Wally The Duck's Wichita Falls South Weeks Park Pond Return

A couple days ago, heading east on Southwest Parkway, en route to Walmart, I was pleased to see Wally the Giant Duck has returned to the fish pond in South Weeks Park.

Driving by it appeared Wally looked to be shining brighter than he shined previously.

Around the most recent 4th of July Wally put in a brief appearance on Lake Wichita, about a mile from where he is currently floating.

During that Lake Wichita appearance Wally was visited by the Guinness people who judge big things, to determine if Wally the Duck needed to be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as being the World's Biggest Wooden Duck.

Unfortunately it was determined Wally was not big enough, so Wichita Falls still has only one world class record, that being the town with the world's littlest skyscraper.

This Saturday morning's Wichita Falls Times News Record, in its online version, has an article about Wally the Duck's reappearance, with the article imaginatively titled Fowl-weather friend: Wally the Wood Duck returns to pond for one year.

Wally had been blown out of the water by a storm, months ago. Well, actually not blown out of the water, but blown loose from its anchorage, with the wind crashing Wally against the cement shore, doing serious damage.

Wally's creator, Ralph Stearns, took the duck home for repairs, which included refurbishing Wally's outer coating, hence his new shiny appearance.

Wally has now gained some weight, which should make him more impervious to wind, that and his anchorage has been doubled.

Wally the Duck and his creator are hoping to be reimbursed for the cost of his creation and restoration. Currently those who managed the purse of the City of Wichita Falls do not think they have sufficient funds to help pay for Wally the Duck. I believe the dollar figure mentioned is $10,000.

Stearns spent around $8,000 of his own funds for the material which made Wally, and spent four months working on the duck.

I can think of another small town in Texas which spent money on what few think is a work of art. Around a million bucks wasted on what looks like a giant aluminum trash can to some, a cheese grater to others, and a coronary artery stint to still others. And that giant aluminum million dollar trash can does not sit in a scenic pond, it sits in the middle of an unfinished, unlandscaped, littered, weed infested eyesore of a roundabout.

Methinks somehow a few thousand bucks can be found to pay for Wally the Duck. He is quite the attraction, judging by the increase in number of people I see stopping at the fish pond at South Weeks Park...

Fire Burns Mount Wichita While Rain Drops Talking To Linda Lou

For the first time since about a month ago, I think the last time was during the time frame around the 4th of July, shortly before I exited Texas for the Arizona version of modern America, I rolled my bike's wheels on the Circle Trail, across Lake Wichita Dam and around Mount Wichita.

The first thing which surprised me today was when the full view of Lake Wichita came into focus. Wally the Duck, rumored to be the world's biggest wooden duck, is no longer tending flock on Lake Wichita. I somehow was under the impression Wally had taken up permanent residence on Lake Wichita.

Near where Wally the Duck used to float, that being the Lake Wichita Dam Spillway, a new mural, of sorts, has been added to the spillway wall on the north side of the spillway.

That new mural, I think it might be characterized as being a mini-mural, appears to be some sort of abstract representation of a lighthouse.

But it could be something else. A Mario Brother, for all I know.

As I cruised off the dam at the north end I encountered a vicious dog whose owner had trouble controlling it. Why would anyone walk a dog with a serious personality disorder? I guess that is a dumb question, like asking why would a sane nation elect a president with a serious personality disorder?

When I reached the Mount Wichita part of the Circle Trail I was surprised to see what looked to have been a massive wild fire had charred the mountain all the way to its scenic summit. The charred mountain is the photo documentation you see at the top.

Was this an act of arson? A 4th of July firecracker accident? A lightning strike? A controlled burn? I have no idea. It was interesting to see that the trails to the summit acted as a fire barrier, containing the blaze, and stopping the inferno from toasting the entire mountain.

A short time after passing the charred remains of Mount Wichita my phone made its incoming call noise. By the time I was able to stop and get the phone out of its container the last ring had happened. I saw it was Linda Lou, calling from home.

Shortly after re-inserting the phone into its protective container rain began to drip. By the time I got back to the top of the dam the rain was in downpour mode. By the time I reached the end of the dam I was soaking wet.

I coasted at high speed off the dam to under the cover of the Kemp Boulevard Circle Trail overpass, where I sought shelter along with other drenched rain victims.

I took this break from the rain as an opportunity to call Linda Lou back. By the time that chat ended the rain had also ended and most of what had hit the ground had dried up.

I rather enjoyed riding in the rain today. I hope that happens again someday soon...

Wally The Duck Back Quacking On Lake Wichita

The day before the 2019 version of the 4th of July I learned Wichita Wally was once again floating.

Wally is a HUGE wooden duck. Some time ago he had taken up residence floating in a small pond a short distance from my abode.

And then a few months ago a big wind blew into town which caused Wally to lose his mooring, with the result being Wally required hospitalization due to wind damage, and a lengthy recovery.

So, on Wednesday I learned Wally was fully recovered and back floating, but at a new location, with that location being Lake Wichita, with Wally floating near the Lake Wichita dam spillway.

Today I decided to roll my bike wheels to Lake Wichita to see Wally.

When the spillway came into view I was surprised to see Wally's head sticking above the spillway, as you can see above.

I saw that and thought, oh no, Wally has come lose again and is heading towards the spillway.

But, a few minutes later, when I reached the top of the dam, I was relieved to see Wally was anchored a safe distance from the spillway, in no danger of going over the brink, as you can see via the below photo documentation.

I also learned on Wednesday that investigators from Guinness are trying to determine if Wally is the Biggest Wooden Duck in the World.

If that is found to be the case, that would give Wichita Falls two world records, the Biggest Wooden Duck in the World, and the World's Littlest Skyscraper.

Some towns can only dream of such prestigious honors, in Wichita Falls those type dreams come true...