Last Winter's Snow Long Melted From Texas High Country

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook, via the Skagit Breaking page.

A couple days ago, on this blog, I lamented Looking Back At North Cascades National Park and the fact that I used to live in a scenic wonderland, and that I currently live where it is not a scenic wonderland.

The caption on this Skagit Breaking post is "The snow is finally melting in the high country and the trails are opening. These are images from Copper Ridge in North Cascades National Park from this week".

That caption contains several bits of info that could never be applicable at my current location.

All the snow which hit the ground in Texas last winter has long been melted.

There is no high country for hundreds of miles in any direction on which snow accumulates.

And the only Texas national park with mountains is Guadalupe Mountains National Park way out in far west Texas.

The closest thing to a mountain I have in my vicinity is the big mound of dried mud in Lake Wichita Park which I call Mount Wichita.

If it weren't so HOT I would drive to Lake Wichita Park this final Sunday of the 2022 version of July and hike to the summit of Mount Wichita for a 360 degree view of mostly nothing...

Semi-Cool Nature Commune In Lucy Park Backwoods

 

With clouds covering the sky, along with a temperature in the mid 80s, it was to Lucy Park I ventured on this final Saturday of the 2022 version of July, to commune with nature via the Lucy Park backwoods zone.

I have avoided the Lucy Park backwoods of late due to the extreme HEAT, long stretches with little shade, and snakes possibly rendered frisky by the Hellish type temperatures they like to slither in.

But, I have yet to see a single snake this year. Did that sub-zero deep freeze two Februarys ago kill off all the cold-blooded slitherers? I have seen other reptiles this summer. Such as lizards and turtles.

As you can see the Lucy Park backwoods jungle foliage has grown quite high, now with wild sunflowers growing above the tall grass.

Rain splattered my windshield as I left Lucy Park, almost turning into a downpour by the time I reached my carport. And then the deluge abated.

I think I am really going to enjoy the return to cooler temperatures in a couple months...

Where In D.C. Are David, Ruby & Theo?

Such was the question posed in the subject line of an email yesterday, which contained three photos.

Where in D.C. are David, Ruby and Theo?

Well, I am fairly certain in the first photo the Tacoma Trio are standing in front of the United States Capitol building.

A building which, at the point in time of their visit, was free of Trump crazed nutjobs attacking the building.

Here I am fairly certain the Tacoma Trio are standing in front of the Supreme Court building. Currently fenced off due to the fact that the majority of Americans are currently a bit non-plussed with the Supreme Court.

 And here we see Ruby, David, Theo and Mama Kristin in what I believe to be the Library of Congress.

I do not know if the book loving kids checked out any books from the library...

Exploring Washington D.C. With David, Theo & Ruby

I said on Tuesday, well, I think it was Tuesday, that I suspected I would be seeing photo documentation of the Tacoma Trio being in the other Washington. Such photos arrived in my email yesterday.

In the first Washington, D.C. photo we see Ruby, Theo and David in front of Joe Biden's temporary residence, the White House. I suspect the Biden's did not know the Tacoma celebrities are in town, or they would have been invited in for a tour and light refreshments.

Continuing on....

Here we see the Tacoma Trio has had a costume change and are standing in front of the Reflecting Pool, with the Washington Monument in the distance.

And now they have walked way closer to the giant obelisk honoring George Washington. For a few years this was the tallest manmade structure in the world. Til the Eiffel Tower showed up.

I did not know that visitors were once again able to ride the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument. Looking out at the empty National Mall one might think the Tacoma Trio time traveled back to the day Trump was inaugurated in front of a puny crowd.

The Lincoln Memorial is one of the iconic structures one finds whilst walking the National Mall. Standing in front of Abraham are Mama Kristin, Theo, Mama Michele, Ruby and David.

These photos are the first I have seen of David wearing glasses. The glasses make him look smart. That, and all grown up.

Here we see David looking smart in front of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I have known of this memorial to FDR, depicting him in his wheelchair, which was an image kept from the public during his long presidency.

Here Ruby is standing with the lady many consider to be the best, most influential and consequential First Lady America has had. I did not know of this statue honoring FDR's wife, Eleanor.

Ruby, Theo and David here are standing in front of another statue I was not aware of. Or would this be considered a sculpture? What I know for sure is it is easy to recognize we are looking at Martin Luther King.

Yesterday, during the day, whilst Mama Michele was at a conference, Ruby, David and Theo took Mama Kristin to see some museums, and then last night the whole crew visited the Library of Congress.

I do not know when David, Theo and Ruby are returning to the other Washington.

David, Theo and Ruby are experiencing extreme heat in D.C. of the sort they rarely experience in their home zone.

Ironically, if they were in Tacoma today they would be experiencing record breaking temperatures in the 90s.

The high in Washington D.C. today is predicted to hit 96, which is also today's predicted high for my location, along with possible rain and thunderstorms...

Feeling 99 Degrees HOT In Lucy Park

What you see here is a screenshot from my phone, taken upon arrival at Lucy Park where I drove seeking some endorphins via aerobic stimulation.

I think 97 may be the hottest I have been at Lucy Park. As you see via the info on the screenshot the humidity made those 97 degrees feel like 99.

The above is a HOT shady look at Lucy Park in the throes of the current heat wave.

Tomorrow, if the temperature predicters are correct, and sometimes they are, we are getting a rare break from the over 100 degree heat, with tomorrow's high predicted to be a relatively chilly 95, with a chance of rain.

And that is predicted to be followed by another day only getting heated to 95. And then the 100 degrees plus returns.

Where Are Ruby, David & Theo?

In my email this morning I found this photo of the Tacoma Trio, Ruby, David and Theo.

There was no explanatory text in the email.

The email's subject line said, "Where in the (not) PNW?".

Methinks the subject line would be more accurate if it said, "We are not in PNW!".

With fairly frequent frequency I am emailed photos and asked to guess where in the Pacific Northwest Ruby, David and Theo are.

I correctly guess about half the time.

In today's instance I am fairly certain the Tacoma Trio are nowhere in the Pacific Northwest.

I think the above photo was taken in the other Washington, the one on the east coast, the one whose full name is Washington, District of Columbia, or Washington, D.C. for short.

I suspect I will be seeing photos of Ruby, David and Theo visiting the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building and other locations.

At least I hope I will be seeing such photos...

Looking Back At North Cascades National Park

Last night something caused me to try and remember what year it was that North Cascades National Park came to be.

And so I Googled North Cascades National Park and learned, via Wikipedia, it was in October of 1968 that LBJ signed the bill that created the new national park.

The Wikipedia article contained multiple photos of North Cascades National Park scenery, including the photo above, of Mount Shuksan. 

Wikipedia insists the source of the photo must be credited, thusly--Photo by Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA - Mt. Shuksan reflected in a small tarn on the Artist Point trail.

When I saw the Mount Shuksan photo I was puzzled, because I did not think that that mountain was in the North Cascades National Park. Mount Shuksan is quite close to Mount Baker. No mention of Mount Baker being in the national park was made.

Then I saw the Wikipedia map of North Cascades National Park and saw that Mount Shuksan is in the national park, whilst Mount Baker is not.

One of my all time favorite photos has Mount Shuksan in the background.

Those are my favorite nephews, Jeremy and Christopher, sitting atop Tabletop Mountain, with Mount Shuksan behind them. Christopher is looking off to the south, at Mount Baker, looming close.

Let's leave North Cascades National Park now for a look at Mount Baker.

I was heading north on Interstate 5 when I took this photo on the way to Birch Bay on August 11, 2017. We are a mile or two south of Mount Vernon, looking northeast at Mount Baker, looming large. This gives you a clear idea of how close I lived to scenic mountain scenery when I lived in the Skagit Valley zone. My Mount Vernon house was located a short distance past that notch from which Mount Baker appears to rise.

Now, let's go back to being at North Cascades National Park locations.

Above I am taking a rest on a granite slap, looking east at Hidden Lake.

If I remember correctly, the above photo was taken on the way to the summit of Green Mountain. There is a fire lookout at the summit. I recollect taking a nap when the summit was reached.

And here we see Wally, Wanda and Big Ed on the Cascade Pass Trail. This was a route used by Native Americans to cross the Cascades. At one point it was considered to be a possible route for the North Cross State Highway, but it was deemed to be far too difficult to engineer a road via this route, That and it would compromise some of the most scenic locations in the park.

And, the final North Cascades National Park photo is also on the Cascade Pass Trail. That is Big Ed trying to decide whether or not to take another step.

Seeing these photos and remembering how close I used to live to a scenic wonderland, well, it has me a bit homesick...

Birch Bay Postcard Bandit Strikes Again

Last Saturday a reunion I thought I might be attending this summer, took place, at a reunion convention location in the Skagit Flats.

I also long thought that this summer I would be finding myself at Birch Bay with a select group of my siblings. But that Birch Bay plan never came to fruition.

Today the mailbox contained another Birch Bay postcard, unsigned, with no message text.

However, as you can see, above, this time the perpetrator drew what looks to be an arrow pointing from Texas to Washington.

Previously I said that I compared the print on these postcards to a collection of Christmas cards, and found no matching handwriting.

Today I again compared the printing on this postcard to printing on cards I received last December.

And this time I found a match.

The "W" in Moose Jaw on the postcard, appears to match the "W" in PNW on the card.

I have previously asked the person who wrote the card with the suspicious "W" if she was the Postcard Bandit.

This particular individual, over the past many months, has asked many times if I had yet learned when I was going to be heading to Birch Bay. No other person in contact with me has shown that level of interest in the Birch Bay visit.

This particular person knows that the name "Moose Jaw" is associated with my name. 

I am not naming the suspected Postcard Bandit, because there is a slight chance I may be wrong. I await hearing a confession from the culprit...

Whole Wheat Pepperoni Pizza Debacle

I made pizza from scratch on this next to last Sunday of the 2022 version of July. The result, which you see here, looks better than the result actually was.

I used the automatic breadmaker to make the pizza dough. I used whole wheat flour. Using whole wheat was a mistake. It made for an extremely unusual pizza crust.

On top of the pizza crust I spread a thick covering of pizza sauce, then black olives and a lot of pepperonis. And topped that with a lot of mozzarella, colby, monterey jack and parmesan cheese.

The pizza was rendered salvageable by sliding the topping off the woeful whole wheat crust.

This was my first cooking disaster in quite some time.

I also learned heating an oven to 475 degrees in not a real good idea when experiencing an extreme heat wave. The air-conditioner was not keeping the kitchen zone to a desired level of cool...

Geese Feeding Frenzy At Drought Shrunk Sikes Lake

With the temperature a few degrees less than 100 I opted to drive to Sikes Lake for a relatively semi-chilly walk around the lake.

Upon arrival I saw a large contingent of Sikes Lake geese and ducks surrounding a lady tossing them food from a big bag of bird seed.

There were two bird feeders. I talked to the one standing next to me, not surrounded by birds. She told me they come feed the birds every day. And the flock is so used to this that when they see them arrive, in their white vehicle, they come waddling towards them.

This explains why, on more than one occasion, when I have arrived at this location, driving my white vehicle, that the flock of birds starts coming towards me. A behavior I found slightly disturbing.

No, that is not Sikes Lake at low tide you see above. That is Sikes Lake in drought mode, drying up.

Years ago Sikes Lake was dredged, with the material which was dredged hauled to Lake Wichita where it was turned into the tall pile of dried mud we refer to as Mount Wichita, also known as Murphy's Hill.

Methinks Sikes Lake is due for a new dredging, with a new mountain made at Lake Wichita, to be called the Twin Peaks of Wichita Falls.