Hiking Hot At Village Creek Thinking About Getting Obese To Keep Cool

In the picture I'm in the shade, lifting my shades to look at you, while in the Village Creek Natural Historic Area around noon.

I had planned to go get HOT on the Tandy Hills today, but at noon it was Dead Calm out there. No cooling breeze.

Going to Village Creek was a good choice because even there, with a lot of shade, I overheated. sort of. I likely would have suffered a heatstroke on the noon Tandy Hills, had I gone there today.

I put 5 bottles of water in the freezer this morning. It did not take long for them to thaw. The bulges in my cargo pant shorts are my supply of water bottles. If my heavy drinking problem continues I may have to drag out my water bladder that I never liked using when mountain biking.

Today I recollected the last time I was involved in an activity up close to an obese person, with the temperatures in the low 80s, the obese person did not sweat, did not think it was hot, while I did both, sweated and thought it felt hot.

So, now I'm wondering if I've been wrong, like I often am, in thinking that obese people must really get hot, being under those thick blankets of fat. Instead, does the thick blanket of fat insulate obese people from the heat? Is this why I see so many people in Texas who choose to be ultra-fat? They're just trying to keep cool?

I'm currently at my skinniest in 2 years, skinnier than when I was in Washington 2 summers ago. Is this why I seem to be so easily overheated on these mild Texas days of barely 100 degrees?

While it would be nice to stay cooler, I really don't think I want to lard on 100 pounds to do so. The heat stifles my appetite. I really don't think I could manage to eat enough to add 100 pounds. I've seen what obese people go through to get to that state of cooling obesity. It is almost non-stop eating. And when not eating, time is spent worrying about what to eat next.

All morning long, ever since I got up around 5, I've had one annoying computer problem after another. I finally got the system all calmed down and then Elsie Hotpepper asked me to do something. This quickly turned into a boondoggle of my own making. Eventually I was able to get done what Elsie wanted done. And then I had to get away from looking at a computer.

And now I'm back at it again. Trying to get 4 webpages made.

The Mystery Of Dollar Stores

For several years whenever I leave this place and take a left on to Bridgewood Drive I see the sign for a store called Family Dollar. Though this store is fairly close to my abode I have never been in it.

Then a couple months ago construction started across the street from Family Dollar, next to the Krogers parking lot. Eventually a "Dollar General Opening Soon" sign appeared on the new construction.

It did not take long for Dollar General to get constructed and opened. The Dollar General is a better looking building than Family Dollar, with nicer landscaping. The only jarring note is somehow Dollar General was permitted to sit their Dollar General sign on the ground. This looks sort of strange.

So, last week I popped into Krogers to pick up FW Weekly. I decided to check out Dollar General.

For some reason I thought these dollar stores were full of stuff that cost a buck or less. As I often am, I was wrong.

Near as I can tell the dollar part of the name means everything is priced in dollar increments, as in $1, $2, $3, you get the drift. No $1.99 prices.

I figured the draw for these stores must be low prices. I was a bit surprised to see that the stuff for sale was not at bargain pricing. And that the Dollar General was like some sort of strange department store, with food products, car care products, clothes, shoes. It was like a mini-Wal-Mart.

Since the prices are no bargains and the selection is not great, what is the attraction of these stores? Do they cater to people who are scared to death of Wal-Mart?

Can anyone explain the dollar stores to me?

I did not see a dollar store til I came to Texas. Are they all over the country now, spreading like a disease, like here in my zone of Texas?

It's very perplexing.

Looking At August 5's Pink & Blue Texas Sky While Thinking About The Devil's River

I think those pink things in the blue sky are clouds, not Northern Lights. I'm almost certain our Aurora Borealis outbreak ended yesterday. Then again, I woke up with my head feeling brain pain, like yesterday, when I thought my neurons were being tortured, somehow, by the Sun's Sunday flareup.

I do not know what a reddish sky means when one is 100s of miles from the nearest sea. When I lived in Washington, about 10 miles from the nearest sea, from about as far back as my memory goes I remember, "Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in morning, sailor takes warning."

Well, it is 10 minutes since I took that picture with the dire sky warning and solid blue has now returned. So, I'm fairly sure I do not need to prepare to batten down the hatches.

Yesterday's blogging about J.D. Granger's bizarre plan to have a tube float happy hour on the polluted Trinity River brought a comment from Don Young that pointed me towards Devil's River by Del Rio.

The Trinity River is pretty much the dirtiest river I've ever seen. But, Texas also has the clearest rivers I have ever seen, such as the San Marcos River that flows from Aquarena Springs. Aquarena Springs may be the clearest water I have ever seen.

What sold me on the going swimming in Devil's River idea and visiting Devil's River State Natural Area is you can also go mountain biking there on a 22 mile long trail.

I think I'll take a virtual trip to Del Rio today. And maybe a real trip to the Tandy Hills.

J.D. Granger's Trinity River Happy Hour Tubing Party

UPDATE: Thursday, August 26, J.D. Granger's Trinity River Happy Hour Float Took Place.

I was driving the Grapevine Highway today, after leaving Tarrant County College, and glanced over at the waterpark known as NRH20. This is in North Richland Hills, hence the name.

I snapped the photo you see here as I drove by.

I saw a pool that seemed uncomfortably crowded. And a lazy river that looked like it was having an inner tube jam. Way too many people in way too little lazy river.

And then I got back here and was surprised to see inner tubes as a subject in a different watery venue.

The Fort Worth Business Press has an article today that pretty much pulls down the pants of Fort Worth's nepotism loving Congresswoman, Kay Granger's son, J.D. Granger, who the Fort Worth good ol' boy network installed as the executive director of the bizarre, non-public works project, known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoogle and exposes just what a total dumb ass this guy is.

J.D. claims interest in the TRV Boondogggle has picked up, with out of state investors interested.

J.D. says, “What we’ve found is that the big funds, the national funds want big plans, they don’t want projects with small plans, they want ones with 10-year plans. And that pick-up has been significant, about one group every week and a half.”

Yeah, that makes sense. National funds want big plans. No small plans for national funds. You need really big 10 year plans if you want to snag national funds for a boondoggle.

Apparently it surprises J.D. when he learns that someone with national funds is not aware of the TRV Boondoggle. I suppose the surprise comes from the fact, in J.D.'s mind, the TRV Boondoggle is a BIG plan, one so BIG, national funds want it. After they know about it. Whatever national funds are.

It was at the end of the article where J.D. pulled his pants down and revealed what a total dumbass he is.

First off, for you who are not in the Fort Worth zone, the Trinity River runs through Fort Worth. The Trinity River is very polluted. It is usually very muddy. There are very clear, beautiful rivers in Texas, like the San Marcos River and the Guadalupe River. Those rivers are big tourist attractions with thousands floating down the rivers on inner tubes.

With that in mind I must copy the last 5 paragraphs of the Fort Worth Business Press article for your amusement.....

"In an effort to highlight the completion of one such project, Granger said the Trinity River Vision will host a ‘happy hour’ floating event.

The floating event will begin on Aug. 26 at the soon-to-be completed portion of the Trinity Trails between Rogers Road and the Fort Worth Zoo and river passengers will float to Trinity Park, where they will be transported back to the starting place.

“This will be the site of a future canoe launch and we thought it would be a great spot for a tube float,” Granger said. “We own a bus so we’ll take people back to their cars after they float our river, just like in San Marcos.”

Granger said the river floating event is open to the public."

As you can see in the picture of J.D. Granger, above, he likes Happy Hour.

But.

A Floating Happy Hour event on the Trinity River? Tubing on the Trinity River?

This is the most insane thing I've seen involving the Trinity River, other than the TRV Boondoggle, since Fort Worth's reality challenged mayor, Mike Moncrief, tried to dye the river purple. Ironically, just a short distance from where J.D. Granger wants to have his happy hour tubing party.

Is it not time that adults were put in charge of Fort Worth?

The Legends Of The Grottos On Lovers' Retreat In Mineral Wells Texas

This morning Betty Jo Bouvier, the Wild Woman of Woolley, asked me what I knew about Crazy Water. I was surprised that somehow Betty Jo had heard about the special water that comes from Mineral Wells.

Back on November 28, 2009 I blogged about Crazy Water after I heard from the Famous Mineral Water Company via a Twitter Tweet from @lovecrazywater.

Betty Jo, asking about Crazy Water, put me in mind of Mineral Wells and an old postcard I'd found titled "The Grottoes on Lovers' Retreat, Mineral Wells, Texas."

I assumed that the Lovers' Retreat Grotto must have existed prior to the building of Mineral Wells Dam, which created Mineral Wells Lake, and was now under water. My assumption was wrong.

I do not know where, in Mineral Wells, Lovers' Retreat is located. Here's a blurb I found about this grotto, "Lovers' Retreat has long been one of the most picturesque locations in the county (Palo Pinto) and has been a favorite recreation spot since people have lived in the area. The huge rocks that jut from the earth and numerous ledges and naturally occurring caves contribute to the scenery of the place."

I could find no photos of Lovers' Retreat, which has me thinking my initial assumption may have been correct. Where Mineral Wells Lake and Mineral Wells State Park now exist, there are steep cliffs in an area called Penitentiary Hollow. I imagine the gorge, that the dam dammed, had steep cliffs.

There are two versions of why the Grottos on Lovers' Retreat are so-named.

One version has an early Palo Pinto settler, last name of Lovers, being chased by Indians. Lovers hid in one of the grotto's caves til the Indians gave up looking for him. When Lovers got back to civilization and told his tale, ever after, the grotto had Lovers' name attached to it.

The other version is an Indian legend with 2 versions and it involves actual lovers. The father of an Indian maiden insisted she marry the son of another tribe's chief. But, she was in love with a brave from her own tribe. The day before she was to be married, the maiden eloped with her brave. Her dad then sent out a pack of warriors to catch the pair. They hid out in one of the grotto's caves. When the warriors reached the caves a Medicine Man warned that the caves were haunted by evil spirits. So, they left. The Indian maiden and her brave emerged from the cave and lived in the grotto area for years, eventually joining another tribe and living happily ever after.

In the second version the warrior search party found the hiding lovers, killed the brave. And then, as they were dragging the maiden back to her dad, she broke free and jumped to her death off a 40 foot cliff.

Anyone out there know where the Grottos at Lovers' Retreat are located in Mineral Wells? I think I can eliminate the Baker Hotel as a possible location.

Up Early Looking For The Aurora Borealis To Light Up The Texas Sky

I got up early this morning, around 4, expecting to step outside to view the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.

The Sun chose to do some major erupting on the day named after it, aiming two mass ejections of solar material directly at the Earth.

I have seen the Aurora Borealis one time previous. I got a call from a pseudo-religious friend of mine. She told me she thought God was up to something big, telling me to look outside to see if I saw the same thing. She thought maybe God was just putting on a show for her.

So, I stepped outside and was instantly amazed at what I saw happening in the sky to the north. A major multi-colored light show the likes of which I'd not previously seen.

I had no clue what it was. I'd not heard of the Northern Lights ever being visible from my location. And, unlike Sunday's Sun eruptions, there had been no forecast of incoming solar material and its resultant neon light show.

Back to Earth. Yesterday I took an interesting virtual trip to Luckenbach, Texas. I'd been in the Luckenbach zone before, to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock, but I'd not been to Luckenbach.

I do not know if I am going to go anywhere virtually today. I am fairly certain I am going to Hurst. And I am going swimming, likely before that Aurora Borealis causing Sun lights up the place.

Having Fun With A Chase Bank ATM Before Tandy Hills Hiking

It has not hit 100 yet. I had to go to the bank, so since it is near the hills, I hiked after I banked. Only 96 when I hit the Tandy Hills.

Speaking of the Chase Bank ATM check deposit mechanism. Using this thing has gotten much easier after multiple times of using it.

But.

Today it took 6 tries for the ATM to successfully read my debit card.

When you get to the part where you stick a check in a slot, it tells you that you can deposit a stack of up to 20, or was it 30, checks. Now, the first time I made a deposit in this new machine it kept rejecting the check, due to me not sticking it in properly.

Today I had 2 checks to deposit. They were not the same size. I did not go with the stacking option. I deposited them separately. How does this thing sort through a stack of checks? I did not see any good coming from me trying to deposit a stack of 2 checks.

Anyway, after the banking adventure I was off to the Tandy Hills. A nice breeze was blowing, but I just could not get into heavy duty hiking mode. I'm thinking maybe I'm getting sufficient aerobicizing swimming, and so the endorphin fix need is not so dire.

Whilst on the Tandy Hills I looked for a Creek Plum Tree so I could pick me some and make a Don Young Creek Plum Tart. But I had no luck finding a Plum. Probably this is for the best. The last time I tried to make pie dough it ended up clogging up my garbage disposal. The last time was the only time I tried to make pie dough.

Hot In Fort Worth Cold In Seattle

The above is from this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Those are tourists on the deck of a ferry in Seattle's Town Lake, known as Elliott Bay. Elliott Bay was not built by the good ol' boy network that runs Seattle, because Seattle does not have a good ol' boy network that runs it. Elliott Bay is not the result of a bizarre public works boondoggle that the public did not vote for. Elliott Bay is provided by Mother Nature as part of Puget Sound, which is part of the Pacific Ocean.

This morning's article in the P-I was lamenting the unusually cold summer the Puget Sound area is experiencing. Apparently yesterday was very foggy until sometime around noon, when the sun managed to burn off the fog.

Two years ago, at about this exact date, I was up in the Seattle zone realizing I'd made a HUGE mistake in planning to stay for an entire month. At this point in time I still had 17 days to go before my scheduled escape back to sanity. I was so disgruntled I tried to get an early flight back, but in my confused, disgruntled state I was not thinking all that clearly and did not realize how easy Southwest Airlines would have facilitated my escape, til I told my Phoenix sister of my desperation when she called the day of my escape to ask how happy I was to be escaping.

The summer month of 2008 I did not bring cold weather clothes with me. I only had one pair of long pants. No sweat pants. No long underwear. No long sleeved shirts. No coat.

After about 2 weeks of watching me shiver my little sister took pity on me and came home with a coat she bought me at Costco. It is a wonderful coat. I wore it to bed nightly to help stave off the shivering. It helped.

This morning in Texas it is 80, heading to a high of 105. My air conditioner is currently keeping the interior temperature at 82. In Seattle the temperature this morning is 58, heading to a high of 75, 7 degrees colder than my air conditioned temperature.

The Stars Are Not Twinkling & The Moon Looks Orange This 3rd Day Of August In HOT Texas

I slept in this morning, til slightly past 5, unlike yesterday when I got up slightly before 3.

When I stepped outside and looked skyward I saw no stars twinkling at me. I know there are no clouds, I don't know why there was no twinkling.

You are looking at the star-free early morning view out on my patio, from just a few minutes ago.

I suspect the lack of stars twinkling may be related to something the National Weather Service was being alarmist about yesterday, that being air pollution and a Level Orange Air Pollution Alert.

Though the stars do not seem to be twinkling this morning, a piece of the moon was, twinkling with a slight shade of orange. Is this where calling the bad air pollution "Level Orange" comes from? There does seem to be an orangish tint to the horizon when the air pollution here goes into alert mode.

The sun has yet to show up and it's already 80. It is going to be another HOT one today in the Fort named Worth.

Trying Not To Break The New Speed Limit At Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historic Area

The temperature has gone over 100 again. With not much of a breeze. I've been up since 3 this morning. I went swimming well before the sun showed up. I liked swimming under the partial moon.

By 11 I was in the mood for a walk in the shade. It was only 96, or thereabouts, at that point in time. I decided to go to Village Creek Natural Historic Area, because there is a lot of natural shade there.

Upon arrival I saw a new sign. Listing TRAIL RULES. One of the rules is "SPEED LIMIT 10 MPH."

See that sign a short distance from the new sign? If you click on the picture to see the bigger version you'll see that that second sign, on the lower left, says "20 MPH speed limit on trails."

I think Arlington is setting up some sort of trail speed trap. With the trail cops, with their radar guns, ready to ticket anyone moving faster than 10 mph on the trails.

Or this is a silly mistake that one would think someone would have noticed?

Other than the sign faux pas, it was an uneventful walk through the Village Creek Natural Historic Area zone. As you can clearly see, in the picture, I did not overheat today.

Don Young emailed a recipe for Creek Plum Tarts yesterday, using plums picked from trees growing on the Tandy Hills.

There is some sort of fruit tree shedding some sort of fruit at Village Creek. The fruit looks like it my be a Wild Cherry. Or maybe it's a Wild Plum. I'll go look at Don Young's plum pictures and be right back.

Well size-wise Don Young's Tandy Hills Creek Plum look the same as the Village Creek fruit. But the color is different. With the Village Creek fruits being a deep red. I did not sample one of the possible Village Creek Wild Cherries because I thought it odd that birds did not seem to be eating them. And no ants were working on the ones that were on the ground.

Would a park that can't make up its mind about its trail speed limit be growing poison fruit trees? Likely not.