A Regular Saturday Roll Through The Gateway Park Jungle Followed By Town Talk Maple Yogurt

Today being Saturday naturally I was back at what has recently become my regular Saturday photo op, that being a cliff in Gateway Park overlooking the beautifully green Trinity River.

I have seen a river or two named Green. Green River in Utah comes to mind, with that Utah Green River not being green.

I have no idea what grows in the Trinity River that colors it such a pleasant shade of green, but today, looking over the cliff into the water  I spotted two very large fish near the surface.

The spotted fish were a couple feet in length. The distance and distortion caused by the water kept me from telling for sure if this was a pair of Gar Fish I was looking at.

I have not been in a Texas body of water, except for my swimming pool, since the day I had a Gar Fish pointed out to me for the first time, in Village Creek. A week after that I was at a dock on Lake Grapevine where a pair of teenage girls informed me that one of their friends had stepped on the teeth of a Gar Fish, at that location, the week before.

I have seen a large lizard basking in the sun at the fringe of my pool, but no Gar Fish. I think it is likely almost impossible for a Gar Fish to make its way to my pool.

An alligator, maybe.

A few years ago an 11 foot alligator was run over and killed a very short distance from my abode. That alligator had wandered from the safety of the Trinity River on to Trinity Boulevard. Perhaps the gator had misread the signage.

After having myself a really fine time rolling my wheels in the refreshingly shady Gateway Park jungle I rolled my motorized wheels to Town Talk where I did not find anything particularly noteworthy, besides my Town Talk staples, unless one considers a couple cases of Greek Maple Yogurt to be noteworthy. Maple was the only flavor in the cooler and I was out of yogurt.

I was in the pool for an hour early this morning. I am tempted to have myself a rare afternoon swim, what with it being nearly 100. I'll likely resist the temptation.

Catching Gar Fish In Texas

There are a lot of disturbing things in the lakes of Texas. I've seen and swam with some of them.

I've been chased in Lake Grapevine by a Giant Turtle that at first I thought was a Water Moccasin.

I have seen Water Moccasin swimming in a lake.

The swim hole at Dinosaur Valley State Park has a sign warning potential swimmers to beware of potential Snapping Turtles. It was an inviting looking swim hole, but the Snapping Turtle warning stopped me from getting in the water.

The most disturbing thing I've seen in Texas water is the half alligator/half fish monster known as an Alligator Gar Fish aka Gator Gar Fish aka Gator Gar aka Gar Fish.

If I'm not mistaken Gar the Texan is named after Gar the Fish.

A few weeks after my first Gar Fish encounter I was at Lake Grapevine talking to these sunbathers and they told me the week before one of their boyfriends had stepped on the teeth of a Gar Fish right near where we were talking. That same day a pair of fishermen told me they'd seen 4 Water Moccasins swim out from under the dock. That was the same dock I escaped to when I was chased by the Giant Turtle. I assume the Giant Turtle was a Snapping Turtle, because it seemed to be snapping while it was chasing me.

If you've not heard of an Alligator Gar Fish or have not seen one, check out the video below and you'll see an example of the horror that lurks in lakes in Texas...