Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma

Until I visited Enchanted Rock State Park I would tell people that Turner Falls Park is the most scenic place I've seen in Texas. Even though Turner Falls isn't in Texas. It's across the border in Oklahoma.

I'd driven right by Turner Falls Park several times, not realizing it was worth seeing. It's only a few miles off I-35. When you are driving the Turner Falls Park zone of I-35 you see signs telling you that you are in the Arbuckle Mountains. But being a person from a land of actual mountains, I didn't know what they were talking about.

There is a scenic lookout exit from the freeway. I pulled off to see the scene. But to my eyes there was none. So, my first time to Turner Falls Park I had very very very low expectations. The first surprise is that almost immediately upon exiting the freeway the road does seem like a mountain highway. Twists and turns and steep drop-offs.

Then you come to an overlook built by the CCC, back in the Great Depression era. It is from that overlook you get your first look at Turner Falls. That's a zoomed view, from the overlook, you see in the photo above. The CCC also built a rock trail to the valley below, from this lookout.

You pay a fee to enter the park. There is a lot to do there. An underground spring created Honey Creek, which goes over a cliff creating Turner Falls. It is crystal clear water. And quite a pleasant temperature in summer. There are several swimming holes, including one right under the falls.

Turner Falls Parks has camping, cabins, a rock castle, lots of trails. And caves.

Go here to see photos from my first visit to Turner Falls and park info.

Go here to see a winter visit with better photos.

Go here for a map of the Turner Falls Park area.

Go here for a very short Turner Falls Park video.

Barnett Shale Pollution in Wise County

Wise County's best blogger, Texas Sharon, aka Bluedaze, on Sunday, went on a reconnaissance mission to a Braden Exploration drilling site about a mile from her abode.

Bluedaze was dazed by the bad stench and fumes. And appalled to see the amount of pollution on the ground, this being near a creek that flows into Denton Creek which flows into Lake Grapevine and then into people's homes.

Go here to read Texas Sharon's account of her unwelcome, messy neighbor, and more photos.

The Fort Worth Way

An interesting letter to the editor, this morning, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reinforced, for me, what's been my observation after seeing Fort Worth in operation during my years of exile here.

Fort Worth is basically an oligarchy. That's where political power rests with a small elite of society, distinguished by wealth, family or military powers, or a combo of all three. In Fort Worth wealth and family can put you in the oligarchy, a Greek word which means "rule by few."

Below is the letter to the editor that sort of discusses the Fort Worth oligarchy and how it operated during the recent Tarrant County College, Radio Shack Headquarters Debacle Boondoggle.

Recognize the Fort Worth way

In retrospect, the grand plan for the downtown Tarrant County College campus failed because outsiders had no understanding of how Fort Worth operates. Neither architect Bing Thom nor Chancellor Leonardo de la Garza are native. They chose to operate unilaterally rather than get consensus and approval of the local power structure. Result: fiasco.

Arrogantly they forged ahead without going through historical power channels. For the first half of the 20th century that meant Amon Carter. Nothing important got done without Carter’s blessing.

After Carter’s demise, the power shifted to a group of businessmen loosely referred to as the Seventh Street Gang, mostly bankers and utility executives. When federal deregulation sapped their power, the young Bass brothers took over and reshaped the city.

Always working quietly behind the scenes, they have been the force to be consulted with regarding city development for a couple of decades. TCC disregarded this, and has flopped spectacularly regardless of the merit of its plan. Bass opposition to the Thom plan should have been a signal to proceed with caution.

Solution: Rather than proceed with a “split campus” as proposed, turn the bluff property east of the courthouse over to the innovative Bass family to develop. They would come up with a suitable project that Fort Worth can be proud of, and which will enhance the proposed Trinity Uptown development.

— Jack White, Fort Worth

ABC's The Bachelorette Getting Married to a Snowboarder

I tried, really I did, but I could only make it through a little over an hour of last night's bizarre Bachelorette show.

In that hour The Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas, desperate for a husband, took the boys to meet the family, including Papa Pappas.

The family seemed as desperate as DeAnna for her to find a husband. Greek family's must be big fans of getting the daughters married off.

The boys did the predictable asking the dad if he'd approve if they proposed. Papa Pappas approved, with the stipulation that Jesse the Snowboarder get his hair cut shorter.

I quit watching soon after the Dallas guy, Jeremy, who DeAnna said bye-bye to last week, showed up at her door and begged her to re-consider, going on about their shared bond of having dead moms and how deeply he'd fallen in absolute powerful all-encompasing love during the few weeks he's known her and the couple of dates they'd been on.

But, it was all in vain. with tears running down her cheeks, DeAnna gave poor lovesick Jeremy the boot again.

In the next hour, apparently Jason made DeAnna a board game, while Jesse made her a "Book of Thoughts," which was a photo album of their long courtship.

And then it came time for DeAnna to break someone's heart. Jason Mesnick, the account executive with a kid, got down on his knees to propose. DeAnna quickly yanked him back vertical and told Jason that "...even though I'm falling in love with you, I'm in love with someone else."

The above said, to the shock of millions of viewers, as they realized she was dumping the responsible adult, described in the Seattle P-I as "Perfect: clean-cut, tall, dark, handsome, self-assured, someone who wanted Pappas to complete his family, " for Jesse Csincsak.

The P-I described the Husband Hunter's choice thusly, "Csincsak has longish locks, an Owen Wilson nose and clothes that can be Mars Volta-concert loud. He's still searching for what's after snowboarding, but he did start a nonprofit for disadvantaged kids. (It revolves around snowboarding.)"

In the hour that followed an "After the Final Rose" show ran another hour, during which DeAnna and Jesse announced their wedding date as a year in the future. Yeah, I bet that's gonna happen.

Comments on ABC's Live Blog verbalized total disdain and disbelief that she chose the greasy-haired, short snowboarder.

The Survivor Sucksters were typically more colorfully opinionated. Here is one choice example. (Pardon the language)

"At first I was pissed she'd reject such a sweetheart like Jason but then again she deserves to breed with that prick Jessie and produce retarded offspring. Jason and Jeremy can do better than that dumb bitch."

Below is a video of the bizarre visit to Seattle where DeAnna got to meet Jason's family and kid. The best part of this video is the good look at good-looking Seattle.

Chesapeake Energy & Tandy Hills Park Action Alert

I'd just told my little story of my fun at Tandy Hills Park today. Then I went to check email to find an urgent message from Don Young. Don Young works hard to preserve Tandy Hills and to get the people of Fort Worth to realize what a treasure they have in the heart of their city. A treasure that has been long neglected and is currently threatened, again, by Cheseapeake Energy's plans to drill on the west side of the park. Tandy Hills Park does not need a drill rig lighting it at night. Nor does it need the noise. Or the dust. Even if only for the few months it takes to get the drilling done.

Below is Don Young's Call for Action----

Dear Friend of Tandy Hills Natural Area-

Once again, our park is under attack from gas drillers. Exactly one year ago 80 of you wrote letters of protest when Chesapeake Energy bought 50+ acres on the east boundary of THNA. Thankfully, no drilling has been done there. Now, they have leased 30 acres adjacent to the west side of the preserve. Your letters and emails are needed again to help stop this affront to our vanishing prairie lands.

Your influence is urgently requested to help persuade Chesapeake Energy to not drill adjacent to Tandy Hills Natural Area (THNA). They recently filed for a permit to drill the so-called, Thomas Well, on a 30-acre private tract, due west of THNA.

Read on for details or scroll down to ACT NOW!

This forgotten corner of the city is one of the last surviving pieces of original, Fort Worth Prairie in the city. It is not an ordinary vacant lot, but exactly like THNA, with an incredibly diverse ecosystem containing over 500 native plant species, home to a variety of wildlife and breathtaking views.

The proposed gas well is less than 600' from a neighborhood that would ordinarily require waivers, but Chesapeake has, apparently, used a loophole in the ordinance to buy the affected property. Legal or not, this action violates the spirit of the ordinance. It will seriously impact the West Meadowbrook neighborhood as their equipment and trucks would likely access the well from historic, Scott Avenue. They also want to run an odorless, gas pipeline through the neighborhood and, who knows, what else.

The city gas well inspector told me that the well and access road would require the removal of a lot of trees. I have walked the property and observed the same thing. Many old growth trees are in the way of the necessary road and pad site.

More importantly, the integrity of THNA is at stake as Chesapeake continues to nibble around the edges of our park and neighborhood. It is clear that they are marching eastward towards Scenery (Broadcast) Hill bringing more devastation. Just one year ago, over 80 master naturalists, biologists and esteemed members of the community wrote letters to Chesapeake expressing serious concerns about their purchase of this equally at-risk site.

Even if gas drilling were safe and environmentally benign, it is not the appropriate use for such exceedingly rare land. The surface is far and away more important and more valuable to the public than any short-term profits derived from what lies 8,000 feet below.

I understand that my request may seem overwhelming, but I also know we can prevent drilling on this site if enough of the right people take charge and find a solution. I urgently implore you to do everything possible to help Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area save this property from destruction and get in the park system where it can be protected.

Sincerely-

Don Young

ACT NOW:

1) Send an email right now to District 8 city council rep. Kathleen Hicks asking that she use her influence to halt this permit. Remind her that the Tandy Hills area is NOT just a vacant lot, but a rare and endangered ecosystem that must not be drilled on.
Kathleen.Hicks@fortworthgov.org

2) Please cc Julie Wilson at Chesapeake Energy, Mayor Mike Moncrief and Don Young:
julie.wilson@chk.com
mike.moncrief@fortworthgov.org
donyoungglass@earthlink.net

3) Please forward this email to anyone else with whom you have influence . If you represent an organization, church or business, please send letters and emails on your letterhead.

Fort Worth Tandy Hills Park Search & Rescue

I got up early, real early today. When the day started it didn't cross my mind that part of my day would be spent participating in a search and rescue mission.

About noon my brainpan began its daily performance lag due to lack of oxygen. So, I knew it was time for my daily bout of aerobic exertion. Usually, since it is almost in my backyard, this means going to the most scenic part of Fort Worth, that being Tandy Hills Park.

Last winter, when I discovered the Tandy maze of trails and hills, I never thought I'd be able to still hike Tandy when the heat of summer arrived. But here it is July, it is hot. And I'm still hiking. I was a sweaty mess today though. Totally soaked. I used to hate to sweat. Texas has changed me. For the better? Or worse? I'm debating that.

I rarely see other humans at Tandy Hills Park. I had an encounter with a Doberman last week. That was mildly unpleasant.

But today I did have a human encounter. Upon reaching the top of a hill I saw a man and a woman in some sort of bright uniform. They were standing under the shade of a tree. They had a large German Shepherd on a leash.

I remarked that I rarely see humans here. They asked if I'd seen anyone else. They told me they were searching for a scruffy looking 50 something guy who was missing. And that there were search teams all over the park. I talked to the pair for a bit. The man seemed too old to be out in the middle of this strenuous place at nearly 100 degrees. The woman was much younger and in good shape. We shared our favorite hiking places. She thought I must be in training for something, like going to Colorado.

They told me if I see a man matching the description to call 911 and tell them to notify the search team in the park. But not to approach the man because he could get violent.

So, all this time I've been concerned about encountering a Rattlesnake, Copperhead, Cottonmouth or Panther and today I got to add a dangerous, violent man to what I needed to look out for. Somehow, I was less concerned about him than my ongoing concerns about snakes and cats. And Dobermans.

ABC's The Bachelorette Final Rose Wilts

Go here for this morning's blogging about last night's Bachelorette final episode.

It's sort of embarrassing that of the 100s of bloggings I've blathered, by far, the most viewed bloggings have been the ones about that ABC train wreck of a show called The Bachelorette. Also embarrassing is various search strings have my bloggings about this show Googling in the top spot. Hence all the readers.

Well, I'm all about pandering in a constantly lackluster attempt to get someone to listen to me, so, once more I'm blogging about ABC's The Bachelorette.

Tonight is the show's finale, or in Bachelorette-speak, the Final Rose Ceremony. This show is almost religious in its ceremonies. Last week we were treated to the ceremony of the greatly sought after invite to spend a night as a couple in the Fantasy Romance Suite. Or something like that.

As I understand it, tonight, for 2 hours I'll be subjected to, if I watch, the Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas, introducing her two potential husbands to her family in order to gain their possible approval.

Then, in the seemingly scripted part of the show, the two potential husbands solemnly confess to the father their deep love for his daughter. And ask for his approval of the suitor as a son-in-law.

What'd be fun is if the dad said something like "If you think you've fallen in love with my daughter in 30 days on a TV show and you want to marry her, well you've gotta be a nutcase, so NO WAY do I want you in my family."

This morning the Star-Telegram made note of tonight's end of this show and lamented that we in Texas have little reason to watch because the girl gave the guy from Dallas, Jeremy, the boot last week. It was heartbreaking.

Tonight DeAnna chooses between Jason, with a kid, and a real job, and Jesse, a professional snowboarder.

This goes on for 2 hours. And then is followed with another hour called "After the Final Rose: DeAnna Tells All." I guess she is gonna tell what actually happens during those overnight stays in the Romantic Fantasy Suite.

My Favorite Places in Washington

Thirteen days til I head north for a month. A few weeks back I blogged about my favorite places in Texas. Someone asked me if I had any favorite places in Washington.

Well, that photo on the left is me laying on top of Hidden Peak, looking down at Hidden Lake, deep in the heart of the North Cascades. Anywhere on a mountain in Washington is one of my favorite places.

Below is La Conner. La Conner is in the Skagit Valley, north of Seattle about 55 miles. La Conner is a scenic tourist town. I've always liked La Conner.

Leavenworth is on the east side of the Cascades, the eastern end of Stevens Pass. Stevens Pass is one of the three major passes over Washington's Cascades. All three of them have their own charms, but Stevens Pass having Leavenworth on the other side makes it my favorite of the passes. I'm hoping Lulu and I get to go to Leavenworth while I'm up there, because that would mean I'm doing one of my other favorite things, that being going to Eastern Washington and getting fresh fruit. As in apricots, peaches, maybe cherries, apples won't be ready yet. On the west side I should be able to get fresh corn, all the blackberries I wanna eat. For free. And all sorts of other fresh veggies, fruits and seafood. This makes the fresh produce of Washington one of my favorite things up there.

Well, another hiking photo, which shows how much I like the mountains of Washington. This is my favorite Washington mountain, the volcano known as Mount Baker. The Mount Baker zone has another of my favorite Washington places, Baker Hot Springs. I doubt I'll get to the Baker zone when I'm up north.

That's my mom and dad. I'm expecting to see them for the first time in over 2 years by the end of this month. I think this photo was taken in 2001, right before 9/11. I'd made a surprise trip up north for mom and dad's anniversary. They drove me out to Ocean Shores, which is where we are in this photo. Ocean Shores is one of my favorite places. Lulu and I drove out there summer of 2004 and had great razor clam chowder, fish and chips and blackberry milkshakes.

That bear is sitting on the stair rail at Stehekin Lodge. Stehekin is one of my favorite Washinton places. I like everything about it. The long boat ride you have to take to get there, the bears, the bakery, the bike riding. And dinners at Courtney Ranch.

Seattle is one of my favorite Washington places. Along with Tacoma. In this photo you actually see 3 of my favorite Washington things. Seattle, Pike Place Market and a Washington State Ferry. Which brings up another Washington favorite place. The San Juan Islands and the ferry ride to get there.

Other Washington favorite places of mine are Olympic National Park with the rain forests and rugged beaches.

Fort Casey on Whidbey Island. It's an abandoned fort from the Spanish-American War era. Great, scary tunnels and passageways and ladders taking you into darkness. As a kid I always had fun at Fort Casey. As an uncle it was a fun place to take my nephews. A weenie roast on Washington beach would be a good thing when I'm up there.

From Fort Casey you can hop an often, due to extreme tides, wild ride, ferry to the cool tourist town of Port Townsend. I've done that ferry as a walk-on, drive-on and walk-on. It's a very good thing.

Also on Whidbey Island is Deception Pass State Park. Biggest in Washington. The Pass between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey can make for incredibly wild water works when the tide differential is huge. I know I've got a lot of Deception Pass photos, somewhere. It's is near where I lived, so I went there a lot.

Beacon Rock, in the Columbia Gorge, is a fun hike to the top of the Gibraltar like rock.

Sun Lakes State Park in Eastern Washington. It's in a Coulee. That's Washington-speak for canyon. Sun Lakes is right below Dry Falls, the biggest waterfall the world has ever seen. Grand Coulee Dam is about 50 miles away, if I remember right. I've always liked Eastern Washington. It's so different than the west side, tan brown rolling hills, canyons, the only green being all the orchards and corn and hops and grapes.

I can't think of any other favorite Washington places right now, that and I've tired of the subject.

Dallas Cowboy Stadium Pending Lawsuits

There are still 22 lawsuits against the city of Arlington brought by homeowners who did not appreciate having their homes taken from them for a private business that wanted a football stadium built where their homes were.

I've never understood how the people could be kicked out of their homes and those homes destroyed, before they had had their day in court. That just seems wrong. And somehow sort of criminal to me.

It is as if the city of Arlington and Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys did commit a sort of criminal conspiracy that direly effected citizen's lives in no less a manner than if an arsonist had burned down their house or a terrorist exploded it.

At least with the lawsuits there is some hope that some sort of justice will win out in the end. The city of Arlington's own attorney, Jay Doegey says the lawsuits are about challenging the constitutionality of the city's actions.

Go here to see what was done in Arlington go get a place to play a few games a year.

Go hear to read comments from around the world regarding what people think of what Jerry Jone's and the Dallas Cowboys did to some people in Arlington.

The Big Cheese Rodent Factory

There is a rodent breeding factory in south Fort Worth called the Big Cheese Rodent Factory that produces between 500,000 and 600,000 mice and rats a month.

Why you wonder? I know I did.

Well. In 1999 Lynda Hanna read in the Wall Street Journal that there was a need for rodents to feed the growing population of exotic animals for whom rats and mice are dinner. So, Lynda and her son, Chad Martin opened the Big Cheese Rodent Factory.

All was hunky dory in the rat/mice breeding business until neighboring businesses and residents started complaining to the city about the foul odor coming from the Rodent Factory. That complaining grew louder in the past couple months because the Big Cheese owners have asked for a zoning change so they can expand the Rodent Factory.

A city inspector sent to check out the smell said it was so bad he had moments of nausea while inspecting.

The Rodent Factory is trying to lessen its stench. One of their breeding zones has had a ozone filter installed that greatly improves air quality. Another odor source is the used up sawdust tossed into a garbage bin. They are trying to lessen that problem with disinfectant sprays.

What I know for certain is I would not want to live by a Big Cheese Rodent Factory. Bad smells aside. What if the rats escaped? Remember the movie, Willard?