Since it is Saturday and those are wildflowers in the picture, my one longtime reader probably thinks I went hiking at the Tandy Hills Natural Area today. My one longtime reader would be wrong for once.The wildflowers today were seen at Horseshoe Trails Park in Grapevine. My intention had been to go hiking at Rockledge Park to walk along the beach at Lake Grapevine and use my imagination to create the delusion that I was walking a saltwater beach. This is an easy delusion at Lake Grapevine. There are seagulls and clam shells.
But my Rockledge Park plan came to an abrupt halt soon after I crossed Lake Grapevine Dam and turned into Rockledge Park. The City of Grapevine is now charging an entry fee to this Army Corps of Engineers built park.I had no cash. The Old Geezer money taker couldn't take a credit card. So, I U-Turned and got out of there, thinking, as I left, that I'm never going to come back and pay to go to that park. The entry fee was $5 per vehicle, $1 per person in the vehicle, $1 per bicycle. I assume that meant a person pedaling in on their bike and not an extra $1 charge per bike.
If I understand the entry fee correctly it would have cost $9 for me and my hikers to enter that park today. The pay station was really tacky. I should have thought to take a picture. Orange traffic cones led to a trailer-like structure, set on the ground, no wheels. An old guy and lady ran the toll booth. I don't know if they live in the trailer. There is not much tacky in the town of Grapevine, so this could easily be the tackiest thing in town.
A few years ago, the State of Washington started charging a fee for day use at the state's state parks. The public rebelled. The fees were removed. The principle is that parks like this are paid for by all the people, from money raised by taxes, in order to provide recreational opportunities to all the people, regardless of where they sit, income strata-wise.
I have been at Rockledge Park many a time and have seen many large family groups. It was easy to see that, for some of these people, paying 5 bucks to enter and another buck for each person, would be money they likely would not want to spend. So, Grapevine is locking such people out of the park. That is just wrong.
This is the same reason I found it so wrong and offensive when Fort Worth began charging an entry fee to the Fort Worth Nature Preserve.
Grapevine is one very well off town. Improvements have been made all over town, paid for by being flush with funds, due to there being things in town like Grapevine Mills, Gaylord Texan and Great Wolf Lodge. I've complained, before, that Fort Worth neglects things like landscaping the freeway exits to tourist attractions, like the Fort Worth Stockyards. Grapevine has the money to landscape pretty much everywhere. And put up special signage that matches the Grapevine theme.
Many a time, when I've gone to Rockledge Park, I've spent money in Grapevine. Either at a restaurant or at Grapevine Mills. I'm now going to boycott Grapevine and will not spend a penny there until Rockledge Park is back open to the public.
Leaving Rockledge Park I headed to another Grapevine park on Lake Grapevine, that being Horseshoe Trails Park. I've probably mountain biked the Horseshoe Trails more than any other Texas trail. But not so much in recent years, because I don't live close to it anymore.
I was fairly certain that the parking lot I use would not have a pay station. There are not enough cars to make that work. And there are way too many entries to the parks that Horseshoe Trails Park connects too. And I knew Grapevine was already charging a fee to use the boat launches.
I'd brought a swim suit with me. I'd intended to go swimming when I was done with the beach hike at Rockledge Park. I have swam there many times. But, swimming was not going to happen on this end of the lake, because this is the spot were I was attacked, while swimming, by a rabid attacking turtle, that I first thought was a snake, when its reptilian head popped up in front of me, causing me to find out I can swim really fast when fear motivates me.
A short time later I was at the same spot, telling a couple fishermen about the turtle attack and they told me they'd seen 2 water moccasins by the dock, that morning. And if that was not enough to keep me out of that water, a few days later I was talking to a pair of girls, sitting at the end of the dock, telling them about my near death experience with the turtle and they told me that, a few days prior, they and their boyfriends swam out to Water Moccasin Island and on the way back one of the boys stepped on a garfish, getting badly cut, requiring stitches.
I'd seen a garfish in Village Creek. Scary alligator eel looking things. I had no idea they were in Lake Grapevine. But I was more stuck on Water Moccasin Island. I asked why they called it that. They said everyone called it that because there are so many water moccasins out there. I asked why would you swim out there if you know there are water moccasins. They told me if you don't bother them they leave you alone. This seemed insane to me and I didn't say another word.
So, that's been my day today, so far, in Texas, started with an early morning swim, capped, so far, by yet one more thing I'm boycotting in Texas. I hope the boycott gets lifted by December, so I can go to the Christmas Party at Austin Ranch in Grapevine.
