Trying To Wakeboard Today At Cowtown Wakepark

The Cowtown Wakepark Jewel
In The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Crown

Today I pedaled the Trinity Trail to get a closeup look at Cowtown Wakepark.

Yesterday I visited the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Woodshed Smokehouse.

Visionary J.D. Granger envisioned the Woodshed Smokehouse as a gritty place with no air-conditioning, with outdoor showers and an outhouse.

Well before the Woodshed opened, the visionary J.D. Granger foresaw the need for the more than 700,000 citizens of Fort Worth to have the opportunity to participate in the water sport of wakeboarding in dirty, polluted water.

This coming summer the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle will see the opening of the first new drive-in movie theater in America in decades.

Truly visionary.

I was very impressed to see the Cowtown Wakepark up close today, to see the fine attention paid to detail.

Fort Worth Shabby Chic From The
Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

The designers of this world class venue obviously paid close attention to the Fort Worth design aesthetic, that truly unique shabby chic look that Fort Worth does so well, and no other big city seems able to emulate to the Fort Worth level.

Cowtown Wakepark's landscaping appeared to be designed to look totally natural, like most of Fort Worth's freeway exits. Tall grass and weeds. A smattering of litter, for color. A general unkemptness to the look.

It can't be easy to design and achieve this type look, creating the illusion of chaotic slobbiness.

The next time I bike the Trinity Trail, out of Gateway Park, I'll make it beyond Cowtown Wakepark to see if I can find the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In under construction. It'd be cool to see the tall grass and weeds, of the landscaping, when they are in the installation phase, before the litter arrives.

Has anyone heard what the financial arrangement is between the Cowtown Wakepark and the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? How big a slice is J.D. Granger's operation getting off of this likely very lucrative pie? How much did it cost the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle to add this lake to the vision?

The Trinity River Vision Is Underway With A Lot Of Signs

A couple days ago I was biking the Trinity Trails when I came to a detour sign, with the trail blocked. The day after I saw the detour sign I was driving on Northside Drive when I saw a sign telling me that the Trinity River Vision was underway.

At the time I did not make any connection between the Trinity Trail detour and the Trinity River Vision.

Last night I biked the Trinity Trail again, with my goal being to take a picture of the sign you see above. I did not know, when I started last night's bike ride, that I was going to find myself right in the middle of the Trinity River Vision in "progress." For want of a better word.

I was amazed and a bit appalled at the amount of signage the Trinity River Vision has installed along the Trinity Trails. I lost count of the number of detour signs.

Like the detour sign above, pointing left. Do you see any other option? Straight ahead was up a steep bank. To the right was an erosion barrier. The paved trail clearly takes a turn. Why the detour sign? How much money did all this signage cost the flush with cash Trinity River Vision? This was not the only nonsensical detour sign on the trail.

There were also multiple signs from the Trinity River Vision asking to be pardoned for making a mess.

Above we are looking at some of the mess the signs are referring to, looking out at a new lake next to the Trinity River. I do not believe this is the touted Town Lake that is the centerpiece of the Trinity River Vision. This new lake has paved trails around it. The trails connect to the existing, pre-detoured, Trinity Trail, but currently access to these new trails is blocked. Hence the detour.

Another view of the mess and new lake or pond or whatever it is. That thin line of blue you see on the far side of the "lake" is the Trinity River.

Yet one more nonsensical TRAIL DETOUR sign. With the next sign seeming even more nonsensical, as you can see below.

Why is the Tarrant Regional Water District sticking a sign on the Trinity Trail saying "NOTICE TRAIL MAINTENANCE TO BEGIN"?

This sign was east of the area where the Trinity River Vision is making its mess. Even though this sign was outside of the mess zone, there is yet one more Trinity River Vision detour sign ahead, which you can see above the "C" in the Tarrant Regional Water District sign.

Who got the sign concession deal with the Trinity River Vision and the Tarrant Regional Water District? Another one of Kay Granger's kids?