A Look At Washington's San Juan Islands Takes Us To Fort Worth's Imaginary Island

I saw this view you see here, yesterday, on Facebook. A view looking east across some of the San Juan Islands, with the Mount Baker volcano towering over the scene. I grew up in the land between that volcano and the San Juan Islands.

I think it was the fact of growing up totally aware of what an island is, and looks like, that had me appalled near the beginning of this century, when the town I was then living in, at the time, Fort Worth, Texas, began a bizarre pseudo public works project hoping to divert water from the Trinity River, around a section of land, on the north end of downtown Fort Worth.

Creating an imaginary island.

Which already came to become called Panther Island. Even though that proposed water diversion has not yet happened, with a cement lined ditch, filled with Trinity River water, creating the imaginary island, with three bridges then connecting the Fort Worth mainland to that imaginary island.

So far, those three freeway overpass type bridges are the main thing that has been completed in what became known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

Or America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Near one of those bridges the Vision did see a roundabout built, with a million-dollar reflective homage to an aluminum trash can installed at the center of the roundabout.

Is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram still investigating trying to find out how it came to be that a million bucks was paid to buy that work of art?

For years, the entity known in short form as the Trinity River Vision employed J.D. Granger as the Vision's Executive Director. Granger is the son of Fort Worth Congresswoman, Kay Granger. It was thought giving Kay's son a high paying job overseeing the Vision that it would motivate Kay to support federal funding of Fort Worth's Boondoggle.

However, Kay never managed to help secure that funding. And then meandering moved Kay's congressional district out of the area of Fort Worth's Boondoggle. And so, J.D. Granger lost his Executive Director job after accomplishing little for so long.

Ironically, as part of the Biden Administration's massive Infrastructure bill, federal funding was secured, sort of, for Fort Worth's infamous Boondoggle. Adding to the irony, Kay Granger voted against the Infrastructure bill, what with her son no longer being gainfully employed executively directing the Boondoggle.

As the decades of Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision have limped along, I have often wondered if the Fort Worth locals just do not understand what an island is. 

The Wikipedia article about Washington's San Juan Islands gives one a good idea of what actual islands are. Some blurbs from that article...

The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the U.S. state of Washington known for rural Pacific Northwest landscapes and wildlife. Horseshoe-shaped Orcas Island, one of the main isles, is home to Moran State Park's old-growth forest and Mt. Constitution. San Juan Island is distinguished by the lively seaside town of Friday Harbor and Lime Kiln Point State Park, an orca-whale lookout.

At mean high tide, the San Juan Islands comprise over 400 islands and rocks, 128 of which are named, and over 478 miles (769 km) of shoreline.

In the archipelago, four islands are accessible to vehicular and foot traffic via the Washington State Ferries system.

An archipelago with over 400 islands, 128 islands with names. Not one named Panther Island. One is named Orcas, though, named after Puget Sound's beloved killer whales. Four islands accessible by ferry boat. 

One will not need a ferry boat to get to Fort Worth's imaginary island. All you'll need, if the "island" ever happens, is a car, to drive over one of the three little bridges which cross over the cement-lined ditch...

Ferry Boating To Washington's San Juan Islands & Beyond

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook. Such puts me in mind of how different it is where I live now, than where I lived the majority of my existence on planet Earth.

From my abode in Mount Vernon I could drive a few miles to the east and be in the Cascade Mountain foothills.

Drive a few miles west and I could be at a saltwater beach, digging for clams, or jigging for crabs.

From Anacortes I could hop a Washington State Ferry and float to the various San Juan Islands. Or float to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.

The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Hence way less rain than the Western Washington locations located closer to the Cascade Mountains.

You can drive your vehicle onto a Washington ferry. Or just walk on. Or take your bike. I've done all three, with the vehicle option the most frequent.

There are no ferry boats or saltwater beaches or mountains in any direction, hundreds of miles, from my current location...

Moon Over Homesick Mountain With Many Real Islands

I saw these two homesick provoking photos on Facebook this morning on the You Know You're From Anacortes When page.

The one above is a bit of a hyper realistic view of the full moon rising over the Mount Baker volcano.

The one below is more accurately depicting what the view looks like when viewed only through ones eyes.

Anacortes is the second largest town, population wise, in Skagit County. Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island.

Fidalgo Island is a real island, not an imaginary island such as what some in the island-free town of Fort Worth, Texas think is an island. There are two bridges which connect Fidalgo Island to the mainland. These are real bridges over real water, one of which, the Rainbow Bridge, in La Conner, is an actual iconic signature bridge, not an imaginary iconic signature bridge of the Fort Worth type.

One can take a ferry from Anacortes and Fidalgo Island to the San Juan Islands. One would think the San Juan Islands would be in Island County. But, instead the San Juan Islands are in San Juan County. There are no bridges to any of the San Juan Islands.

A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about San Juan County...

San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,769. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island.

Fidalgo Island connects to Whidbey Island via the Deception Pass bridge. Two ferry routes also connect Whidbey Island to the mainland.

A blurb courtesy of Wikipedia about Island County...

Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, its population was 78,506. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is composed entirely of islands.

I do not know why Fidalgo Island is in Skagit County instead of in Island County. Or why the San Juan Islands are not in Island County.

It's very perplexing.

But not nearly as perplexing as that town in Texas which has built three little bridges over dry land, hoping one day to put a cement lined ditch under those bridges, and then divert Trinity River water into the ditch, creating an imaginary island, which is only going to further confuse the town's few tourists...

Is Fort Worth's Panther Island One Of The Best Islands In America?

I saw this this morning on CNN online and thought to myself two things.

First off, I thought that looks like the San Juan Islands in my old zone of Washington CNN is using for article headline illustrative purposes.

Second off, I wondered if Fort Worth's imaginary Panther Island is on CNN's list of The best islands in America.

I jest, sarcastically.

No one in America outside the Fort Worth bubble of nonsense will ever think  Fort Worth's former industrial wasteland is an island, even if the cement lined ditch is ever dug under the three simple little bridges stuck in slow motion construction, with the imaginary island already called Panther Island by the boondogglers who have foisted the ridiculousness on the hapless town.

Such only illicit chuckles from those who know what an actual island is and have actually seen, and been on, an actual island. Sane Fort Worth natives worry this imaginary island boondoggle nonsense will turn Fort Worth into a National Joke. I fear that boat has already sailed, but not to Panther Island.

Of course the CNN article makes no mention of Fort Worth's imaginary Panther Island.

In the article's first paragraph the best island listers apologize to those well known islands which did not make the best island list...

So first, our deepest, breeziest apologies to Alcatraz, Manhattan, Molokai, Key West, Whidbey Island, Isle Royale, Gasparilla, Chincoteague, Jekyll, South Padre, northern Minnesota and dozens more escape-worthy island hubs from sea to great lake to gulf to bay to shining sea -- all of which will surely be featured in upcoming "best islands" travel sequels.

Yeah, I'm sure in a future CNN article about America's best islands, published sometime, I don't know, maybe in the next century, might include Fort Worth's Panther Island. That is, if global warming gets as bad as feared and the Gulf of Mexico grows inland far enough to create a real island inside the Fort Worth city limits.

That list CNN made of other escape worthy islands includes Whidbey Island.

When I lived in the neighborhood I probably visited Whidbey Island more than any other Washington island. Whidbey is accessed by a ferry from the west side of Puget Sound and another ferry from the Olympic Peninsula side of Puget Sound. And from the north via Deception Pass bridge. An actual signature bridge, a feat of engineering, built in about a year over swift moving, deep, tidal waters.

Unlike Fort Worth's pitiful little bridges which the town has been trying to build over dry land for over four years now, with the latest imaginary completion date at some point in 2020.

Read the The best islands in America article and the descriptions of the best islands in America, including the San Juan Islands, which were also in my neighborhood, but which I visited far less frequently than Whidbey Island. Read the CNN article's description of ORCAS ISLAND AND THE SAN JUANS and then picture a similar blurb in the future about Fort Worth's Panther Island to get yet one more sense of how absurd this Fort Worth island delusion is.

Or I can just copy the CNN article's ORCAS ISLAND AND THE SAN JUANS blurb for your reading pleasure...

ORCAS ISLAND AND THE SAN JUANS

Floating Near: Seattle
Famous For: Making visitors wish this was a one-way trip
Fun Times Ahead: Orcas Island Jazz Festival (August 30-September 2)

Over 170 named islands and hundreds more at low tide comprise Washington's San Juan archipelago. But, for now, a brief word on the three biggies -- all accessible by the Washington State Ferry system and hampered only by crappy car lines on summer weekends.

San Juan Island, the namesake and hub of this chain, is your best bet for shopping and paddling through killer whale country.

Lopez Island, the quietest and flattest, is a magnet for cyclists.

Orcas Island, the "Gem of the San Juans," is for wishing you could afford property here -- and for driving slowly and aimlessly with the windows down on hilly, empty, sun-dappled backroads with names like "Enchanted Forest" and "Dolphin Bay."

Then dipping through a quiet green valley dead-ending at some tiny harbor where an old man on a bicycle is walking his seven dogs along the road. Before driving up into Moran State Park and to the top of 2,409-foot Mt. Constitution for views of Mt. Rainier, British Columbia and everything in between on a clear day.

Then rolling past pottery shacks, sculpture gardens and back onto Main Street, Eastsound (a.k.a. "town") where the ferry boat awaits near those sigh-inducing realty office window posts.

Texas Woman Visits Washington And Finds It Astonishing

I was looking for an old email, yesterday, when I saw a blog comment email from Techsas Woman from around three years ago which I did not remember.

My not remembering this email is clearly yet one more indicator of my failing memory function, because not only had I previously read this comment, I had hit the publish button on it and had replied to the comment.

In my memory's defense, I have multiple blogs, with the total number of posts on those blogs being in the thousands, all of which can get commented on.

The comment  from Techsas Woman and my reply.....

Techsas Woman has left a new comment on your post "The Skagit Valley's Big Rock With Spencer Jack's Grandma Cindy & The Nookachamp Star Child Falling From The Sky": 

I was so happy to find your blog, as I have a Texas / Mt. Vernon connection, too, though from the other side. My Texan daughter moved to Mt. Vernon three years ago. My husband and I made our first visit two years ago and found the beauty to be astonishing - the San Juan Islands, Deception Pass, Snoqualmie Falls... breathtaking! (The second thing we found astonishing was the number of ex-patriot Texans we ran into up there.) While I find some of your remarks towards Texas and Texans to be awfully stinging, I'm so pleased to find great travel commentary for the area. We're heading back in late June with hopes to head up towards Mt. Baker and also make a trip to Vancouver. 

Durango Northwest said...
Thanks for the comment, Techas Woman. Did not get "Techas" til I read the comment. I can't remember any stinging remarks directed at Texas or Texans. I have age related memory issues. You are really gonna like Vancouver. Very scenic. And the town's Skytrain & Sea Buses make it easy to get around. If your visit to Mount Baker is to the ski area you are in for some classic mountain driving that might be unsettling if you've not experienced that before. Later in summer hiking up Mount Baker becomes doable from the south side, hiking to the side you can see from Mount Vernon. You might also like driving over Stevens Pass. It being, in my opinion, the most scenic of the Washington mountain passes, with Leavenworth on the east side being Washington's best tourist themed town. The North Cross State Highway is also very scenic with another tourist theme town on the east side, in Winthrop. I miss Washington and its extremely varied topography.

_________________________

I can't imagine to what Techsas Woman refers when she says some of my remarks regarding Texans and Texas are awfully stinging. Anything I have ever remarked has always been reality based. I guess reality can have a bit of a sting if ones view of ones world is through tainted rose-colored glasses....

CNN's Spots In Texas & Washington Spotted Accuracy

If I remember correctly I have mentioned previously the fact that in all my decades of living in Washington, reading the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, I don't remember ever catching the P-I doing some erroneous reporting.

And then I moved to Texas, to a location all new to me, where I subscribed to, before I realized it was not a real newspaper of the sort I was used to reading, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I have lost track of how many mis-reportings and mis-representings I have read in the Star-Telegram since I have been in Texas. Blurbs mis-describing new park trails on more than one occasion. Misrepresenting a lame food court called the Santa Fe Rail Market as being the first public market in Texas, with it being modeled after public markets in Europe and Seattle's Pike Place Market. Or the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle initially being described in the Star-Telegram as being a project which would turn Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South.

Anyway.

Last night I was reading CNN's  online "news" website and came upon an article titled "50 State, 50 Spots for 2014".

CNN is a credible news source. Isn't it? The CNN blurb about the Washington "Spot" made me question the veracity of the other CNN state's "Spots".

The Washington "Spot" is what you see above. A photo of the San Juan Islands, with the accompanying blurb saying...

"A short ferry ride from Seattle takes you to the stunning San Juan Islands. The islands have wonderful restaurants and outdoor activities but the stars are the 80 or so endangered Southern Resident orca whales living wild around the islands and in the Salish Sea. See these amazing mammals in their natural habitat."

First off there is no ferry route that takes you from Seattle to any of the San Juan Islands. If there was such a route it would be the longest in the Washington State ferry system. It is over 70 miles from Seattle's Elliot Bay to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. So, even if such a ferry route did exist, it definitely would not be a "short ferry ride".

Second off, all the San Juan Islands do not have restaurants. You will find restaurants on San Juan Island, mostly in the town of Friday Harbor, and on Orcas Island, at the ferry dock and in Eastsound.

Third off, no pod of orcas is in any sort of permanent residence in the San Juan Islands zone. Yes, you can see Orcas there, if you are lucky. I only had this happen once, whilst fishing with my mom and dad. Suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by a pod of about 30 of what we then called Killer Whales. It  is true these are amazing mammals to have swimming around you. They look very friendly, not like killers.

Fourth off, Salish Sea? I lived within 20 miles of the San Juan Islands for decades and have no recollection of this Salish Sea of which CNN speaks. Straits of Juan de Fuca. Yes. Rosario Straits. Yes. Salish Sea? Ain't ringing a bell.

So, with CNN thoroughly discredited regarding the info regarding its Washington "Spot" what about the Texas "Spot"?


The Texas "Spot" is San Antonio. I have only been to San Antonio once since I have been in Texas. I was very impressed. The most impressed I've been by any of the big Texas towns.

The CNN blurb about San Antonio says...

"Originally built in the 1930s, the original, iconic San Antonio River Walk has been expanded by eight miles.  The city's beloved River Walk, one of the most popular spots in Texas, wanders through the historic downtown connection historic sites, restaurants and shops."

Well, I am not familiar with the San Antonio River Walk in the way I am with the San Juan Islands, but I have to wonder if the River Walk was actually originally built during the Great Depression. Also, I can't help but wonder if it is not more accurate to say that the River Walk has been expanded to eight miles, not by eight miles, with, I am assuming, that eight miles referring to the current length of the River Walk.

With CNN now thoroughly discredited, not quite to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram credibility level,  but still discredited, where do I go for credible online news?

FOXnews.com?

Fort Worth's Polluted Fosdick Lake Got Me Thinking About A Pig War & Cod Fishing In The San Juan Islands

The Ick was in full force in Fosdick Lake today. The layer of slimy looking green vegetation has grown thicker and more widespread since my last visit to Oakland (Lake) Park.

Today I saw many turtles on logs, diving into the slime when I got too close. So, the turtles are doing okay with the Ick in Fosdick. Or so it seems.

And I saw one guy fishing.

Casting a hook through that layer of thick green gunk to try and catch a fish that you are advised not to eat, seems real odd to me.

I've never been much of a fan of fishing, except for enjoying, a time or two or three, jigging for cod out in the San Juan Islands.

The San Juan Islands are in Washington, an archipelago of 172 islands, six of which are big enough to be inhabited and accessed by Washington State Ferry boats.

The San Juan Islands is where one of America's least deadly wars took place.

The Pig War.

A pig was the only fatality in the Pig War.

The modern day San Juan Islands are known more for being a big tourist attraction than the location of a war. The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, thus getting way less rain than a place like Seattle gets.

I am almost 100% certain that the San Juan Islands were not the result of a public works project run by a corrupt congresswoman's unqualified son. I don't think nepotism is legal in Washington.

A Happy Thanksgiving From A Pair Of Poodles Has Me Homesick For Washington

Ruby, Theo & David With Kristin
Getting Ready To Ski

This morning I saw that Tacoma's best known Adventure Poodles, Blue & Max, had written their annual Happy Thanksgiving blogging.

Apparently, on or about Thanksgiving, Blue & Max sent my nephews, David and Theo and niece, Ruby, up somewhere in the Cascade Mountains with their secondary caretakers, Michele & Kristin, for some fun in the snow.

It looks like the snow location may be the Snoqualmie Pass summit zone. There are several ski areas in this location. The Snoqualmie Pass summit zone is a fairly short distance east of Seattle and Tacoma, on Interstate 90.

Among the things I miss about Washington, that I don't have in Texas, is the extremely varied topography within very short distances.

In my current location the topography is pretty much the same in any direction for 100s of miles. There are no snow covered mountains in this parched part of the planet.

Where I lived in Washington, in the Skagit Valley town of Mount Vernon, I could drive about 10 miles to the east and be up in the mountains. Or go 10 miles to the west and be on a Puget Sound beach. Or in the tourist town of La Conner.

In Washington I could get up on a Saturday morning in November and choose to go cross country skiing, or go have a weenie roast picnic on a beach, or hop a ferry 20 miles from my abode, in Anacortes, and head out to the San Juan Islands, which is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, and thus is a reliable escape from rain, if you feel in need of escaping the gray dripping.

View From My Bedroom Window Of My
Van & Car Covered By Snow

The Puget Sound lowlands do not get a lot of snow. Some winters pass with no snow. There was one snow storm in the 1990s that was the deepest snow I ever saw in the Puget Sound lowland zone. I was pretty much trapped in my house for a week. I could not drive anywhere, but I could cross country ski to the grocery store.

When the thaw finally came I had all sorts of problems. Water was backing up on the flat roofs. Two drain pipes broke off. It was a mess.

Go here to visit me in Washington. Scroll down and you will come to more photos of the most snow I ever saw piled up in my location in Mount Vernon.

In Western Washington when you want a really major change of scenery you can drive one of the passes over the Cascade Mountains to a starkly different type of topography than the evergreen western side of the mountains. East of the mountains the hills have no trees growing on them, except for the 1000s of acres of fruit orchards.

In Eastern Washington you have a climate much more like Texas. Very HOT in the summer.

There is a big river than runs through Eastern Washington, called the Columbia, with several big dams, like Grand Coulee. Because of the big river and the reservoirs behind the dams, much of the desert of Eastern Washington has been turned into land upon which all sorts of things grow. One of the side benefits of Grand Coulee Dam was the appearance of lakes in various coulees (Washington Indian-speak for canyons), like Sun Lake. Sun Lake State Park was one of my favorite places to go in summer in my younger years.

Dry Falls, by Sun Lake, is the location of what at one point in time was the biggest waterfall the world has ever known. The melting of the last Ice Age and its massive flooding is what made the coulees of Eastern Washington.

Can you tell I'm feeling a bit homesick for Washington? It has been over 3 years since I've been back. That is the longest I've been away from Washington in my long life. I'm thinking I will likely be going to Arizona and Washington soon.

Being a Valentines Day Melancholy Baby Today In Texas Thinking About Washington

I am being a Melancholy Baby today.

In the picture you are looking at my house in Mount Vernon.

Well, actually, what used to be my house in Mount Vernon. It was sold in 2002.

The house was built in 1985. I lived there from then til I moved to Texas in December of 1998.

When I moved to Texas it was to a house I had not seen with my own eyes. I'd only seen pictures.

This morning's melancholy has me feeling a bit homesick for Washington. I think what got me started on the melancholy thing was Betty Jo Bouvier's weekend stay in Leavenworth, an Alpine Bavarian type village set on the eastern side of the Cascade foothills

There are no Alpine villages in a mountain setting in Texas.

There is a town called Alpine, in Texas, in sort of a mountain-like setting, down in the Big Bend Country Region of Texas. But, it is no Leavenworth.

I'm thinking if I still had a house up in Washington, I would move back. Having a place waiting for you to move in, makes the moving thing way easier.

When you live in Western Washington you are close to mountains and ocean beaches. If you're in the mood for a total scenery change it is a relatively short drive over the Cascades to Eastern Washington, with its more desert-like climate, turned green in a lot of locations courtesy of the Columbia River's many dams and reservoirs.

Going over to Eastern Washington in summer and fall you can get yourself all kinds of fresh fruit.

Where I lived in Washington it was about a 20 mile drive, to Anacortes, to get on a ferry to go to the San Juan Islands or Canada.

In Washington I lived about 40 miles from another country. Vancouver was just a bit further north than Seattle was south.

The San Juan Islands is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Meaning the islands get way less rain than you get if you are closer to the Cascade Mountains. The New York Times recently had a list of the 41 places in the world you need to go to in 2011. The San Juan Islands was #2 on the list.

When I lived in Washington I took living in one big theme park for granted, because it was what I'd always known. Only when you move away, and return for a visit, do you really see real clear, for the first time, just how special the Pacific Northwest is.

The scenery, the tall trees, the air smelling like Christmas trees, all the fresh produce, some growing wild, like blackberries and blueberries.

The fresh seafood.

I could drive about 15 miles and catch fresh dungeness crab and dig horse clams. I lived 2 miles from the Skagit River. You can easily catch salmon in the Skagit River. Or any of the Washington rivers. And eat the fish you catch. Unlike the polluted waterway I currently live about a mile from called the Trinity River.

In Texas my big hiking thrill, which I will likely do today, is to hike some short hills. In Washington I could see the Mount Baker volcano from my living room. It was a short drive to hike up a real mountain. It was a short drive to hike up all sorts of mountains.

Well, I better get going if I want to get a hike in on some Texas hilly scrubland called the Tandy Hills Natural Area, so I can make it to my Valentines Day lunch at the appointed time.

A Rainy Saturday In Texas Feeling Homesick For Washington & The San Juan Islands

I was up late Friday night, which has caused me to be up late Saturday morning. I hate it when that happens.

Rain was in the forecast for today. Looking out my peephole on the world this morning I can see it has already been raining.

Raining and 40 degrees. Welcome to a stereotypical Pacific Northwest Western Washington type winter day.

In Texas.

Speaking of Washington, this morning's New York Times had a list of "The 41 Places to Go in 2011.". The San Juan Islands of Washington was #2 on the list, between Santiago, Chile at #1 and Koh Sumai, Thailand at #3. Washington's Olympic National Park was a little further down the list.

I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that no location in Texas was on the list of places you need to go in 2011.

The dock to board the ferry to the San Juan Islands, in Anacortes, is about 20 miles from my abode in Washington. When I lived there I took the San Juan Islands for granted, but had a great time anytime I took the ferry out to the islands. I did this twice in the months leading to my move to Texas. If I remember right the last time included going to the San Juan County Fair at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, eventually sitting at an outdoor bar watching the harbor and catching the last ferry of the night to the mainland.

The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympics, hence getting way less rain than where I lived. What those who have never lived in the Northwest, who think it rains all the time, don't understand, is the geography is so diverse you can easily escape the rain, if you want to, unlike in my current location, where there is no escape, no ferry to anywhere.

So, I'm starting Saturday just slightly homesick for Washington. And all there is to do there on a rainy day.

Saving Orca Killer Whales, Babies & Dish, Texas

I think I've mentioned that I read my old hometown newspaper, the Skagit Valley Herald, aka Go Skagit, online in the morning. I think I've also made mention of Washington Casinos previously.

This morning one of the headlines that caught my eye was "New Baby Orca Spotted in Puget Sound." There was an ad that the text wrapped around at the top of the story.

When I clicked on the link I was hoping to see a picture of the Baby Orca. When the page opened I instantly saw an Orca and just as instantly knew it was the Orca that swims in front of the Tulalip Resort Casino.

If I remember right there are 4 Killer Whale Pods in Puget Sound. The pods are tracked and the individual Orcas are assigned a number. The new baby was born into the L Pod. It's number is L-133. L-133 is the 4th Puget Sound Baby Orca spotted this year.

There are currently only 86 Orcas in Puget Sound, including the newborn.

L-133's mom is believed to be a 14 year old named Calypso. I don't know why Calypso gets a name instead of a number. L-133 would be Calypso's first baby. The baby daddy is unknown. First born Orcas do not have a good survival rate. Most die before their first birthday. A mom offloads a lot of toxic chemicals to her first born, both while in the womb and via milk.

A friend of mine, up in Washington, lives on Puget Sound, well, in a house facing Puget Sound, in Port Orchard. She was recently enjoying the view when an Orca Pod swam by. She was too caught up in enjoying the spectacle to run and get a camera.

My only encounter with an Orca Pod was also camera-free. I was out in the San Juan Islands in the northern part of Puget Sound, with my mom and dad. Suddenly Orcas came into view. We were dead in the water, fishing for cod. The Orcas were being very playful. There were 2 babies. The Orcas did not seem to care at all that we were there. They were on all sides of us. A couple of the Killer Whales got as close as 10 feet. It was like they wanted a closer look.

My Orca encounter occured a long long time ago, but I remember it vividly, as if it happened yesterday.

To landlubbing Texans, who would have no reason to know, Killer Whales do not have such a lethal name due to being a danger to humans. I believe the Killer Whale name came about due to how lethal Orcas are to the fish they like to eat, like salmon.

It is hard to believe now, but back in the 1960s the Killer Whales were a bit mysterious, not frequently seen. It was not known, for sure, how many were in Puget Sound. Then this guy, I forget his name now, started trapping Killer Whales and selling them to places like Sea World. You've probably heard of Namu and Shamu. They were kidnapped from Puget Sound.

It did not take long for the Washington public to put a stop to Orca hunting. There was a lot of outrage. It was from that point on that a lot better understanding of the Puget Sound's Orcas came to be. They have been listed as endangered since 2005. It has been a crime for quite some time now to do absolutely anything harmful to an Orca.

I wish Texas had more of an ethic where the public gets mad and makes clear that something has to stop. Like the environmental crimes that have occurred and continue to occur in and around Dish, Texas. The out of control, basically unregulated Barnett Shale gas drillers, using eminent domain to ruin Dish native's lives and livelihoods. Killing farm animals and trees. Polluting the air with noise and chemicals.

Is the State of Texas concerned about the welfare of the citizens of Dish? Is the Denton County government concerned? Do the people of Texas and Denton County care, other than those who live in Dish?

I can tell you with almost 100% certainity that if something as outragous as what is happening in Dish was happening in Washington. There would be demands coming from all sorts of directions to put a stop to it. There would be large protests. There would likely be sabatoge. There would be lawsuits. The media would turn a bright light on the evil wrong-doing. Wrong would be made right.

I've been here for 11 years now and I'm still no closer to understanding why Dish type deals happen in Texas with so little consequence and no one thrown in jail.