Fresh Texas Tandy Hills Color & Mom

It took awhile to find some new color in the outdoor zones of Texas today. I don't think this tree was blooming when I was at the Tandy Hills last Thursday, but it was today.

I got an email yesterday that my mom directed my dad to send, asking why I've not gotten gas lately. My one longtime reader may remember me mentioning that when I get gas I call my mom and tell her how much it cost.

So, even though I didn't get gas, I called my mom today while hiking around the Tandy Hills.

It has not been a blue sky day in Texas. But it is warm. Swimming was very pleasant this morning.

I'm reading a book called Twentynine Palms. Twentynine Palms is a town in the Mojave Desert in California. It's a true crime book. Rather well written with a very high level of detail and historic background of the characters involved.

I like reading books where the area being described is somewhere I've been. I have never been to Twentynine Palms, but I have seen many of the places described, like Barstow and Victorville and the Mojave.

It surprises me how often I'll be peacefully reading along when there will be some Texas reference. In this Twentynine Palms book the Texas reference is a Dallas Cowboys reference. Short version, the Dallas Cowboys cause fits of wifebeating. I'll blog the details of that tomorrow. It seems like way too much bother right now.

My Fort Worth History Expertise

It looks like I'm all about Public Service Announcements today.

A few days ago I got an email from Alan Small of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History asking for my possible help in locating resources to help with a program he is running. He is looking for experts on the history and culture of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

Now, I don't think I'd be the go to guy for anyone wanting information about Fort Worth's culture. Although I did make a webpage about Fort Worth's "Cultural District."

I wonder why there is not sufficient history about the history of Fort Worth in the Fort Worth History Museum to help the students deepen their understanding of local history?

I'll copy the message from Alan Small below. If anyone can help him, make a comment and I'll forward the message. Or you could just email Mr. Small directly.

Hello my name is Alan Small with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's Community Studios program. We have high school students in our program who are working on a project involving the history and culture of Fort Worth. I am looking for experts on the history and/or culture of Fort Worth and Tarrant County who would like to speak to our kids, as well as locations where our students could visit to deepen their understanding of local history. Do you know of any such resources? Thank you for your time.

Alan Small

The Cowtown Great America Cleanup

If you've been astonished by the amazing amounts of litter you see as you travel around Texas and have wished there was something, anything, you could possibly do to clean up some of it, besides not adding to the mess yourself, well you have an opportunity on Saturday, March 28 to make a dent in Fort Worth's pile of litter.

Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and the Downtown Public Improvement District have organized the Cowtown Great American Cleanup.

So, on the last Saturday of this month at 8 am, get yourself to the grassy area at Purcey and West Bluff Street. Volunteers are being asked to register. Why? I don't know. But the first 3,000 to volunteer get a free t-shirt and work gloves out of the deal. And you get a free lunch. I'll do just about anything to get a free lunch.

To participate:

1. Pick a cleanup location
2. Recruit volunteers. Any size group is welcome.
3. Register your group online as soon as possible. All registrations are due by 5 pm. March 13.
4. Encourage all volunteers to fill out the waiver form - available on the registration site - and turn them in as soon as possible. Free cleanup supplies only will be issued with completed waivers for all participants in a group.
5. Pick up your supplies (which will include free trash bags, T-shirts and gloves) between noon and 6 p.m. March 26 or 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. March 27 at the Public Health Center, 1800 University Drive. Cleanup supplies are distributed to the first 3,000 registered participants.
6. Plan on attending the celebration for cleanup volunteers, scheduled from noon to 2 pm. on March 28 in Trinity Park. Entertainment and food provided.

Information about trash drop-off sites and other important information will be included in your cleanup packet.

A White Flower Sprouts At River Legacy Park

I would say that this blog will now have a daily new found Texas Wildflower as we move into Texas Wildflower season, but this morning's Sunday Dallas Morning News brought me the sad news that due to the continuing drought and last Fall's lack of significant rainfall, the Texas Wildflowers are likely going to be quite puny this year.

But, today at River Legacy Park, while I pedaled the mountain bike trail I came upon some white wildflowers that were not blooming when I pedaled there on Friday.

Blonde Bobbi, who I met and mentioned on Friday, was also back on the mountain bike trail today, hiking, not biking. This did not come as too big a surprise due to Blonde Bobbi mentioning that she'd be back on Sunday.

The mountain bike trail at River Legacy seems to have gotten quite popular, both with bikers and hikers. When I first discovered River Legacy Park I was surprised by how few people were out and about. Then I learned that Texans are a lot more sedentary than the people I was used to being around, that being Washingtonians in Washington. But that was then, now, almost 10 years later, I see a lot more Texans out and about, being aerobic and doing their part to get Texas off those lists of most obese states.

I saw no wildlife at River Legacy today, no squirrels, no armadillos, no bobcats, no snakes, no wild boars. Nothing. Well, there was that white flower.

I did have some slight annoyance at a pair of bikers. They came out of "Fun Town" and intersected with the trail I was on. They were ahead of me. The one I was right behind asked if I wanted by. I said, "uh, you guys look like you'll be way faster than me. " I mean, they looked to be in their 20s. I am not in my 20s. I may look like I'm in my 20s if the light is just right and the person looking at me has bad eyesight. But I'm not in my 20s.

Anyway, the two really young guys let me go ahead of them, despite my protests. I felt obligated to bike fast. I've been in this position before. Well, one of them kept right behind me, like I was being his pace car. The first guy I passed, soon dropped out of sight. I finally lost the guy who was chasing me after about 2 miles. This made the bike riding way more exercise than I was looking for.

By the time I got back here I was still overheated, so that made a jump in the pool sound like a good idea for the second time today. And then I did some of that laying on a lounge chair soaking up the healthy Vitamin A, or is it D, rays coming down from the clear blue sky.

We are heading into stormy weather the next several days. I suspect today was my last pool lounging day for awhile.

Sansom Park Hiking & Druids

Today I had to be in the White Settlement zone of Fort Worth, not the town of White Settlement, but the street, where Angelo's Barbecue is located.

So, since I was in the neighborhood, sort of, I thought today would a good day to return to Sansom Park and do some hiking on the steepest, toughest trails in the D/FW Metroplex.

I don't know who made these trails. Or how they made them. What I do know is this system of trails is Moab-worthy. As in the Slick Rock Trail scared me in Moab, but I biked it. The Sansom Trail scares me in Fort Worth, and I won't bike it. Well, maybe I would bike part of it, but there were a couple places where I could not hike down, no way could I bike it. Yet I saw tire tracks. Texans are tough. They will willingly go where few men will.

Sansom Park sits atop a hill overlooking Lake Worth and Lake Worth Dam. During a flood the view here is pretty spectacular, with water pouring over the dam like a mini-Niagara. You can hike down to the base of the dam where there are trail options in a couple directions. Most of these trails are not for the faint of heart or weak of knees.

I saw a wildflower blooming today that I've not yet seen whilst hiking the Tandy Hills, that being the blue flower you see above.

Most of the Sansom Park Trails are very rocky, with a few being packed dirt. I don't know if this is limestone, or what it is. I do know it can be challenging. I don't know what went on in the past in this area. There are what appear to be long abandoned roads where people seem to have created elaborate rusty iron sculptures.

There are so many miles of trails going in so many directions, if it weren't for orienting landmarks one could get, well, disoriented. One of the landmarks is a rock formation that sits atop a hill, like a Druid/Stonehenge monument. It would likely be de-stoned if some of the more earnest local Bible Belters got wind of the pagan imagery guiding bikers and hikers out of their confusion.

I was drawn to climb up to the Druid Monument and take some pictures. From there the view is good of Lake Worth and the dam. It looks to me like it would be a good idea to turn the Druid Stonehenge Monument into some sort of picnic pavilion. There is already a very nice, huge, fireplace. Who knows what sort of rituals have taken place in that fireplace?

It has been a good Saturday in Fort Worth. I went swimming real early. The water was perfect. White Settlement and Sansom Park were perfect. On the way back here I saw humans on a scary balcony. I'll blog about that later. And then when I did get back here, I went swimming again. It's still winter, but it is summer in Texas. And tomorrow we spring forward. I don't like Daylight Savings Time.

Good Government: Fort Worth Style

The Mayor of Fort Worth is an oil man named Mike Moncrief. Fort Worth sits on top of this stuff called Barnett Shale. Barnett Shale can be turned into natural gas. There are several natural gas drillers drilling holes in Fort Worth. It is very controversial. But some people make a lot of money from the hole poking, so all is good.

The Mayor of Fort Worth owns an interest in several of the natural gas drillers. Yet, unlike in other jurisdictions in the democracy known as America, in Fort Worth an elected official is allowed to influence issues in which he might have what is known as a vested interest. In other words, in Fort Worth you can stand to profit from voting a certain way, thus possibly skewing the principle known as fairness, and no one calls foul.

Well, no one who matters calls foul. I'm a Yankee and my opinion does not count.

Currently the most notorious of the natural gas drillers, an enterprise called Chesapeake Energy, owned by the corrupt thief, Aubrey McClendon, who stole the Sonics from Seattle and moved them to Oklahoma City, wants to poke 7 more holes in Fort Worth ground so they can extract natural gas from a resting ground known as the Greenwood Cemetery.

The neighborhood surrounding Greenwood Cemetery is split on the drilling issue. So, there was a well attended city council meeting this past Tuesday to discuss and allow citizen input regarding Chesapeake's request for a waiver so they can go to work under a cemetery.

There were 2 letters to the editor in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that being the paper I no longer pay for, but glance at online, mostly to make sure I don't miss anything in Fort Worth that is causing waves of green envy outbreaks in the rest of the nation.

The first letter was title "Good Government." The second letter was titled "Bad Government." I suspect a paid shill working for Fort Worth's Ruling Junta wrote the Good Government letter.

Below are the 2 letters....

Good Government

I took great pride in seeing democracy in action Tuesday night at the City Council. Our mayor and council, but especially Mayor Mike Moncrief, were magnificent.

They spent almost three hours discussing granting a waiver for a permit for Chesapeake Energy to drill seven gas wells in the area of Greenwood Cemetery and Rockwood Park. The wells would be in the Greenwood Cemetery area and would benefit the cemetery, the Crestwood neighborhood and Rockwood Park.

The council ultimately approved drilling with certain stipulations, but how they reached that conclusion was most impressive.

This action had been approved by the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board and addressed twice before by the council. Every council member had toured the site.

Tuesday, the council sat through almost two hours of resident comments along with a presentation by Chesapeake Energy.

Every resident who wanted to speak was allowed to speak.

Prior to the presentations, Moncrief explained the “house rules” that everyone had to be respectful and not make personal attacks.

Three times he cautioned speakers that they were about to cross that line. Moncrief was definitely in control, respectful of everyone, kept it moving and injected lots of humor.

One person said he lived close enough to Rockwood Park Drive that he could spit on it from his house. Moncrief jokingly asked him just how far he could spit.

The council, especially Councilman Carter Burdette, spent a tremendous amount of time and effort evaluating alternatives and trying to determine the best course of action. We should all be proud of our mayor and council for such outstanding service to our city.

— Glen Estes, Fort Worth

Bad Government

As a longtime resident of Fort Worth, I regret to admit that I have never attended a City Council meeting until Tuesday night and I must say that I was very disappointed.

One item on the agenda was regarding gas drilling in residential neighborhoods and there were many people in attendance. They were cautioned to be respectful of everyone — a very valid request.

I did not realize that this request meant that one could not voice any criticism of any kind, however. Mayor Mike Moncrief corrected those who used a “negative” verb with regard to the gas drillers and then silenced the first person who made a comment that indicated the city was giving the gas-drilling entities free water and that he would like some free water.

We live in America and still have First Amendment rights, but I guess that doesn’t apply to Fort Worth City Council meetings. Could it be the mayor realizes that many of us who live here feel as if the city has sold out to the gas-drilling companies, especially Chesapeake, and is afraid to hear from us?

The mayor and council members were elected to uphold the laws and oversee the good of city residents, not protect the interests of any one corporation or industry.

(By the way, I support drilling in the Barnett Shale, but I want the needs of the community considered first and foremost.)

Moncrief should recognize that the right to free speech is not his to revoke.

— Cheryl Andrews, Fort Worth

Is anyone but me on the Clyde Picht bandwagon? For the enlightenment of you non-Fort Worthers, fascinated as you are by the most fascinating city in America, Clyde Picht is running against Mayor Mike in an election that will quickly be upon us. Clyde Picht is given a ghost's chance in Hell of winning. In Fort Worth you have to have the support of the Ruling Junta and the Good Old Boy Network to become mayor. Most of the people who might benefit from having someone like Clyde Picht be their mayor, don't vote. The majority not voting is what keeps the Ruling Junta in power. It's a pretty sweet system. And it pays pretty well, too.

River Legacy Reptile Encounter & Dallas Cowboy Stadium Name

I had my first encounter of the new year with a large reptile this morning at River Legacy Park. I had to be in Arlington, again, at 10am, so a morning bike ride seemed to be the thing to do.

I saw no Wild Boars today, but I did get startled, coming around a turn, by a large mammal. On the second time around I stopped to talk to the large mammal. She was Blonde. I asked if she'd seen a Boar. She had. A solo one and it was big. She'd only been walking at River Legacy Park for a couple months and she's seen a Big Boar.

I've been biking at River Legacy for years and only learned of the Herd of Boars last week, followed, within days, by seeing the Herd in motion. I asked if the Blonde, Bobbi, had seen a Bobcat. That seemed a logical question after learning her name was Bobbi. Blonde Bobbi said she'd not seen a Bobcat, but she was prepared. She showed me her can of pepper spray. I told her she was safe from the Bobcats, but the pepper spray was a good defensive plan against other predators in the park.

I'm guessing you can guess that my large reptile encounter was with a Turtle. He/She was a cute one in really good shape. Sometimes you see Turtles that look like they've had a rough life. This is the time of year when Turtles and Armadillos wander where they should not be wandering, looking for love in all the wrong places, often ending up as roadkill. Which in these troubled times could provide a struggling family's protein needs for the week.

On initial encounter, today's Turtle retreated into its shell, but quickly got over its shyness and posed politely for closeups.

I did the mountain bike trail loop 3 times. That is over 15 miles. The pool had warmed up a lot by this morning, so I comfortably swam for about a half an hour. No need to warm up in the hot tub. The water will be even warmer tomorrow morning, because we are in the 80s again. So, between the swimming and the biking and talking to Turtles, I've had me a day.

Anyway, like I said, I had to be in Arlington again, once more by the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. No one has wanted to fork over the bucks to name the thing. Some have suggested temporarily naming it Salvation Army Stadium, due to Jerry Jones' longtime philanthropic endeavors helping the Salvation Army. I forgot how this scheme benefited the Salvation Army monetarily.

When I saw the new stadium today I was coming at it from the west on side streets. It looks so weird how it so hugely looms over all these little old houses, like something from outer space touching down in a poor American neighborhood. When I came to Collins Street I pulled into a CiCis Pizza parking lot to snap the picture you see here.

Having just had that reptile encounter at River Legacy, I looked at the stadium today and realized what it is that I've never been quite able to identify that it looks like.

Today it was obvious. The building looks like a turtle. I think it should be named Turtle Stadium. That's real catchy.

After driving by Turtle Stadium it was on to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. Today's most memorable item was an unusual salad of spinach leaves, mint, strawberry, banana, peach, other fruits and a lemony dressing. I didn't think I'd like it, but I went back for seconds.

Illuminating Luminarias in Fort Worth

A few days ago I verbalized my curiousity about a long gone restaurant at the end of Ben Avenue on the western edge of the Tandy Hills, high on a hill, facing downtown Fort Worth.

I eventually learned that the original restaurant was a Mexican place called Luminarias.

I have been unable to find a photo of the original restaurant. But I have found a photo of the view from the restaurant in its Fort Worth Cattle Drive iteration. At least that is what the claim is, but to me the view does not look to be from a high enough perch.

In addition to the photo, I came upon an interesting discussion about the long gone restaurant. I'll copy some excerpts of that discussion....

A guy calling himself "mattaken" asked about a restaurant he remembered from when he was a little kid that his parents told him was a steak house that was expensive.

To which someone calling himself "seurto" replied:
You'll probably get a lot of replies on that question. I believe the last incarnation was The Fort Worth Cattle Co. which was, obviously, a steakhouse. I believe originally it was called Luminaras and had a few changes in between. Considered one of the best views of downtown you had to get to it off Lancaster. It was a cool place and I believe the story goes that the original owners tried to buy out a pig farmer whose land was connected, but he wouldn't sell, so supposedly there was some "ambience" that came with it.

To which "Phil Phillips" said:
Yes, I remember the pig farm. Also, smelled it every time we came into and left downtown in the 60s. The pig farm was between the hotel and the Twin drive-in and was gone by the time the restaurant opened. The restaurant had a great bar on the back with large windows and the downtown view. I was there last in the mid 80s. The lack of access is what killed it.

Which had "chellomy" saying:
I don't remember the pig farm but I do remember both the smell and that the sewage treatment plant back then was in present-day Gateway Park between Beach and Oakland. I always assumed the odor came from down there.

Which had "mattaken" thanking the above for their replies, saying:
It's funny to hear about the pig farm. In this day and age it's hard to imagine something like that being so close to downtown. Does anyone remember how long ago the building was demolished? It looks like the parking lot/foundations are still there.

Then "FWFF'r" answered:
I don't know when it was demo'd. I remember it best when it was a fairly hot night spot called Calamity's.

"John Cirillo" like me, is wanting a photo:
Just to clarify further, the last incarnation was called Fort Worth Cattle Drive Restaurant. The old Cyberrodeo website from 1996, which is still floating around in Google's cache somewhere, listed it as "Steaks, seafood. Elegant." It's funny, there are several restaurant sites on the web that still list this restaurant. Be the first to review it. Does anyone have a photo of this place in any incarnation? It was one of those places I always passed but never thought to snap a shot of.

And then we hear from someone, "Papaw" who ate there:
I don't have pics but had several good meals there. The view was really neat and the food was very good. I had a hell of a time finding the place the first time.

"Buck" then tells us the restaurant was owned by the same company as Baby Doe's in Dallas. Baby Doe's was also difficult get to, was also on a bluff, very visible from the freeway, also with a very good view of downtown and also is out of business.

Then "lonzer" chimes in confirming again the Calamity's incarnation (originally mentioned to me by the Old Man with the Cane, walking in the Tandy Hills):
I do remember it being called Calamity's when it first opened but it went through several different name changes after that. I don't know what it was by the time I moved to Austin but I remember it as Calamity's.

"Mother Earths" mother worked there:
My mother worked there as a cashier when it was called Luminaries. I ate there once or twice and the main thing I remember was that the windows all faced west, giving a great view of downtown. However, the sun was blinding in the afternoon and evening which made me not want to return even though the food was good, in my opinion. I hope whatever is built there next has a little more thought behind the design. I am pushing for an ecovillage to be built on the site.

And "wren" mentions being there during a storm:
Once when my husband and I ate there a huge storm blew up. There was a lot of rain and lightning. I don't remember what I ate, but the storm was awesome to witness. I'll never forget the sight of lightning bolts flashing through the sky and lighting up the skyline. It was a beautiful sight!

"Birdland in Hand" is another person who had trouble getting there:
Location, Location, Location--but hard to locate?!? I remember going there for a special family get-together in the early 70's; in its first incarnation, Luminarias. It was frustrating--so visible from I30 but so puzzling to get to. I remember mom & dad got lost, but, fairly soon got there. (And the view was great!) I think some owners may have invested eventually in a billboard telling people on 30 the route to the restaurant. I suspect that was not enough without a convenient exit and straightforward route; thus all the restaurants failed.

"redhead" also had trouble finding it and provides some interesting details:
We lived in Arlington in the mid-80's and had to go to DTFW for something late one afternoon. We had always talked about eating at Calamity's, and decided just to do it...had a hell of a time finding it, and when we did, there was a fairly long wait. I remember that behind the building, there were paths to multiple fire-pits. So we waited outside with our own private fire-pit, drinking adult beverages until we were called to a table...nice memories...Oh yeah, we had gone to court to get married.

The above all came from a discussion in the online Fort Worth Forum. Now, someone, somewhere must have a photo of Luminarias.

Going To New York, Texas For Some ZipLine Adventures

Last summer I blogged about a fun sounding new adventure out in the East Texas zone called NY TX ZipLine Adventures.

Sky-High Thrills-Texas Style!

Well, when I was up in Tacoma last summer. (I think I've previously mentioned being up there) It was really really cold for an entire month. I was quite miserable.

Anyway, while I was in Tacoma I heard from Connie of ZipLine, thanking me for mentioning them in my blog, telling me that they'd had several visitors come their way, from my blog, after being directed to their website.

Well, I got back to Texas on August 20. I remember that date clearly due to feeling so relieved. But, due to so many things going on all around me, I forgot about ZipLining.

Until today. I once more heard from Connie of ZipLine, reminding me that there are Two Free Zip Tours waiting for me and that I would be glad I came and zipped with them in New York.

So. Who wants to go ZipLining with me? Any volunteers?

Tandy Hills Flowers & the First Snakes of 2009

When I got back here a bit ago I checked email before I checked blogging and there was an email from Michael Moore. I'm pretty sure this is not the Michael Moore of movie-making fame. Mr. Moore emailed to thank me for mentioning the Tandy Hills frequently, saying he appreciated my efforts to make people aware of its beauty and accessibility.

I don't know if it's irony or coincidence, but I was on my way to blogging about today at the Tandy Hills when I read Mr. Moore's email.

When last I blogged about the Tandy Hills I mentioned an exotic yellow flower that had sprung up, pre-spring. Today a tree had bloomed with white blossoms. That's one of the blossoms in in the picture above. It looks like the blossom of a fruit tree, like a cherry tree, but I don't think I've ever seen any fruit in a tree in the Tandy Hills.

Regarding the beautiful, bright, exotic yellow flower that is blooming now on the Tandy Hills, a kind soul informed me that this wildflower is called a dandelion. What an exotic name for an exotic flower. Exotic and edible.

As for the first snakes of 2009. I have never seen a snake while hiking the Tandy Hills. But this afternoon I had to be in Arlington at 2. That was concluded faster than I'd anticipated, so I decided to pedal the River Legacy Park mountain bike trails, hoping to maybe get a picture of the Wild Boar Herd.

I saw no Boars today at River Legacy, but I did see 2 snakes. They were very little. I've no idea what brand of snake they were, but neither rattled and both looked perfectly safe, due to being so little.