned air.

I have a bad feeling about this current syndrome of day after day of storms in North Texas.

There has been a lot of building in the D/FW zone since the last time a mega gully washer hit. Particularly in the north Fort Worth area, which is where the flood above is located.

This area needs some sort of government agency to address flood control issues in towns like Haltom City, which has had some killer flash floods, with little done to mitigate the bad planning which leads to the bad flooding.

An agency called TRWD (Tarrant Regional Water District) is responsible for mitigating flood issues in some of the D/FW zone, but mainly concerns itself with building imaginary islands, building bridges to imaginary islands, building restaurants, building drive-in movie theaters, building ice rinks, building wakeboard parks, opening ballparks, rescuing bankrupt friends, staging floating river beer parties and keeping themselves employed or re-elected or both....

Today Heavy Rain Blocked Me From Access To Arlington's Village Creek Indian Ghosts

At some point in time during the middle of the night I woke up to find myself feeling a chilly breeze which felt like the air-conditioner in chilling mode.

However, the air-conditioner was not running, but the ceiling fan was spinning and unbeknownst to me the temperature in the outer world had plummeted into the 60s.

Brrrrr.

As I lay awake, shivering, in the distance I heard rumbling. As the rumbling grew closer I started to hear the pitter patter of raindrops hitting my windows.

Soon flashes of lightning and booms of thunder flashed and boomed pretty much non-stop til after the sun arrived, struggling to bring light through the dense cover of black clouds.

By the time the time of my regularly scheduled swim arrived the lightning had ceased striking, but the rain continued dropping. And so I had myself a mighty fine time swimming in the rain this morning, with the water in the pool feeling significantly warmer than the air for the first time this year.

Around noon I drove to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to find access at the west entry blocked by the gate with its "Closed Due To Flooding" sign.

So, I drove to the east access to the Indian Ghosts, in Interlochen, where I soon saw that Village Creek really was in flood mode, as you can see above.

More rain is in the forecast, along with chilly temperatures, as in, currently, past noon, the outer world is heated to only 71 degrees at my location.

Again. Brrrrr.......

Flooding Tandy Creek Roars Over Tandy Falls Bringing Tears To The Fort Worth Water Whisperer's Eyes

GIANT Tandy Tire Surviving Latest Tandy Creek Flood

On my way to the Tandy Hills today, a location I had not been to for several days, I came upon a road construction detour on Meadowbrook Drive. The detour pointed me to take a left on to Sargent Street.

On the road ahead of me I saw water. By the time I got to the next detour sign, telling me to take a right to head back to Meadowbrook, I was seeing a lot of water.

As in a flood of water was rushing down the road. A Fort Worth water crew appeared to be working near the McDonald's on Lancaster and Sargent. I don't know if that was from whence the gusher flooded.

As I continued on to View Street, to park to hike the Tandy Hills, I saw many scenes of water backing up. In one house's driveway the water was so deep I don't know if it was possible to get to the car parked in the driveway.

I got to my parking location on View Street and proceeded to walk in to the Natural Area on the main trail that runs from View Street. For today's hiking I'd planned to walk to the end of the entry trail, then head down the hill to Tandy Falls, cross the falls, then walk Tandy Highway and take the right turn that heads back up the hills.

Well.

I could not get across Tandy Falls today. I'd never seen so much water roaring over the falls. Usually I am at this location days after a rain, with the falls greatly diminished.

So, I took some pictures and video and heading back up the trail I had just come down. I decided my flood altered route would take me back to the Tandy Highway from another direction, to see how bad Tandy Creek was flooding across the Tandy Highway.

That particular creek crossing is where the GIANT Tandy Tire #1 currently rests. As you can see in the above picture and the below video, today's flood has not move the Tandy Tire or the baseball cap that sits upon it.

Fort Worth's Lawn Whisperer must be in a very foul mood this Saturday what with all the water being wasted  today, being flushed through the Tandy Hills. How many Barnett Shale Natural Gas wells could have been fracked with the water being wasted today? Appalling.

Arlington's Village Creek Flooding After Last Night's Thunderstorm Downpours

I was a little surprised when I reached the parking lot at Village Creek Natural Historical Area, off Dottie Lynn Parkway, to find the entry closed.

Due to flooding.

We did get some downpouring last night, but at my location not enough hit the ground to cause the type of flooding that closed Village Creek Natural Historical Area today.

Not able to enter the Natural Area from the west, I drove to Interlochen to see how much water was flooding through Village Creek.

As you can see in the picture, flooding is blocking the ability to cross the dam/bridge that leads in to Village Creek Natural Historical Area from the east.

So, I called a distant relative, who I had not spoken to for over 5 years, and proceeded to walk along the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail that leads out of the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Looking At The Litter In Two Flooding Rivers With One In Texas & One In Washington

Above you are looking at a railroad bridge across the flooding Skagit River, from the Mount Vernon south side of the river, a couple miles from my Washington abode. This picture was taken yesterday.

A log jam has built up against the bridge that has caused some concerns. Bridges in Washington have often been badly damaged by log jams.

The Skagit River is a bigger river than the Trinity River, which is my current neighborhood river. The rivers styles of flooding are quite different. Note how clean the Skagit River water looks. Do you see any litter besides those vexing logs?

I have been looking at a lot of pictures of the current flood event on the rivers of Western Washington. I have not seen any litter floating in the flooded rivers. Not in any pictures or video. I am sure there is some litter floating in the current flood, there would have to be.

But not in the astonishingly copious amounts I have witnessed in the Trinity River.

Above is a picture of the Trinity River during its most recent flood. The picture was taken from the south side of the river, at Quanah Parker Park, about the same distance from my current abode as the first picture, above, was from my Washington abode.

Do you notice any differences? To my eyes the Skagit River appears to be clear, clean water, while the Trinity River looks to be rather dirty, with litter floating in it.

I have boated on the Skagit River, long floats on my rubber raft. I've eaten fish caught in the Skagit River. I have inner tubed the Skagit River. These are things I can not say I have done in the Trinity River. Though inner tubing in the Trinity has become a bit of a fad among life-risking daredevils.

Below is a video of the most recent flood event of the Trinity River. In the video you will see a lot of litter float by. Ironically, this flood occurred a short time after the more dire flood that was caused by the remnants of Hurricane Hermine. One would have thought the supply of Texas litter would have been a bit in short supply for a flood following so quickly after the biggest flood I've seen since I've been in Texas, but one would have been wrong, the supply of litter had been re-stocked, totally ready for the next flood event.

Texans seem to pride themselves on being World Class Litterers. We  like World Class stuff here. Soon we will have the World's Premiere Wake Boarding facility. Where people can come from all over the world to enjoy the fragrant waters of the Trinity River....

Hoping To Take A Sunset Bike Ride At River Legacy Park, But Not On The Mountain Bike Trails

You are looking at a flooded River Legacy Park the time previous to the most recent flooding. The most recent flooding was worse than the previous one.

I learned today that the water has receded enough to re-open the park to pedaling on the paved trails.

Which I think I will do in a couple hours.

I also learned today, via a report from Glenn, on the DORBA (Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association) website, that the damage to the mountain bike trail is extensive. Some flooding may need to be pumped out, some areas have been totally altered, some basically destroyed.

A lot of work has gone into making the River Legacy Park Mountain Bike Trail. All voluntary. I believe the work to repair the trail starts this weekend.

The second picture is also from the last flood. The Trinity pushed hard against the new, at that time, pedestrian/bike bridge across the river. But the bridge held. I am assuming the bridge held up against the most recent flood, as well.

It will be interesting to see what I am going to see on my sunset ride tonight. I hope I see at least one firefly.

Below is Glenn's report, of the areas he was able to assess, of the damage to the River Legacy Park Mountain Bike Trail....

Well, I was able to navigate about two and a half miles of the trail today. So here is your Tuesday update.

The creek crossing bridge is out but was retained by the chain.

The old original drops through the creek bed are seriously muddy and silted but have no significant erosion.

EKG is off line completely. Even the bypass is seriously muddy. The climb to the top of the ridge that drops into the EKG exit is eroded and obstructed.

The EKG entrance is a total bog with water more than a foot deep. The EKG exit is totally blocked. I don't know about the rest of the loop.

The bridge into South loop appears to be undercut and the waterline in the adjacent undergrowth indicates that the water was four to five feet over the bridge.

The concrete crossing that served as the South Loop exit is gone.

The trail from south loop up and over Ricks Ridge is not eroded but is littered with tree falls, rubble and debris.

Starting about 100 yards from the top of the ridge the trail is a running water path and was impassable.

On the inbound side there is standing water beginning about two hundred yards west of the evacuation road. with various obstructions along the way.

The Tree Bridge Loop (noted for the wooden ramp over a large tree) is totally blocked on the entrance side, the ramp and associated tree, have been moved down trail and are now out of line with the trail. The exit to this loop is also mostly blocked.

The trail from the Tree Bridge loop back to the Majestic Oak Corner is in good shape but with much debris to be moved.

Oak that has has it's roots undercut and is leaning at a sharp angle over the trail. I doubt that it will make it until the Workday.

The Majestic Oak Corner is a wreck. Totally blocked on the entrance side and a mess on the exit.

Gordon's loop is partially blocked at the entrance and is a deep pond at the back with the trail being totally under water for some distance.

It appears that the water was at least briefly, several feet deep in the parking lot and across the entrance and exits to the trail. The Kiosk shows signs that the water got as high as the bottom of the posting box (i hope i kept copies of that stuff). There are large trees that have floated into the picnic table area, and the water line in the adjacent underbrush indicated significantly high water completely across the lot.

What I don't know....

I suspect, but don't know, that the Prairie Loop is a muddy mess for now with some sections in the west end likely under water.

I am told that some sections of North Loop may be part of a small lake that has formed and according to Parks Mgr. Armando may have to be pumped out.

Glenn