Walking On My Wounded Knee With Arlington's Village Creek Indian Ghosts The Day Before Easter

If looking at the picture on the left you guessed you were looking at two kids playing on the snake infested log/litter jam on the down creek side of one of the Village Creek dam bridge crossings in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, you would be guessing correctly.

My right knee is still in recovery mode, slowly hurting less after taking a strong hit in a middle of the night battle with my bedroom's wall.

And so, with knee pain remaining intermittent, I opted to take a sedate stroll with the Indian ghosts today.

I do not recollect seeing so many people out and about in the Village Creek zone, previously, as what I saw today.

Bikers, walkers, picnickers, butterfly hunters, lots of dogs, adult tricycles, wildflower photographers, fishermen and women.

Plus one sad scene of a young girl rolling on wheels which belonged in a roller rink, as in, not outdoor friendly inline roller blades, but instead those indoor type skates with four wheels on each skate, arranged like wheels on a car. The young girl was not having an easy time of it, trying to roll those wheels on a paved trail.

Spring has now sprung enough that walking through the Village Creek Natural Area is back seeming like walking through a jungle. Or what I imagine a jungle walk to look like, since I have never actually walked in a jungle, that I know of.  Do rainforests count as a jungle? I've walked in many a rainforest.

I walked to the Blue Bayou Overlook. Then when I was done looking over the Blue Bayou I walked back from whence I came (from whence I came? I'm not sure that makes sense, but it sounds right to me) and saw the scene you see below.

A small family appearing to be stranded on an island in Village Creek. I hope they make it off the island before the next flash flood arrives.

Soon after I left that small family stranded on a Village Creek island I was passed by what you see below.

An adult tricycle. The tricycle you see here was the last in a group of three. It takes me a moment or two to get my camera turned on.

I pedaled a recumbent tricycle once, years ago, back in August of 2001, at Ocean Shores in my old home state of Washington. The Ocean Shores version was more of a mountain bike trike, designed to pedal on the beach.

I have absolutely nothing planned for Easter besides the usual possible sunrise service. I don't think that has actually happened since some point in time in the last century when I agreed to go to an Easter sunrise service with my mom  and dad, at Roozengaarde, that being Tulip Central in the Skagit Flats. I do not remember much about this occasion except for it being cold. And maybe going to the Farmhouse Inn for breakfast afterwards.

Tomorrow morning I am planning on making whole wheat crepes and scrambled eggs with ham, but I'm not sure that counts as an Easter thing, even though eggs are involved....

Today Via Queen V I Learned I Am A Coyote

In the past  month or two, over and over again, on Facebook, there have been these postings telling me that a person is this, that or the other thing, in some special area. Then imploring me to find out what this, that or the other thing, I am, in some special area.

It can be what color are you? What animal are you? What country are you? What body part are you? What mythical character are you? What actor are you? What political figure of the past are you? What Loony Tunes character are you?

That question was today's. I  found out I am the Loony Tunes character, Wile E. Coyote. I was sure I would be Bugs Bunny.

The explanation as to why I am Wile E. Coyote was as follows...

You're pretty smart and always have really great ideas. They don't usually work out, but hey, that's better than no ideas at all, isn't it? You also have a special gift - the ability to walk in mid-air without falling (until you realize you're walking on nothing, and then it's bye bye)

Like I said to Queen V, she being the party who posted this particular Loony Tune post, this is just uncanny. How could this Loony Tune thing so accurately nail me with just a few simple questions? Spooky.

So far, by taking these tests I have learned I am brown, a pig, Canada, an eye, someone known as Captain Crazy, Brad Pitt, Woodrow Wilson and today, Wile E. Coyote.

The science behind this is amazing....

Good Friday Finding Fosdick Lake Sea Monsters While Seeking Modern Facilities In Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park Before Easter

The quintet of turtles you are looking at here are basking in the sun in Fosdic Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park.

Well, I am assuming the turtles are doing some sun basking, but it also looks like this could be some sort of group mating session. I'm not sure what a turtle mating session would look like. I suppose I could solve that mystery with a little info-searching.

Fosdick Lake was a cheery shade of green today, a color which you can see  reflected on the shiny back of the turtle on the left.

The Fosdick turtles were greatly outnumbered by another species today in Oakland Lake Park, with that species being humans. I am assuming that since this is Easter weekend, schools are out, hence the large number of kids and parental units frolicking in the park on this Good Friday.

While I was taking the above turtle photo a mom passed by me with her little boy, with the little boy pointing to the turtles and asking his mom if those were sea monsters. The mother told her little boy they were turtles. I then told the little boy's mom that I was pretty sure they were sea monsters, not turtles. This seemed to greatly please the little boy, that he was seeing sea monsters.

I brought a bag of corn tortillas with me today to feed the fosducks. But, I think they were remembering not liking the whole wheat tortillas I threw at them a few days ago, because there was zero interest in my tortillas. In fact it was active dis-interest, in that rather than even look at that which I was throwing at them, the fosducks simply turned their backs on me and waddled off, quacking their disapproval as they waddled.

I shan't be bringing these ungrateful ducks any treats from this day forward.

In other Fort Worth park news.

Extra outhouses were being deposited today. I saw this both at Oakland Lake Park and Quanah Parker Park.

On Sunday, that being Easter, both parks, and other parks in Fort Worth, will be busy with a lot of picnicking and barbecuing. Hence the extra outhouses.

Now, I know you who do not live in Fort Worth and who know that Fort Worth is widely believed (by some deluded locals) to be the Most Livable City in America, must be wondering how it is that a city which is so incredibly livable can have city parks without modern restroom facilities?

Let alone potable water.

Well, that particular puzzlement has puzzled me ever since I started experiencing this part of the planet. I used to describe Fort Worth's primitive park facilities as getting to have a Third World type experience without the expense and hassle of leaving America.

But, the lack of modern facilities in their parks does not seem to bother the locals or the local public health officials. One would think it would be considered unsanitary to have picnic facilities in parks without running water.

Changing the subject from outhouses to aching knees.

I have been taking it easy the past few days, so my injured knee can recover from the nightmare incident where I kicked my bedroom wall in the middle of the night. I wanted to ride my bike at Gateway Park today, but opted for the more sedate walk with the Fosdick turtles. I've amped up the no-stress to the joints swimming in the morning to compensate for being more sedate the rest of the day.

I decided to go to Town Talk today and skip my regularly scheduled Saturday Town Talk visit. I suspect Town Talk will be a busy zoo tomorrow, what with that being the day before Easter. Usually I like Town Talk when it is a busy zoo, but not so much when I am in hobble on an injured knee mode which is not impervious to getting banged on by an aggressive Town Talk shopping cart pusher.

Today I got a lot of All Natural Tyson Chicken Legs, Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, a case of Chobani Lemon Yogurt, Flatbread and White Onions.

The World's Longest Floating Bridge Got Me Pondering Fort Worth's Imaginary Signature Bridges

Last night I was reading the news on CNN online when I saw a headline for an article about the world's longest bridges. That article quickly let it be known that due to China dominating the longest bridges, with five of the world's longest suspension bridges, the writer of the article opted instead to list the longest bridge in the world in specific categories, other than suspension bridges. Such as longest natural arch bridge, ironically also in China, world's longest covered bridge, world's longest floating bridge and other types of longest bridges.

My old home state of Washington has four of the world's five longest floating bridges, including the world's longest, which you see above, that being the Evergreen Point Bridge across the north end of Lake Washington. Another floating bridge crosses the southern end of Lake Washington. The northern Lake Washington floating bridge is currently being replaced, hopefully before the current floating bridge sinks, something that has happened twice to Washington's floating bridges.

Looking through the CNN list of bridges got me once again thinking how bizarre it is that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle refers to three bridges which may soon be under construction, across a possibly never to be built flood control bypass, as signature bridges.

Signature bridges?

I assume what is meant by that term is a bridge which acts like a signature, signifying to someone who sees that bridge, that that bridge is located in a specific location. For instance, the Golden Gate Bridge is a signature bridge instantly recognized as being in San Francisco. The Brooklyn Bridge is a signature bridge instantly recognized as being in New York City. The London Bridge, is, well, you know where it is being a signature bridge.

And then we have Fort Worth's "signature" bridges, an artist's rendering of one is what you see below.

Why would anyone in their right mind claim with a straight face that the above bridge could be a signature bridge that people the world over might recognize as being in Fort Worth, Texas? Very perplexing. Why are ordinary things touted as being extraordinary, so often, in this town?

I have never heard any of the Seattle floating bridges referred to as signature bridges. I've never heard of the Tacoma Narrow's suspension bridges referred to as signature bridges. I've never heard of the Golden Gate bridge referred to as a signature bridge. Why do those behind the attempt to build these Fort Worth bridges, over a non-existent flood bypass channel, insist upon referring to them as signature bridges?

I've mentioned before that the proposed trio of  Fort Worth bridges originally were going to be more architecturally significant, maybe even signature, designed by renowned designer, Bing Thom. But the Thom designs were scrapped due to being too expensive for the underfunded public works project the public has never been allowed to vote on.

Dallas has its own version of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, also with three bridges, also referred to as signature bridges. The Dallas vision, with its three bridges, came along before Fort Worth had the same vision. However, the Dallas vision is already seeing an actual bridge over actual water, that being the Trinity River. The completed Dallas bridge is named the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Why? I don't know.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the other two, uncompleted, Dallas bridges.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge has warranted a Wikipedia article.

Is Vegas taking bets on if there will one day be a Wikipedia article about Fort Worth's signature bridges across an un-built flood control bypass?

A blurb from the Wikipedia article about the Dallas bridge...

"...the signature, 40-story center-support-arch was topped-off with a central curved span, providing an additional feature to the Dallas skyline, as it can now be seen from many miles away from several directions."

That is the bridge in question you are looking at below. It appears to have a slightly different visual impact than Fort Worth's proposed "signature" bridges.

Regarding iconic signature city skyline elements, recognized world-wide as being part of a particular city, on the left of the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge you are looking at Reunion Tower, it being a well known symbol of Dallas.

The Wikipedia article mentions that the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is featured in the opening credits of the new version of the TV series Dallas. That TV series, in its original form, is what made Reunion Tower a symbol of Dallas, recognized around the world.

I wonder what the opening credits of a Fort Worth TV series would show the world? Those Trinity River Vision Boondoggle "signature" bridges? Hundreds of inner tubers Rockin' the Trinity River? Sundance Square Plaza? The Fort Worth Stockyards sign? A Longhorn? Maybe a Longhorn herd? Cowtown Wakepark? Gas fracking sites? The stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth?

Perplexing questions.....

Today I Am Recovering From Last Night's Potato Roll & Snake Nightmare Caused By Maxine

On the left you are looking skyward, looking west past the speared security fence which keeps me semi-secure, with this location being near where my mechanized vehicular transport device is parked.

As you can see blue sky is not the dominant theme at this point in time at my location on the planet.

For more reasons than one I opted not to roll the aforementioned mechanized vehicular transport's wheels anywhere today to a location where I might get myself some endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

One reason for no wheel rolling is fairly obvious. As in a threatening sky with some precipitation already precipitating, though not in amounts even remotely precipitous.

Another reason for no wheel rolling is I got myself some mighty fine endorphin induction action early this morning, via a slightly cool pool.

But, the main reason I am opting for no wheel rolling, hiking or biking today is an incident which occurred last night when I found myself having a bizarre nightmare which involved Maxine and myself having a serious issue over potato rolls and butter.

In the nightmare this seemed to be at a Ukrainian crisis level of serious.

At one point in the nightmare somehow the potato rolls and butter got involved with a big snake.

When I saw the big snake coming for my potato rolls, butter and me I gave it as hard a kick as I could muster.

But, in reality, what I found out that I was kicking, upon instantly awakening, was the wall  on the west side of my bed.

A consequence of that wall kick is it somehow hurt my right knee. I thought a hot tub hydrotherapy session this morning would abate the woe.

It did not.

Climbing a flight of stairs is currently slightly problematic. So, pedaling a bike or hiking hills does not currently seem doable.

I am sure I will quickly recover from this latest nightmare related malady, as long as Maxine and her potato roll and butter aggressive ways stay at bay....

Unreliable HostGator Is Down Again While Evening Primroses Blow In The Wind By Arlington's Village Creek

Not happy in Texas right about now. Found out a few minutes ago, when trying to send an email to Elsie Hotpepper, that my formerly reliable website host, HostGator, is down, again.

The last time this happened was back in November, but, even though that is about a half year ago, it seems like yesterday.

I can't email via my durangotexas.com domain, but I can blog via Google, which is what I am doing right now.

Early this morning I managed to have myself a fairly mighty fine time via a hot tub hydrotherapy session, combined with three cool pool dips.

A few minutes before noon I rolled my mechanized wheels to Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area to visit the Indian ghosts who haunt that location and to get down on the ground to take a picture of my favorite Texas wildflower, one I believe is called the Evening Primrose.

I saw my first Evening Primrose late in the last century. I was heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone to check out the concept of moving there. Somewhere southeast of Amarillo, driving on Highway 287, I started seeing patches of what looked to be a very delicate pink flower. After many miles of the pink patches I stopped along the road for a closer look.

At that point in time I did not realize wildflowers like this colored up the Texas landscape for a brief time every year, at some time after winter turns into spring.

As you can sort of tell, via the picture above, the Evening Primroses were blowing in the wind today. As was I....

A Trio Of Kids Tip Toeing Through The Skagit Valley Tulips While Spencer Jack Has A Root Beer Float At The Fidalgo Drive-In

No, those are not a trio of kids frolicking in a flat field of Texas wildflowers you are looking at on the left.

That trio of kids are frolicking in a field of tulips in what are known as the Skagit Valley Flats, in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley in Washington.

I have never met this trio of kids. I don't know if this trio of kids know they have an uncle who lives in a place called Texas.

I found this tulip picture this morning on the blog on which this trio of kid's caretaker poodles, Blue and Max, chronicle the ongoing adventures of Theo, David and Ruby, in a blog post titled Tip Toeing Through The Tulips, or something like that.

If you click the Tip Toeing Through The Tulips link you will see many more photos of the trio of kids frolicking in the flowers.

The Skagit Tulip Festival is at the half way point, running the entire month of April, with events all over the valley, in addition to the 100s of acres of blooming flowers.

Over a million visitors come to the Skagit Valley each year for the Tulip Festival. This creates traffic mayhem.

A blurb from the Skagit Tulip Festival website...

The sun is shining and the tulips are blooming and people are coming from all around the world to see the flowers. 

Back in the early 1980s I lived in West Mount Vernon, around the time of the first Tulip Festival. Worst traffic mess I've ever lived through. The traffic mess has greatly improved over the years, turning some roads temporarily one-way, signs pointing to alternative routes, tour buses to get visitors out of their cars, helicopters overhead to monitor the traffic flow and events all over the valley to take some of the traffic away from the tulips.

If you're going to this year's Skagit Tulip Festival be sure to go to Anacortes to Spencer Jack's dad's Fidalgo Drive-In and have yourself basket of Pubhouse Battered Cod, Puget Sound Clam Chowder, a Dungeness Crab Sandwich, a Tillamook Bacon Cheddar Burger and a Root Beer Float made by Spencer Jack.

And then return to the Skagit Flats for some more tip toeing through the tulips....

Risking Rolling My Wheels Over Fort Worth's Mallard Cove Park's High Pressure Natural Gas Pipeline

Last night we were warned that the temperature could possibly dip to the freezing zone.

I was under blankets last night for the first time in awhile, but, when I woke up my temperature monitoring devices this morning, I saw that the pre-dawn temperature was several  degrees above freezing.

Yet somehow this morning there appeared to be frost on the roof that I gaze upon during my regularly scheduled hot tub hydrotherapy session.

Due to that predicted freeze I did not think I'd be in the once again cool pool this morning. But, after getting too hot in the hot tub I thought I'd take a quick cooling dip. And found the water in the pool was way less cool than the air.

Around noon I drove to the post office to mail a letter to the IRS in Austin. Then I headed south to Mallard Cove Park to roll my bike's wheels. That would be Mallard Cove you are looking at above, with the coolest looking rock picnic table I've ever seen, in the foreground.

In the picture on the right you are looking at my handlebars pointing at one of the many natural gas pipeline warning posts stuck in the ground in this particular park.

Last Wednesday I rolled my wheels around Mallard Cove and blogged about it, and asked a question about the Fort Worth signature benches installed in this park.

That question generated an interesting blog comment from someone named Dub Kennedy...

Dub Kennedy has left a new comment on your post "Rolling My New Tires To Fort Worth's Mallard Cove":

"I have never seen anyone sitting on one of these benches. How much do they cost, I can not help but wonder?"

I'm guessing that Chesapeake or some other energy company picked up the tab for this park.

I have little doubt that natural gas pipelines run underneath this so-called park. I say so-called because a parcel of land with nothing more than concrete trails doesn't make a park in my opinion. 

Another so-called park similar to Mallard Cove park was built near the Rockwood golf course in northwest Fort Worth and was paid for by natural gas producers. I know for certain that at least one gas pipeline runs under that park.

Well, Dub is correct, in that there is a Chesapeake installation just outside the west end of this "park", along with 18 or 19 GAS WARNING posts stuck in the ground  inside the park, marking a pipeline route. Plus one HUGE curved pipe stuck in a cement block, which I assume is gas related.

Below is a closeup view of the warning post my bike's handlebars are pointing towards.

I can read the words "HIGH PRESSURE" near the top of the GAS WARNING post. Is this non-odorized highly pressured gas?

Dub says a parcel of land with some paved trails does not a park make.

I agree with Dub that a parcel of land with some paved trails does not make a park, but, in addition to the paved trails Mallard Cove Park has those aforementioned benches, plus the also aforementioned rock picnic table, plus the never before mentioned gazebo-like covered picnic table structure, plus wide expanses of grassy weeds, which are infrequently mowed and some rather stately old big trees.

And giant prickly pear cacti, as in the biggest patches of prickly pear cactus I've ever seen. Not that I've done all that much prickly pear cactus hunting....

I Am Really Looking Forward To The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Sunday Funday With Award Winning Beer

Yesterday I blogged about the latest Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Update mailing in a blogging titled The Trinity River Vision Spring 2014 Update's Perplexing Propaganda.

I went a bit long-winded in that blogging, which caused me to not mention a thing or two. And then today I realized I'd not paid any attention to a separate part of the four page mailer, that being an insert which is the Panther Island Pavilion 2014 Events Calendar.

First, from the TRVB Update, yesterday I did not mention the news that the Trinity River Vision is going to be (according to the blurb's headline) "Bringing Culture to Cowtown", by bringing opera to the Coyote Drive-In. Apparently the Fort Worth Opera is working with the Coyote Drive-In to "bring opera right to drive-in patrons' car speakers".

It really is this type thing which has made Fort Worth the Best City in America.

And in more Trinity River Vision Update news we also learned The Yoga Project-Riverside Studio opened in January.

Over a decade ago, back when the Trinity River Vision was first seen, who could have predicted way back then what we'd be seeing from the Trinity River Vision in 2014?

Yoga, opera, a brewery, a wakeboard lake, an island, a pavilion, a music venue, a drive-in movie theater and inner tubing happy hour parties in the Trinity River.

This really is all quite breathtaking.

Yet somehow perplexing at the same time.

Wasn't flood control part of what was originally touted as being core to this particular vision? You know, a much needed plan to prevent damaging floods where no damaging flood had occurred for well over half a century, because after the last bad flood massive levees were built which have done their job ever since.

On the flip side of the 2014 Events Calendar, which is what you see a scanned image of above, we learn that Rockin' the River is returning for its fourth year. With this year adding a fireworks show at the end of every Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float.

And for the Fourth of July Fort Worth's Fourth of July Festival is back once more at Panther Island Pavilion, with more fireworks, and with any luck this year the Trinity River levees won't catch fire.

We also learn that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is "excited to announce a NEW weekly Sunday Funday summer series at Panther Island Pavilion" featuring "tubing, food trucks, music, kayaks, canoes, pedal boats and stand up paddle boards".

Since Sunday Funday runs from 1 - 6 pm, what with it being Sunday, and what with Fort Worth being part of the Buckle of the Bible Belt, shouldn't some sort of non-denominational church service be part of the Boondoggle's Sunday Funday?

In addition to Sunday Funday we also learn "Award winning Panther Island Brewing will be serving several of their beers on the site." On Sunday.

This brewery is barely open. How did it already win an award?

In other event news we learn "Waterboard pro, Shane Bonifay is coming to Cowtown Wakepark to hold a clinic! It's an experience that you can't pass up."

Oh, I really think it won't take much effort on my part to pass on this experience.

Today At Fosdick Lake In Oakland Lake Park Whole Wheat Tortillas Were Blowing In The Wind

 In the picture we are standing on the west side of Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth, Texas.

Since we are on the west side of the lake you can likely intuit that we are looking east, at the Fosdick Fountain and a duck in mid-air.

You may also intuit by looking at the fountain, and the direction the water is blowing, that a strong wind is blowing from the north.

If that is what you intuited you intuited correctly.

A strong, very strong, cold, very cold, wind.

At some point in time during the middle of the night the National Weather Service issued a Freeze Warning for North Texas. I installed the AccuWeather app on my new phone, which, until I figure out how to make it stop, I guess I'll be getting weather warnings in the middle of the night. Yesterday, during the day, I was getting multiple Tornado Watch Warnings.

A freeze in the middle of April? I don't think this has happened during any of my previous Aprils in Texas. Will a freeze wreak havoc with the wildflowers and all the freshly born green foliage?

Today I remembered to bring the Fosducks and their Geese Overlords whole wheat tortillas.

It took a few practice tosses to figure out how to deliver the tortillas. I had to get upwind from the birds then throw the tortilla feed into the wind which then delivered the bird feed back to the birds.

The geese seem to be bully birds to the ducks. Eventually everyone who wanted a tortilla got a piece of one, I think.

Changing the subject from feeding ducks to something else.

I managed to have a good swim this morning. The air was chilled at that time to 47 degrees, which was one degree warmer than it is now, post-noon. The water in the pool felt to be a lot warmer than the air.

I suspect I may be bailing on swimming tomorrow and opt out for a hot tub hydrotherapy session instead, if it really is freezing in the morning.