Going Back To Tabletop Mountain While In Texas

Staying with my Washington theme for the day. Let's go back to Tabletop Mountain again. I took you to the top of Tabletop Mountain yesterday, with the only picture being my all time favorite. Today I'll show you a few more pictures of my nephews, Christopher and Jeremy, on Tabletop Mountain.

Some years, the road to the parking lot, you see here, does not open. The Mount Baker area gets one of the world's deepest accumulations of snow. Some years it does not melt enough to open the area you see here. The road to the Tabletop Mountain parking lot goes past the Mount Baker ski area. If you saw this location in winter you would have trouble believing you could drive here in late summer. Trails lead up Tabletop Mountain and on to Mount Baker from this location.

That is our destination in the distance, the top of Tabletop Mountain. You pick your way over snow and rock til you pick up the trail.

This is a classic Northwest Washington type mountain trail. That is Mount Shuksan off to the right.

Now we are at the top of Tabletop Mountain. If I remember right Jeremy was contemplating throwing a snowball at me. Which he soon did. He missed.

It did not look too dangerous, so when Christopher asked if he could slide down that little glacier, I said sure, not realizing Chris would pick up quite a lot of speed that sent him quite a long distance. I had some concern I was being an irresponsible uncle. I had a reputation for getting my 4 nephews into what came to be known as Nephews in Danger episodes. The worst of those was when nephew Joey and I climbed Sauk Mountain in a snowstorm.

Chris had fun sliding down the glacier, so Jeremy had to give it a try. Being an expert skateboarder, Jeremy was able to do this much more gracefully than his brother. That is the north side of Mount Baker that Jeremy is heading towards. If we were climbing up the south side of Mount Baker we would be able to see steam coming out of the volcano. I was able to see Mount Baker from my kitchen window in Mount Vernon.

So, there you go, you've now been on a virtual hike up a Washington mountain in September. And I'm still whining about being homesick for a real mountain. And some blackberries.

Seafair on Lake Washington

I guess today on my blog I am continuing my "I'm Homesick" theme. That body of water you are looking at is called Lake Washington. Lake Washington has 2 floating bridges that cross it. Seattle has an annual event that lasts for weeks called Seafair. Seafair starts off with a big event called The Torchlight Parade. I blogged about that very parade when I was in Seattle last summer.

Another part of Seafair is hydroplane races. I've never quite understood the fascination with watching those boats go fast, but thousands of others do, lining the shores of Lake Washington, or floating on the water, on various devices, to watch the big boats go fast and spray a lot of water.

At some point during Seafair, I think it's during the hydro races, the Blue Angels put on a show, making an awful lot of noise.

My one reader may remember me mentioning, a week or so ago, the re-discovery of a lost memory about going swimming in the moonlight at Bay View. Me and 2 others, in our undergarments, though only one of the perpetrators remember this.

Well, the party who remembers that swim is the party I refer to, for privacy sake, as Miss C. Well, I told Miss C that anything she sends me I may use as blogging fodder. Miss C sent me the above Seafair photo this morning. Miss C's daughter, who I'll call Lil' Miss C, due to both misses having first names that begin with 'C', is the young lady on the left in the picture.

I am almost certain the 3 girls are wearing swimsuits and Lil' Miss C is not following her mom's penchant for swimming in a warm Washington lake in her underwear.

By the way, Lake Washington is a huge, natural lake. It was not built as part of any sort of vision damming up a river to make a little lake.

Hiking At Fort Worth's Best Place To Stand & Camp

Today was my first time at the Tandy Hills Natural Area in awhile. The Hills needed to dry out from our recent deluges.

All that wet from Mama Nature has brought about little bursts of green where a wildfire had turned the prairie black a few weeks ago.

I saw only one other human standing on Fort Worth's best place to stand today.

Earlier today I was lamenting about all the places I used to stand on in Washington. As much as I like the Tandy Hills and as much as I think they are a rather unique location in an urban zone, it really is due to a shortage of great places to stand that this is the best place to stand in Fort Worth.

Today I came upon something I'd never seen at the Tandy Hills before. Someone had set up a tent. Maybe the person figured if this was the best place to stand it must also be the best place to camp. I don't know. The conditions are rather primitive.

There is running water, in the form of creeks, but this campsite was not near any of the creeks. I did not look in the tent to see if there were campers inside.

Tabletop Mountain Is Not In Texas

It is past 10 in the morning. If I don't blog something soon I'll start getting emails and phone calls asking what is wrong with me. Well, there is plenty wrong with me, but I don't care to talk about it.

That picture you're looking at is my all time favorite photo. But, it vexes me because I can not find the originals of that photo. Those boys are my nephews, Jeremy and his big brother, Christopher. They are sitting on top of Tabletop Mountain. Behind them is Mount Shuksan. Christopher is looking south at Mount Baker. Mount Baker is a volcano.

You get to the top of Tabletop Mountain via a fun trail that gets to the top via a series of switchbacks. I think I'll make a separate blogging with other pics from that day.

Lately it has crossed my mind a time or two that I think I'd like to move back to the Northwest. I miss the mountains. I miss the saltwater. I miss the seafood. And fresh fruit and vegetables. Right now I could be picking all the blackberries I wanted to pick. For free.

When I moved to Texas there was a house waiting for me. My house in Washington was sold in 2002. So, there is no house waiting for me, right now, in Washington. So, moving back is not quite as easy as moving here. It's vexing.

That's me laying on top of Hidden Lake Peak, looking down at Hidden Lake, deep in the North Cascades. Mount Baker and Tabletop Mountain are about 30 miles to the north.

Scenery like this was only a few miles east of where I lived in Washington. I am several hundred miles from any scenery that comes remotely close to this at my current location.

Today I'll try to cheer myself up by going to the "Best Place to Stand in Fort Worth." That being the Tandy Hills. Hiking on the Tandy Hills is a pretty pale substitute for the type of hiking I regularly did in Washington.

New Proof That Natural Gas Is Not Clean

The above video shows what looks like billowing smoke and fire coming from a natural gas well in the Barnett Shale. What you are actually seeing is plumes of invisible hydrocarbon emission through the filter of a high-tech video camera, making the invisible visible.

Seeing this video makes it easier to understand how it is that these operations belch around 200 tons of smog into the North Texas air every day. This is the dirty stuff that Al Armendariz, a Southern Methodist University chemical engineer, first brought to public attention, initially to scorn, from some, eventually validated as accurate by part of the state government of Texas.

The video was brought to you by TXsharon and FWCanDo! for BS Guinea Pig Productions.

Please visit their websites and The Daily Kos for more information.

Tandy Hills Natural Area Picked Best Place To Stand In North Texas

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, some time back, solicited for entries in a contest to pick the "Best Places to Stand in North Texas."

I've stood on all the Top 10 places to stand. I have stood at or by the Japanese Garden at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the steps of the Amon Carter Museum, the Rusty sculpture at the Modern Museum, Cowboys Stadium, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Trinity Bridge on North Main, the Stockyards and the local lakes.

I've been to the Runner-up Editor's pick, that being Randol Mill Park. And I've stood on, looked at, hiked on and marveled at the Grand-prize winner, Tandy Hills Natural Area, submitted by Don Young.

The Star-Telegram heavily edited Don Young's essay, making the case why the Tandy Hills were the best place to stand in North Texas. I'll copy the entire essay below...

Tandy Hills Natural Area is a special place simply because it is still here.

Over 99.5% of all native prairie, in the USA, is gone - even more in the Metroplex. The parkland is adjacent to I-30 and surrounded by a neighborhood in the heart of Fort Worth, a place crawling with developers and gas drillers. For this oasis to have survived is more than remarkable, it’s a precious gift.

The 160-acre natural area is a living, postage stamp sized snapshot of what the entire region once looked like before settlers arrived. The number of wildflower and grass species that cover the hilly terrain at THNA is wildly more than anyplace else in north Texas, except maybe another prairie remnant.

In 1880 when the population was less than 1% of the current 700,000, people still remembered the natural beauty of the land they settled and nicknamed Fort Worth, "Queen City of the Prairie." Those days would soon end, taking with them the very thing that drew settlers here, namely, the blackland prairie and its rich cornucopia of life.

The good news is, we still have Tandy Hills. The Spring wildflowers are more breathtaking here than anyplace else in the Metroplex, attracting lovers, families and butterflies. In the Fall, tall native grasses sway mysteriously in the wind, inspiring poets, painters and philosophers. The sunsets and moonrises seen from the tops of the many hills are often jaw dropping. The sky above THNA is filled with birds and swarms of migrating, Monarch butterflies. If you're lucky, you can even catch a glimpse of a rabbit, fox, lizard, wild turkey, roadrunner or bobcat scampering across the landscape.

All this and its only 5 minutes from downtown Cowtown.
The price? Free.

Tandy Hills Natural Area was donated to the people of Fort Worth in 1960. 2010 is the 50th anniversary of this public parkland.

Keep it like it was.

Don Young
July 1, 2009

Texas Turtles In A Green Lake With Tootsie Tonasket & Fleeting Homesickness

It is in the 90s and humid here today. Which had a bunch of turtles seeking refuge on a log in green Oakland Lake, around noon today. Where do all the turtles go in winter? Someone must know.

Tootsie Tonasket took the walk with me today. Tootsie lives up near the Canadian border in Eastern Washington, where she has been sizzling with much higher temperatures than relatively cool Texas.

Relatively cool Texas. I do not recollect using that phrase before.

After I was done walking and talking to Tootsie I called my sister who lives in Kent, Washington. I'd not spoken to her since the first week of January when she called while my mom and dad were here and we were trying to get out of the car to go to the Dallas Farmers Market. When I called my mom and dad on the day Seattle broke the century mark for the first time, my dad told me my Kent sister had to work that day. Usually she takes a day off for just about any reason. She is a UPS delivery girl.

My sister survived that day, and the HOT ones prior and since, by having with her 6 liters of icy water, packed in ice, plus Gatorade, plus a towel dipped in icy water that she wraps around her neck while driving. She said it wasn't all that bad.

But, coming home to a HOT house was bad. So, on Monday she is having central A/C installed. This likely means that tomorrow the temperatures will plummet back to normal.

Usually the majority of my immediate family members are not in Washington, usually it's just my sister in Kent and my sister in Tacoma who are up there. But right now my mom and dad and my brother are in the Northwest, all of them convening at my sister's in Kent for the second day in a row of BBQing. Almost makes me homesick. Then I remember my last two visits home and that feeling fades.

So, that's been my mundane Sunday in Texas. Swimming early, walking and talking at noon, with a slight tinge of homesickness that quickly passed.

On The Road With Rachel

My favorite TV Star sent me a rather inspiring video this morning. It's basically about an 89 year old youngster named Rachel and her special love affair. With her Comet Caliente, which she bought new, 45 years ago, that she has driven over 540,000 miles.

Including driving solo to her 70th class reunion, which was an over 3,000 mile road trip.

Rachel is one sharp lady. I wish I paid as much attention to vehicle maintenance as Rachel does. She buys all replacement parts with a lifetime guarantee. Rachel has gotten 16 free battery replacements from Penneys, even after Penneys shut down their Auto Centers, passing off the guarantees to Firestone.

Below is a YouTube version of the video my favorite TV Star sent me this morning....

Looking At Little Sassy Cassie Instead Of A Weenie Tonight In Texas

In the years since I moved to Texas, from Washington, the state, I have been asked countless times. Why? I've never had a really good answer to that question. And the actual story of how moving here came about is a painful, long story for me to tell. Which I avoid telling.

Just this Saturday night in Texas, well, Fort Worth, is instructive as to why this place has such a hold on me. Now, tonight, if I were in Washington, I might be at a beach, enjoying a fire and roasting hot dogs. Then watching the sun set over the Olympic Mountains, while listening to the waves lap up against the shore, all the while smelling flowers and evergreen trees scenting the air.

Contrast that boring Washington Saturday night with Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Here we have attractions and things to do that you just don't have in boring ol' Washington. Like tonight I'm thinking of going to Jaguars to see Little Sassie Cassie, she being the World's Smallest Stripper, at a diminutive 2 feet 10 inches. I have seen a stripper, or two, during my time on the planet. I have never seen a really little one.

Today, being August 1, it is my last chance to see Little Sassy Cassie. At least for now. She'll probably be back.

However, a new issue has arisen. One that is another reason Saturday night weenie roasts in Texas can be a bit dicey. I hear thunder booming in the distance. It appears to be building to a storm out there. Which is why it is so nice to have venues, like Jaguars, that one can retreat to on a Saturday night, to see wholesome entertainment one can not see in the boring ol' Pacific Northwest.

So. I'm outta here. See y'all tomorrow.

Town Talking And Walking At Quanah Parker Park With Chesapeake Energy Sound Effects

I didn't realize I had not done my usual early morning blogging duty til I got missives from my therapist, Dr. L.C. and the Queen of Wink and others, asking what's wrong with me.

Like I'm going to go into the details of all that is wrong with me.

I had blogged this morning, but it was not on this one, it was on my TV one. On Thursday the new season of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta started up. During its previous run I did multiple bloggings about that show that got linked all over the place, causing that blog to go on fire. That started happening all over again on Thursday. I'm talking thousands of visitors a day.

Now, I would have thought that to be a good thing, that there'd be a lot of ad clicking. But no, yesterday there was a grand total of 4 clicks. And on this very blog you are reading right now, there were about 700 visitors yesterday, with no clicks. Meanwhile my non-blog website gets a lot of clicks all the time. So, which am I more motivated to pay attention to? Even though the subjects are not as easy to write about.

And don't get me started on my Roadtripping Blog. That one generates great ads when people come to a specific blogging from a search engine. But it gets hardly any visitors, with me unable to think of a way to catch that blog on fire like I have, at times, with this blog and the TV one. It's vexing, because the Roadtripping one was fun to do. I thought it had potential.

So, this morning I got up early, swam early, blogged about those damn Atlanta housewives, that I'd said to myself I was not going to waste anymore time on. But they are so funny.

Then about noon I had my regular inclination to get outside. It'd rained hard, post-swim, so Tandy Hills was out. I knew Quanah Parker Park would be dry, even though the heavy rain amped up the snake and alligator dangers. And I knew at the end of the paved trail I would be facing this huge Chesapeake Energy installation of buildings, and lately a drilling operation at the end of Oakland Avenue, that would be picture and blog-worthy.

This site, previous to Chesapeake taking it over, was a park with several ballfields. I have no idea what deals were made to lose the ballfields to build Chesapeake buildings, and now a drilling operation, which today was in full shrieking noise-making mode. The shrieker is seen in the photo at the top.

After my walk, I went to Town Talk. The place was packed. With 2 Fort Worth Gestapo Agents on guard. Each time I go to Town Talk I'm amazed at the stuff I find. Today I got really good, really fresh asparagus, for only 99 cents for an awful lot of green stalks. To me this place is not about the bizarrely low prices, it's about the good stuff you can get. The red peppers I got a few days ago are the best I've ever come across. Super sweet. And the tomatoes? I've not had ones this good since I grew my own in Washington. What stores is Town Talk getting this stuff from? Today, among other stuff, I got 4 huge, really top quality looking, green peppers for only a quarter each. The turnover of produce is so quick, every time I go, there it is a lot of new stuff.

And another Town Talk thing. The checkouts. They are the old-fashioned kind. No scanners. But so FAST. I don't know how these people do it. It's like they automatically know the prices. I think I've complained before about Wal-Mart's, Kroger's and Albertson's chronic price mistakes. With scanners. Town Talk has not made a single mistake. I tell you, just watching the Town Talk check-out people whiz through a stack of stuff at high speed is worth the admission price. Which is free.

So, there you go, that's been my simple little Saturday in Texas. Did I mention it rained? Making it 91 and very very very humid.

Today I was shirtless whilst walking at Quanah Parker Park. But last December 21 it was below freezing, so I wore a few more clothes, as you can see in the below YouTube video...