Returning To Village Creek To Find A Mud Flood.

My biking plan today was to first checkout Village Creek Historic Natural Area in the unlikely chance the park was open. If it was, I'd go biking there.

Village Creek Historic Natural Area is still closed due to flooding.

So the plan became to drive to River Legacy Park to see how securely the entry is being blocked. The last time River Legacy flooded I parked at a nearby park and biked into the flooded zone, as did many others. That day was also a Sunday.

But on this flooded Sunday the entry to River Legacy Park makes entry not possible. That and a park employee in a white pickup is at the entry.

So the plan went to last resort mode. Drive to Interlochen and park where the Village Creek Natural Historic Area paved trail morphs into the Bob Findlay Linear Park Trail, which I learned today is called Pioneer Trail. I figured if the creek had gone back were it belongs, flowing under, rather than over the dam/bridge, I could pedal into the park, getting easily around the gate.

Well.

The final resort mode needed another adjustment. Village Creek is still flooding over the dam/bridge. The creek has largely receded, leaving behind an incredible mess that I suspect is going to take awhile to clean up.

In the picture above you can see water flowing over the dam/bridge in the background, with a huge pile of mud in the foreground. That mud covers the paved trail with what looked to be 3 or 4 feet of mud and debris.

The mud and debris did not smell too good.

Quite a different look than what I saw on Thursday, with what looked like a swollen river.

Where does all this mud come from? I am not sure, but I think Village Creek flows from Lake Arlington. Lake Arlington is not very far away. What got eroded to make so much mud? Is someone somewhere missing a yard or two?

My Twitter Username And Password Are Not Getting Along

I've decided I am not smart enough to understand Twitter.

At one point I thought I had a gestalt and finally got what the point of Twitter is, sort of instant micro-blogging that serves a purpose at certain rare times. Like if there is some disaster, earthquake, terrorist attack, Twitter can be a source of legit information.

For awhile I thought Twitter was being useful in driving traffic to my websites and blogs. I have since disabused myself of that notion.

Yesterday I tried to log into the Twitter account for my Roadtripping Blog. I was told the username/password don't match. After a couple tries the annoying Captcha thing was triggered.

I gave up and took the "lost your password?" option. Twitter then sends an email in which you click a link and reset your password, which in this case was the same password Twitter said did not match.

And then today it happened again. I reset it again. And then Twitter kept insisting on putting the username in the username field of one of my other Twitter accounts. When I tried to type over the wrong username, Twitter kept changing it back. Twitter or some other bogeyman. I choose to blame Twitter.

So, I am thinking, for me Twitter is a big waste of time, doing all those Tweets things with bit.ly, to really no good purpose that I can be sure of.

Up Late Sunday Morning In Texas Worrying About Alzheimer's

It is Sunday morning. When I looked out my bedroom window I was appalled to see that the sun had gotten up way before me. I hate it when that happens.

I stayed up late watching the replay of the 9/11/01 events on one of the cable news stations. It was oddly mesmerizing.

While I was watching I had a very troubling moment that seemed like some sort of onslaught of Alzheimer's indicator.

I could not remember who was vice-president when George W. was president.

And then Dick Cheney was on the screen, telling his story of the evacuation of the White House.

How could I not remember that Dick Cheney was Bush's vice-president? Memory blocked due to being painful?

Yesterday when I crossed the Trinity on the Beach Street bridge, I saw the river had receded quite a bit. It is still running over the dam/bridge that makes Trinity Falls, but just barely, and the falls is back falling.

I think I may attempt a bike ride today, maybe on the Trinity Trails. But, before that happens, I am going swimming. As in, right now.

Thinking About Tubing The Clear Water Of The Tandy River With Snakes In The Trees

You are looking at today's crystal clear water of the Tandy River, as clear as the Guadalupe or San Marcos River. Very inner tube floating worthy.

Unfortunately, in about a half mile, maybe less, the crystal clear water of the Tandy River joins up with the Trinity River, which is currently a popular inner tube floating recreational destination for those with an aversion to doing their inner tube floating in crystal clear, debris-free water.

It was only 88 when I took off for some Tandy Hills hiking today, with the 68% humidity making it feel like 105.

To me it felt way HOTTER than 105. I was totally soaked by the time I made it back to the relative comfort of an A/C cooled vehicle. The Town Talk walk-in cooler today was too cool, due to being too wet. I won't be doing anymore middle of the day Tandy Hills hiking until the humidity turns reasonable again.

I had an unsettling moment on the Tandy Hills today. My one long time reader may remember me mentioning my aversion to snakes. I am much less averse than I used to be. Multiple encounters with various snakes, including some of the venomous sorts, like rattlesnakes and copperheads, with no dire result, has made me less nervous about snakes.

I remember way back when I first discovered the Tandy Hills I assumed the hills must be infested with snakes. I remember emailing Don Young and asking about Tandy Hills snakes. He allayed my worry.

In all my Tandy Hills hikes I had only seen one snake, that being a little skinny green snake.

Until today.

I was going down the north option at the junction with the trail that comes down from the top of Mount Tandy, where the Fort Worth Space Needle is located. Halfway down that hill I heard loud noises, like some big critter rustling leaves.

I stopped hiking and tried to see what was making the noise, expecting to see an armadillo, or maybe the rumored Tandy Hills fox.

Suddenly I saw a snake. A big snake. Slithering up a tree. Slithering up a tree fast. I reached to get my camera, got it turned on. Which takes all of 2 seconds. In those 2 seconds I lost sight of the snake.

On my last look at the snake, before the camera debacle, there appeared to be at least 6 feet between its head and its tail. A 6 foot long snake slithers on the Tandy Hills. If there is one, there is another. And they climb trees. Fast.

I guess I'll start carrying my snake stick when on the Tandy Hills, til cooler temperatures slow the slithering beasts down.

Recalling 9/11 From My Patio Prison Cell In Texas

I am up well before the sun, looking out from the bar of my patio prison cell on September 11, 2010.

It seems so recent, but in a couple hours it will be 9 years since I got a call from Big Ed in Dallas, telling me that he just saw a plane crash into the World Trade Center.

I thought he was talking about the World Trade Center in Dallas and the plane must have been heading to or from nearby Love Field.

I do not ever remember being as shocked as I was that morning when I turned the TV on right when the second plane was hitting the second tower, in New York City, not Dallas.

I sat stunned at what I was seeing. When I realized that America was under attack I decided I should wake up people on the West Coast. I don't remember who I called first. I do remember waking up Wanda and Wally, in Seattle. All I said was you need to get out of bed and turn on your TV. By the time I called my sister, who now lives in Arizona, she was already awake and about to go tell my mom and dad what was happening.

So much has happened since 9/11 of 2001, much of it bad. In the days that followed that day, 9 years ago, if someone had predicted that 9 years later Osama bin Laden would still not be captured and that America's President's name in 2010 would be Obama, well, that would have seemed very unlikely.

I hope 9/11/2010 is a very very uneventful day today.

If the sun ever lights up the place I'm heading to the pool.

Getting Stuck With Goatheads Sends Me To Tandy Falls

I did not intend to go to the Tandy Hills when I left here today. Instead I went to Oakland Lake Park to ride my bike.
That did not go well.

I figured I could pedal across the grass to get around where the sidewalk was being worked on. The first instance of getting around the sidewalk workers took me way out in the grass.

Soon I saw brown things stuck to my front tire. I slammed the brakes, fearing the brown things were dreaded goatheads.

I pulled a brown thing out of the tire. It was a dreaded goathead. I pulled 15 to 20 of the dreaded goatheads out of the front and back tires. I carried the bike about 100 feet to hopefully goathead-free cement and street pedaled til I could access the paved Oakland Lake Park trail without crossing goathead infested grass.

After a little over 2 miles of pedaling I was over it. Since the top of Mount Tandy was just a short distance away I decided to go take a picture from the top of Mount Tandy of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, free of those angry dark Hurricane Hermine clouds.

I assumed I would only be able to walk to where I could take a picture, with beyond that being real muddy. I was wrong. I heard noises like the Fort Worth Water Boys were back, noises like engines revving, air brakes popping and walkie talkies. I thought there was no way trucks could be driving the Tandy Highway dirt road.

I took the downhill option to the right that leads to Tandy Falls. Figuring eventually mud would put a stop to my hiking. I was wrong. Again.

As you can see, water is roaring over Tandy Falls today in copious amounts. There was plenty of evidence that during the Wednesday tropical downpour a huge amount of water was roaring over Tandy Falls. I kept hearing truck noises and people talking on walkie talkies. I decided to see if I could walk on Tandy Highway without growing taller due to mud sticking to me.

I kept expecting to see trucks. I got to the first creek that the Water Boys had plugged during their recent operations. The flooding had done a good job of eroding the plug. And for some reason crime scene tape had been added.


I continued on past the crime scene to the next creek crossing. There was no crime scene tape there. The creek was running nicely through the hole left where the culvert pipe had been yanked out. After successfully fording that stream, and not finding myself mired in mud, I decided to take a right and head up to the top of a Tandy Hill, still drawn by hearing voices on walkie talkies and engine noises.

I got to the top of that hill and decided to hike no further, due to it being a bit muddy in either direction. That and I'd already gotten more exercise than I had intended.

Turning around and heading back down the trail I'd just hiked up, I saw the orchid-like flower you see in the picture. 10 days in to September, 2 days after torrential rains and the Tandy Hills is still sprouting colorful wildflowers.

I never did figure out where the walkie talkies and engine noises were coming from.

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.