Friday Morning In Texas Up Late Thinking About Smoked Salmon

As you can see via the view from my patio, I am up after the sun on this, the second Friday of September, one day before the 9th Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

I was surprised this morning to learn that the Florida trouble making preacher was abandoning his plan to burn a Koran tomorrow, due to being falsely assured that that Muslim center was not going to be built near Ground Zero in New York City.

My nephew Joey called last night. He mentioned the Koran burning. Wondering why such a fuss was being made over a potential book burning when it would seem the focus of fussing should be on the behavior of a religion that condones stonings and beheadings.

And murdering thousands by flying planes into buildings.

Joey lives in Clear Lake. The Skagit River is a short distance from Clear Lake. When the Skagit floods it floods all the way to Clear Lake. Joey catches a lot of salmon in the Skagit River. Unlike the Trinity River, here in Texas, you can eat the fish you catch in the Skagit River.

Last night when Joey called he was driving to the lake closest to Clear Lake, that being Big Lake, where his mom, my favorite ex-sister-in-law, lives, to deliver some smoked salmon.

It is time for a very late in the morning swim now. I wonder if I could get Joey to mail me some smoked salmon.

Late In The Afternoon View In Texas From My Patio Thinking About My New Nephew JD & Old Nephew Joey

Of late I take a picture in the morning of the view from my patio or bedroom window and then blog about the view from my patio or bedroom window. This serves to wake up my dormant brain cells.

But, this morning I decided to opt for doing something wildly different and not blog about the morning view from my patio or bedroom window.

Instead, you are looking at the late afternoon, as in about a quarter before 5 view from my patio. I had to shield my camera from a few incoming wet droplets, but other than that, it is fairly nice out there.

I rather enjoyed my morning swim, this morning. I aborted the morning swim yesterday due to torrential rains making the trek to the pool too treacherous.

This morning I flipped open my phone to see that nephew Joey had called last night. I called Joey back, but on the first try I hit "Joely" rather than "Joey". Then I was unsure if it was "Joey" or "Joely" whose call I had missed. It was Joey. But I got Joey's voice mail. I'm guessing Joey was calling to see if I survived Hurricane Hermine and her tornadoes and floods.

If I talk to Joey I must remember to tell him he has a new cousin. And I have a new nephew. Today Jay David Jones officially became a member of the Jones clan. Jay David will be called JD, I am sure. There is no notoriety attached to being called JD up in Washington, unlike these parts of Texas I am currently settled in.

Village Creek Is Way Out Of Its Banks In Arlington

I saw Village Creek Natural Historic Area was closed due to flooding, on my way to Veterans Park. After I was done getting too HOT at Veterans Park I headed to the Interlochen zone, where I knew I could get a look at Village Creek.

I have seen Village Creek in flood mode before. But not like this.

By today the creek had dropped quite a bit, but I could tell that at its high point it had actually gotten as far as the road.

In the picture we are looking at the water covered trail that steeply goes down to the dam/bridge crossing that takes you in to Village Creek Natural Historic Area from the Bob Findlay Linear Park. In the picture I am standing on the Bob Finlay Linear Park. The Village Creek dam/bridge is under a lot of water.

The water of Village Creek, and other area creeks is making its way to the already super-flooded Trinity River.

This flood is the worst I've seen since I've been in Texas. It will take a long time for the River Legacy mountain bike trails to recover. When the river recedes it does not take all the water with it. The water stays in the low spots.

The River Legacy trails were in such good shape, pre-flood. There will be so much damage. And all the little wooden bridges at the bottom of gullies will have floated away.

A slightly amusing flood story was pointed out to me this morning by Elsie Hotpepper. Yesterday, when the Trinity started rapidly rising, a group of Chesapeake Energy workers found themselves surrounded by the rising river on a drilling pad site they were working on near Precinct Line Road in far East Fort Worth, near, I believe, where Bell Helicopter had some serious flooding issues.

These flood troubles will end once the Trinity River Vision and its flood control project fixes the bad water flow woes that occur here when too much rain is dropped in too short a time period in this zone of North Texas. The Trinity River Vision currently is costing around $1 billion, but really seems worth the expense, in the long run, putting an end to these flooding inconveniences.

Biking Veterans Park While Hot & Humid & Looking At A Bizarrely Wrong Arlington Barnett Shale Drilling Operation

Most of the parks I usually go to to hike or bike are underwater or seriously impacted by too much water, courtesy of that wet mess known as Hurricane Hermine.

I knew there was little chance Veterans Park in Arlington was very water impacted, except for possible mud.

Turns out, the mud had already dried and did not present a slippery problem.

The problem I did have at Veterans Park was as soon as I parked I saw a Barnett Shale drilling rig had re-appeared at the apartment complex across the street from Veterans Park.

I don't understand how this is allowed. I know Arlington plays by different rules than other more advanced areas, which is what earned Arlington the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of the World Award, but why is it that in Fort Worth a gas rig has to be at least 800 feet from where people reside, while in Arlington you can put one of those noisy rigs in someone's backyard within spitting distance of the apartment dweller's decks?

The rig was not making too much noise today. I pedaled as close as I could get to it and heard machinery, but not the usual squealing and metallic thumping noises.

The bike riding at Veterans Park was not too much fun. One thing is the humidity is out of control today. The other thing is I like to have a destination, like pedal to the end of the trail, then head back. Or a long roundtrip. Veterans Park's trail makes a short loop of about a mile. There is one spur off that loop that goes up a hill. The loop itself goes up a hill.

Going up and down hills, fast, was fun. But by mile 6 I was bored. And ready to check out how bad Village Creek is flooding. I saw the Village Creek Natural Historic Area parking lot was closed on my way to Veterans Park.

Mom Calls About A Hurricane Hermine Generated Tornado In Dallas

Last night my mom called. No, mom had not gotten gas and was not calling me to tell me how much it cost.

Mom and dad were watching the news where mention was made of the Hurricane Hermine related flooding we were experiencing here in North Texas.

A tornado touching down and doing damage in Dallas was the main thing mom was concerned about. That is the Dallas Tornado in the picture.

I had not heard of a tornado touching down in Dallas. I don't think I had the TV on yesterday. Or a radio. So, I was a little surprised to see the pictures of the tornado damage in Dallas in the Dallas Morning News this morning.

Several tornadoes twisted to the ground yesterday morning during that torrential downpour. But none anywhere near my location. I don't remember the last time I've heard the tornado sirens.

We have had a significant amount of drying. So, I think I can make my way to the pool this morning. I am in need of some aerobic stimulation.

Fort Worth's Fosdic Falls Is No Longer Neon Green

After I checked out the flooded Trinity Falls and Gateway Park I decided to see if Fosdic Falls, falling from Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park was still falling green, but with a lot more volume.

Yesterday I mentioned that Fosdic Falls was being a very unnatural neon green anti-freeze color.

As soon as I parked I could see Fosdic Lake had added a lot more water since yesterday. And was back looking a more natural color.

Fosdic Falls was falling way more water than yesterday. Enough water to make a roaring falls noise, but not enough to tremble the earth like a falls like Snoqualmie Falls in Washington does.

Fosdic Creek was roaring with whitewater rapids. I'd not seen that on Fosdic Creek before.

A white bird was standing on a rock in the Fosdic Creek whitewater rapids. Is the bird an egret? I don't know.

It has now been several hours since rain has fallen. Blue sky has returned. Has the BIG DRY UP began? I hope so.

Fort Worth's Trinity Falls Disappears Under Trinity River Flood

Last Thursday I went to Gateway Park because I thought Trinity Falls might be flowing loud and large. It was. Today, after seeing how high the Trinity River is due to all the water delivered by the Hurricane now known as Tropical Depression Hermine, I thought it'd be interesting to see how Trinity Falls handles a lot of water. Well, as you can see, the falls has disappeared, as has the dam/bridge that causes the falls. In the blogging from last Thursday I made note of the astonishing amount of litter piled up behind the row club's dock.

As you can see, today, the Trinity is exhibiting a bit more litter than last Thursday. The river has dropped quite a lot from its high mark. I was surprised, as were others checking out the river with me, that the water got so high.

In the above picture we are looking at the location of my infamous encounters with White Darth Vader Express Energy Services trucks, earlier in the year. A Barnett Shale water sucking operation was taking place in a location that would be way under water today. I wonder if the water sucking operation on the other side of the river that I made note of in last Thursday's blogging, managing to pull out in time?


I was not sure I wanted to walk over the litter pile to cross the bridge. But I strongly wanted to see what the boardwalk viewing area looked like inside Gateway Park. I forgot to mention Gateway Park is closed due to the flooding, both entries blocked, but the pedestrian entry from the Trinity Trails was not blocked. On my way to check out the river I saw Quanah Parker Park is closed and flooded. I do not recollect it being flooded before. This means River Legacy Park is badly flooded and my newly re-born mountain biking will be on hold for quite awhile, awaiting the BIG DRY UP.

As I nimbly made my way across the pile of litter I looked down to see dead fish. This was not pleasant. Dead fish quickly become malodorous. There were a lot of dead fish.

Usually in the view above you look at a huge pipe crossing the chasm above a creek. The huge pipe is now under water, with the creek flooded and full of an astonishing amount of litter and debris.

Normally, in the above view I would be looking at Trinity Falls, often hear it roaring, usually seeing someone on it, walking or biking. But, today the falls is flooded.

In the above picture we have crossed the pedestrian bridge and are in Gateway Park, looking at the flooded boardwalk that used to take you to various viewing platforms, with the boardwalk switchbacking down to the river's edge. Both Gateway Park boardwalks have been closed for quite some time, due to neglect and poor maintenance.

I don't quite understand the sign saying "AREA CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC." Yes, the public felt very close to these boardwalks, until they fell into disrepair, but why put this message on a sign? Very perplexing.

Equally perplexing is the disturbing amount of litter in the Trinity River. When I lived in Washington I lived in the Skagit Valley. The Skagit River flows through the Skagit Valley on its way to Puget Sound. The Skagit River is a much bigger river than the Trinity. The Skagit River can go into flood mode that makes what the Trinity is doing today seem minor. And yet, in all the times I saw the Skagit River flood, I do not recollect ever seeing litter line the edges of the dikes when the river receded. Lots of logs, yes. Litter no.

Now, this may have something to do with the fact that the Skagit River starts up in Canada and winds its way through the Cascade Mountains, having no contact with a highly populated zone until it reaches the Skagit Valley flats.

The Trinity River flows through mostly rural areas until it hits the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Is that when it picks up all the litter? I really think an effort should be made to find out where all this Trinity River Texas litter comes from.

In Texas If Water On Road Turn Around Don't Drown

You are looking south on Loop 820 in East Fort Worth, just north of the Trinity River.

Which is currently in heavy duty flood mode.

Ironically, where this sign is located, drivers had slowed way down, due to being looky-loos, looking at the flooding Trinity River.

Before noon, when I headed north on 820 and crossed the Trinity I was surprised at how high it was and how forcefully it was flooding to the north, with a strong current.

On the way back here, 2 hours later, the river was higher, had obviously not crested and was flooding into the industrial park that is north of the river on the west side of the freeway.

In the picture you are looking through my windshield and the rain at some flooded PODS at the north end of the aforementioned industrial park.

I am sure River Legacy Park is under water. The last time this happened it was something like 6 months before the mountain bike trail was bikeable again.

I think I'll head out of here and see what Trinity Falls by Gateway Park is looking like right now. Gateway Park may be closed.

Just as I typed 'closed' the sun broke through the clouds and brightened up the place. The rain stopped an hour or so ago.

Tropical Storm Hermine Continues To Drop A Lot Of Water On Fort Worth

The sun is trying hard to light up the place this second Wednesday of September, but former Hurricane Hermine, currently Tropical Storm Hermine, is still darkening the skies over North Texas.

And dropping an incredible amount of rain.

I have decided to skip my morning swim. It's raining hard. Wind is blowing. And there are likely small lakes that would have to be navigated between where I am right now and the pool.

So far I have heard no thunder during the constant storming. And I have not heard the tornado sirens.

The soothing sounds of rain hitting the window did make for some sound sleeping, made even sounder due to no A/C running, thus no earplugs to block the annoying sound of the A/C cycling on and off.

The sun has finally managed to shine enough light that I can see what a mess it is out there. We are currently under a flash flood watch until Thursday. Currently it appears a flash flood is occurring over the walkway I take to get in swim mode. I'll see if I can get a picture.

As you can see, the walkway has turned into a canal with a waterfall.

I do not foresee any bike or hike opportunities in my immediate future. This may render me quickly cranky.

Hurricane Hermine's Remnants Continue To Drop Rain, Now With Possible Tornado Action

A few minutes ago Hurricane Hermine dropped another downpour. I tried to step out on my patio to take a picture, but an umbrella was needed, so I got my handy dandy Popabrella device.

It's been a few years since I made the Popabrella website. The Popabrella people should have been in Seattle over Labor Day Weekend, at Bumbershoot. They'd likely sell a lot of Popabrellas at Bumbershoot.

As you can see via my Popabrella enabled picture, it is being quite stormy.

This stormy stuff may get worse. While the most recent downpour was pouring down at its hardest WeatherBug started chirping with a Weather Alert. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch until 8pm this evening.

Hermine has brought no Thunderstorm with it, so far. In previous Tornado Alert times in Texas it seems as if lightning is usually involved. And a lot of wind. It has not been at all windy today.

Was Hermine a boy or a girl hurricane? I'd not heard the name Hermine before.