Going On A Litter Free Walk With Blue & Max In Tacoma's Point Defiance Park

I hit the publish button on the previous blogging, then when I checked the blog to make sure it blogged correctly I saw that Blue & Max, Tacoma's most well known blogging poodles, had blogged again.

I swiped one of Blue & Max's pictures.

The picture shows multiple elements of why I'd like to move back to Washington.

First off, in the picture I see two nephews and one niece. That is nephew David in the yellow shirt on the far left, mom Kristin holding niece, Ruby, whilst sitting on a piece of driftwood. Sister Jackie, visiting from Arizona, in the middle, in a blue shirt, with Ruby's twin, my nephew Theo, in the red shirt on the right.

The two closest to you in the picture are Blue & Max.

In addition to nephews and a niece, what else am I seeing that makes me want to move back to Washington?

Do you see any litter in the picture?

I get so disgusted, at times, with what a littered up mess Texas is, with so many Texans mocking their "Don't Mess With Texas" slogan.

How can so many people be such slobs, creating so much litter?

It is so perplexing.

I don't know what time of day this picture was taken. My last time at this location was in the early evening, with 100s of people picnicking, in the water, playing. This is in Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, one of the biggest urban parks in America.

Tacoma charges no fee to enter Point Defiance Park.

Most big cities, which have learned to wear their big city pants, do not charge entry fees to their basic amenities, like city parks.

The only park in Fort Worth that is even remotely as diverse, and big, as Point Defiance, is the Fort Worth Nature Preserve & Refuge.

Very few people visit this Fort Worth park.

An entry fee is charged.

Point Defiance Park has miles of really good hiking trails. Trails in deep woods with really tall trees, with those trees being green all year long, hence calling them evergreens.

With Washington being known as the Evergreen State.

Which it really isn't.

Evergreen.

A drought can make the west side of the Cascades somewhat brown, while the east side of the Cascades is mostly always brown, with a lot of irrigated green oasis.

From the location of this picture, if the sky conditions were cooperating, we would be seeing Mount Rainier.

I miss mountains.

To the left, that water you see is what is known as saltwater. Part of Puget Sound. Even though this water is in a big city, it is crystal clear, as in you can look deep into the water. Anyone looked deep into a Fort Worth lake lately? Or the Trinity River?

To get to the location of this picture Blue & Max would have parked by Anthony's Homeport. A seafood restaurant. I miss good seafood and good seafood restaurants.

Just a short distance from Anthony's Homeport is the Vashon Island Ferry dock. I miss hopping a ferry. Where I lived in Washington I could drive a short distance and hop the Anacortes ferry out to the San Juan Islands, and enjoy the island's Mediterranean climate, protected from rain by the Olympic Mountain's rain shadow.

I miss varied geography and varied climate areas within short distances.

I miss fresh fruit and vegetables. I can't remember the last time I had fresh corn on the cob. Or a strawberry that tasted like a strawberry. In Washington blackberries are free for the picking. Blackberries are my favorite of all the berries that grow in Washington.

I think if I moved back to Washington I might be able to restore my health to its former healthy vigor, with the healthy regimen of fresh seafood, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh air, with no fracking allowed.

Below is a video I made in July of 2008, from a walk with Blue & Max, at the same location as today's picture. In the video you'll see the aforementioned Mount Rainier, see the Vashon Ferry, hear me talk about Anthony's Homeport, as we try and find a parking spot and you will see a lot of people at the location of the above picture. And, in the video, you will also see no litter....

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.

Texas Wild Boars & Texas Wild Boors

A few days ago I'm sure you remember me mentioning mountain biking at River Legacy Park and coming upon a guy who, among a lot of other things, told me that he'd seen a herd, or whatever their grouping name is, of Wild Boars.

I knew there were Wild Boars at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve. I've been biking at River Legacy for years. I've seen plenty of Bobcats, Armadillos, Squirrels and Snakes. But no Wild Boars.

So, today, my very first time back at River Legacy, I'm at the first new section, where I avoid the "Steep Climbs" option and opt out for the "Bypass." I was hearing noises rustling the ground cover, like a lot of really big squirrels. You often hear squirrels.

I stopped pedaling and what do I see? A big group of Wild Boars. They were on the move. I think they heard me coming. I was not quick enough to get a picture, so I Googled for "Texas Wild Boars" and found the picture you see above. I saw no baby boars in the group I saw today, but they looked just like the ones in the picture.

They did not look cute like the Pigs I've seen on a farm. These look sort of like ugly no-neck monsters that moved funny. They reminded me of someone I used to know.

I was curious about the Wild Boars so I Googled for info. Apparently Wild Boars wander all over Texas. While farmers see them as crop damaging Pigs, others see them as all natural free ranging pork. The Texas Wild Boars are thought to be a hybrid mix of Russian Red Boars and Domestic Pigs. Supposedly chefs all over the country are seeking out Wild Boar due to lean, natural, exotic meats being popular with foodies.

Texas Wild Boars are caught and shot all over the state. Some say that the unique environment of Texas brings a unique taste to the pork with the meat being fuller flavored with a sweet nutty taste.

Who knows what garbage those Wild Boars might be eating in Texas, is what I thought. Who knows what causes the "exotic" flavor.

And now on to the Texas "Boor" part of today. So, after seeing the Wild Boars I pedalled on. A couple miles later someone was coming up fast behind me. I let him by. It was the guy I'd never seen before last week, who had told me about the Wild Boars I'd never seen before.

As he passed by he started talking to me and kept talking as I pedalled behind him. I slowed down to let him drone on into the distance. About a quarter mile later he was stopped on the trail, admiring a bit of trail work, which is where I'd seen him the first time. At that time he'd told me all about 2 trail vandals. On and on he went. Today he started in telling me the same stuff, as he very slowly pedalled ahead of me. Unlike the first encounter I provided no feedback. Finally he must have realized I was not listening to him or he realized this was the guy he'd told the same stuff to, a couple days prior.

The trail guy popped a wheelie and sped off at a high speed. When I came to the trailhead I saw he was busy yapping away at some fresh listener. So, that's my tale of Texas Boars and Boors for the day.