Finding A Horizontal Hoodoo On The Dry Tandy Hills While Thinking About Hiking With Maxine

Today I was back on the Tandy Hills for the first time in what seems weeks to have myself a mighty fine time doing some high speed hill hiking.

I prefer my Hoodoos to be vertical, but I can see where there is some merit to the new Horizontal Hoodoo I found today.

A Horizontal Hoodoo would seem to be not as vulnerable to gusts of wind.

I'd taken the Tandy Hills off my to-do list since recent rains. But I saw no sign of anything even remotely wet today. Tandy Falls looks as if it has been dry for a long long time.

I think I can extrapolate from the dry Tandy Hills and assume the Gateway Park mountain bike trails are also dry.

Lately Maxine of Wild Ass Custom Milling fame has been causing me to remember various hiking venues I used to enjoy regularly in my old home zone, like the hike to Fragrance Lake from Larrabee State Park, the hike up Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park, and my favorite, hiking the trails in Washington Park in Anacortes.

In my latest email exchange with Maxine, regarding the hikes she's been hiking I found myself saying "This is sure making me once again realize what a topographically zero zone I am currently in, where I think the Tandy Hills is a good thing. Big Ed has often opined if the Tandy Hills existed in WA no one would go hiking there because they'd they'd think it was like hiking in a gravel pit. So true."

Well.

While what I opined to Maxine is basically true, what is also true is that my favorite hiking locations in Washington, while incredibly scenic and varied compared to the Tandy Hills, all were over 25 miles from my abode, while the Tandy Hills is less than four miles from my current abode.

Then again, now that you're making me think about it, I could walk out the front door of my house in Mount Vernon and have myself a scenic hike much hillier than the Tandy Hills. And a short mile to the east I could hike to the top of Big Rock, which is a sort of Gibraltar like monolith left behind after the last Ice Age.

If I still had a house to move to in Washington, I think I'd move back to where only a couple days of the year people wish they had air-conditioning....

The First Annual Fort Worth Father's Day Mallard Cove Park Bike Ride Confusing My Brother

Today was the day of my First Annual Father's Day bike ride on the paved trails of Mallard Cove Park, located on the wild and rugged east side of the Texas town of Fort Worth.

In the picture you are looking at one of many big trees which rise from the open prairie of Mallard Cove Park.

That line of trees you see behind the big tree line the south bank of the Trinity River as it scenically passes Mallard Cove Park.

For some unfathomable reason all access from Mallard Cove Park to the Trinity River has been blocked. So, I am no longer able to roll my wheels out of the park to take pictures of big piles of discarded tires, abandoned beds and vehicles rusting in the middle of the Trinity River.

With access to the Trinity River blocked I had only Mallard Cove Park to look at and find odd stuff which seems out of place. Such as that which you see below.

Since I last visited Mallard Cove Park a giant white straw has been inserted into Mallard Cove. My limited imagination could imagine no possible explanation for this unnatural insertion.

After I had had enough of riding my bike I sat at a picnic table under the Mallard Cove Park Gazebo and text messaged "Happy Father's Day" to most of the dad's entered into my phone, including my dad and my brother.

I'd not called my brother in a long time. A really long time.

Within less than a minute after sending out the Happy Father's Day text messages the phone twice made its incoming text message noise.

The first one was from my dad, simply saying "Thank you".

The second was from my brother, simply saying, "Thanks who is this I don't know this number or area code Go Hawks".

My brother is very avant garde with his punctuation.

I replied back saying, "This is your big brother, calling from Fort Worth, Texas. Are the Seahawks already playing football again?"

I have received no subsequent message from my brother, so I don't know if the Seahawks are back playing football. Seems like only yesterday Seattle won the Super Bowl. Is it already time for them to start making that happen again.........?

Happy Father's Day To All The World's Dad's Especially My Pa

On Friday my dad's favorite grandson named Jason, he being the father of my dad's one and only great-grandson, Spencer Jack, partially named after my dad, whose name is Jack, emailed me the photo you see here, with the question accompanying the email asking me what was the occasion where this photo was taken.

First off, from the top, that would be me, looking all bloated and tied on the far left, next to my favorite brother-in-law, also named Jack, next to his wife, my favorite sister, Jackie, next to my not so favorite sister, Clancy, next to Spencer Jack's dad, and then his dad, my little brother Jake, next to his first wife, Spencer Jack's favorite grandma, Cindy.

In the front row we are looking at Christopher, aka CJ, sitting next to my dad, sitting next to my mom, with my favorite nephew, Joey, behind my mom, with my favorite nephew, Jeremy, aka JR, sitting in front of his big brother, CJ.

So, Jason's question was, why were we all in this picture? And where is Aunt Michele?

Well, I told Jason this picture was taken via my antique Nikon camera's self timer on November 3, 1994 prior to all of us heading north, to Lynden, for my grandma's, my dad's mom's, funeral.

As Jason later so eloquently put it, his Aunt Michele is not in this picture due to her tendency to always be late.

With today being Father's Day, I am just a bit sad that I am not one of those getting Father's Day cards today.

Being a good dad is a tough job.

I was a lucky guy because I was blessed with a very good dad. I don't think I would have managed to do as good a job as my dad did, raising five kids.

I found taking care of a cat to be taxing.

I learned a lot of good lessons from my dad which my time on the planet has taught me others were not so blessed to learn.

Things like staying calm when something goes awry.

I was only 13 when we took our first family vacation trip to Disneyland. The level of anticipation regarding going to Disneyland, for me and my siblings, was unlike anything we had experienced before.

Only a few miles into our trip to Disneyland we experienced a major malfunction with our vacation trailer's wheels.

Dad pulled off what was then not quite Interstate 5. Dad then removed the broken wheel part. He then un-hitched the car from the trailer. We then drove south, to Marysville, to find someone to weld the broken part. My dad found a fixer, the fix was made, we returned to the trailer, installed the fix, re-hitched the trailer and were on our way, with mom making us a ham on potato roll lunch on the road which to this day has me feeling fondly at any mention of potato rolls.

Mom and dad made something difficult seem like just part of the adventure.

Years later I found myself back in California. I'd gone to a taping of the Laverne & Shirley sitcom at Paramount Studios. Leaving Paramount my troubled 65 Mustang Fastback decided to cease working its clutch. That night was spent stuck in Hollywood. The next morning the malfunction was fixed. I stayed calm and sort of enjoyed the bizarre experience, thanks to lessons learned of going with the flow, from my dad.

Years later, long after the Laverne & Shirley debacle, I was driving through Death Valley when suddenly it became obvious I had a flat tire. The others in my tour group went in to full panic mode. While I just thought to myself, worst case scenario, we have to walk 6 miles to Stovepipe Wells to seek help.

Turned out switching out the flat was no big deal, and then repairing that flat in the town of Bishop, California, turned out to be fun, benefit of lessons learned from my calm dad.

Anyway.....

Happy Father's Day, and thank you for being such a good dad, Dad!!!!

With The Indian Ghosts At The Village Creek Green Bayou Thinking About The Sand Creek Massacre & Stupid Smart Cars

To the left you are looking at the formerly blue Blue Bayou of Village Creek, which has now become the Green Bayou of Village Creek.

How is the Green Bayou managing to be so green, what with the ongoing Great North Texas Drought, I pondered as I gazed out from the Green Bayou Overlook.

I did not think mountain biking was likely doable at Gateway Park today, due to rain a few days ago. I thought the same thing might have muddied the Tandy Hills.

So, since I was not in the neighborhood, I opted out of my semi-regular Saturday Town Talk treasure hunt.

This morning I was reading the chapter of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee that covers the Sand Creek Massacre, that being the mass murder of Black Kettle's band of Cheyenne, along with some of their Arapaho friends, with the murderers led  by the notorious mass murderer, the Methodist preacher named John Chivington, who was never held accountable for his crimes, thus never executed, like many thought was the just thing to do.

So, with the Sand Creek Massacre fresh in my memory, my walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area was naturally a bit more poignant than the norm today.

Even though today is Flag Day, I only saw two flags flying today whilst I was out and about.

After I finished my Indian Ghost Walk I dropped in on ALDI for a couple needed provisions. Leaving ALDI I was perplexed by the heavy oncoming traffic on Ederville Road. I looked over at  I-30 and saw traffic moving, so thought a jammed freeway was not the explanation.

But then at the next point on Ederville Road when I can see the freeway I saw the eastbound lanes were totally frozen, indicating to me that at some point west of the Cook's Lane exit there must have been a very bad accident.

In Texas when a freeway comes to a standstill, due to there usually being frontage roads, many drivers escape the freeway by free wheeling it over the grass buffer between the freeway and frontage road. This can lead to some difficulties for some vehicles not equipped for such adventurous cross country driving.

As in today I saw a SMART car stuck in no-man's land, trying to escape the traffic jam. The SMART car sort of looked swallowed up by a deep dip in the no-man's land.

SMART cars look fun, but you'd have to be sort of dumb to take a SMART car off-road....

A Beautiful Blue Sky Texas Friday The 13th Fearing Full Honey Moon Lunacy

Looking west through the bars of my patio prison cell the view is a bit more blue than yesterday's multiple shades of gray.

Today is a special day, feared by Triskaphobes.

Do I have that word right? The word has been underlined in red, indicated a misspelling.

Well, whatever the correct word, the meaning of the word is those who have a fear of the number 13.

So, those Triskaphobes should be particularly afraid today due to today being a very rare Friday the 13th.

This Friday the 13th should be doubly fearful for those suffering from both Triskaphobia and Lunarphobia.

Well, I totally made up that word, Lunarphobia, so it is no surprise that it also got redlined.

Tonight, if my information sources are correct, a full moon will be making a rare Friday the 13th appearance.

In addition to the moon being a full moon it is also a Honey Moon.

I have no idea what is meant by the full moon being a Honey Moon. But, I read it on Facebook so you know it is reliable information. Apparently tonight is the first Honey Moon in something like one hundred years, thus rendering it very special.

So, those prone to lunacy should be out in full force.

Translated to Pacific Northwest terms, it would likely be a wise move to stay off the streets of Tacoma tonight, with Tacoma long known as the Pacific Northwest nexus of lunacy.

Translated to Texas terms, what with it being Friday the 13th and a full Honey Moon, it is likely a wise move to stay safely locked indoors tonight, no matter where you live in Texas......

Dodging Lightning Bolts With Arlington's Village Creek Muumuu Lady & Indian Ghosts

Today I managed to get in a visit with Arlington's Indian Ghosts between raindrops and thunderbolts.

A surprising number of people were braving the elements today at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, including an Arlington animal control person releasing a herd of captured possums.

I was sitting at a picnic table enjoying the weather ambiance, text messaging my sister, when the Muumuu Lady came in to view.

I picked up my camera and zoomed in for the picture taking attempt you see above.

The Muumuu Lady walks with a unique gait, with her hands held out in front of her. The Muumuu Lady is very friendly. We exchanged pleasantries when our paths crossed later on today's walk with the Indian Ghosts.

The Muumuu Lady is a very spiritual person, but I have never asked her if she ever talks to the Village Creek Indian Ghosts.

After I was done communing with nature I made a quick stop at ALDI because I desperately needed to replenish my coffee supply.

So far I have experienced no extreme storming, but I keep hearing thunder rumbling in the distance, with occasional wind bouts with rain dropping.

I suspect that before this stormy Texas day is over I will have experienced some EXTREME weather. Today just has that sort of feel to it.

Thunderstorming Thursday In Texas While I Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee Again

On the left you are looking west through the bars of my patio prison cell at what appears to be a threatening sky.

The sky appears to be threatening because it is being threatening. Threatening to send lightning bolts to the ground, along with downpouring rain.

The sun had yet to arrive this morning when I detected a brief flash of light. Many seconds later I heard a distant boom.

By the time of my regularly scheduled morning swim arrived I was counting 10 to 15 seconds between flashes and booms, so I felt fairly safe from a zapping.

Soon after getting wet big drops of rain started plopping into the pool. I like swimming in the rain when the rain is not in big drops mode. I  was not enjoying swimming in the rain this morning.

After I saw a flash and counted only 5 seconds before I heard a boom I decided to get out of the pool.

Changing the subject to something else.

I just glanced over at my second monitor to see incoming email coming in, one of which in the subject line says "Martha looks 20 years younger. Did she get a face lift?"

Are we talking about Nurse Martha here? If Nurse Martha looked 20 years younger she'd look like a teenager.

Changing the subject again.

I had planned to go walk with Arlington's Indian Ghosts today, prior to going to ALDI. However, stormy weather may alter that plan.

Speaking of Indian Ghosts, yesterday I started re-reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown. If you have never read this book you really should.

Pondering Pleasant Air Pollution From Big Blooming Magnolia Tulips

Today, with it being Wednesday, this is my regularly scheduled day to walk up the hill to Albertsons to not find this week's Fort Worth Weekly, I did so in the noon time frame and found that once again FW Weekly had not yet arrived.

Like I said, I walk up a hill to get to Albertsons. Not a Tandy Hills level of hill, but an incline, nonetheless.

From the vantage point of the Albertsons hill I looked back to my abode, to the canopy of trees surrounding the swimming pool to see that the top of the pool's two magnolia trees blooming with multiple tulip-like white flowers.

When I am in the pool I can not see the tops of the magnolia trees, but those multiple tulip-like white flowers make their presence known by polluting the air with a pleasant fragrance.

When I returned to my abode zone I checked out the magnolia trees, up close, to see if I could see the blooms at the top of the trees. That effort was futile, but I did manage to get a  picture of one of the low-hanging magnolia blooms.

When I was a youngster there was a magnolia tree in our backyard. My mom always called it a tulip tree. Today that had me wondering if that was just my mom's nomenclature, or is tulip tree a common nickname for a magnolia tree?

One thing I know for sure is that a tulip tree tulip puts off a pleasant perfume, while tulips don't, not that I have ever smelled, and I have tiptoed through plenty of tulip fields, never noticing anything remotely fragrant.

I don't know if tulips grow in Texas. I don't think I've seen one here. So, it is unlikely locals would call a magnolia tree a tulip tree.

Enough with the serious magnolia issues. I am burned out from too much typing, which has made me hungry, which is good timing because the lunch gong just went off....

Will The Heritage Conceptual Plan Improve Or Destroy The Fort Worth Stockyards?

Among my Facebook friends are a couple guys who contribute much to the preservation of that which needs to be preserved of the historical sort in Fort Worth.

Lately the object of historical preservation concern has been the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historical District.

I have long opined that the Fort Worth Stockyards is the best tourist attraction in the D/FW Metroplex, and that the Fort Worth Stockyards are the only part of Fort Worth which is remotely unique, as in not found elsewhere.

I have also long opined that it seems to me that the city of Fort Worth, as in the town's city government, does not do enough to improve the Stockyards.

Although, I must admit, during the course of my time of observing the Fort Worth Stockyards there have been many improvements. Things like artwork of the sculpture sort. Improved amenities for visitors, like more seating spots, more shade and misters.

And the tacky carnival rides have long been gone, replaced by a nice looking hotel.

However, there are many things about the Fort Worth Stockyards which could use some fixing. The long abandoned New Isis Theater eyesore comes to mind. Along with other abandoned buildings which have long been boarded up. Really, would it not take just a little effort and not much money to make those abandoned buildings look worthy of a National Historical District?

Back to those aforementioned Facebook friends. Lately they have been talking about the controversial private development known as the Fort Worth Stockyards Heritage Conceptual Plan.

You can check out a power point presentation of that plan by clicking the link in the above paragraph.

When I checked out the plan I was a bit surprised to find that it is a much more ambitious plan than I realized. I thought the idea was just to develop the big open space to the east of Billy Bobs.

Well, the open space to the east of Billy Bobs is just one part of the three part plan, with that east of Billy Bobs part of the plan being called the Stockyards North District. That district includes stores, restaurants, offices, a hotel, an entertainment lounge, with all of this centered around three acres of something called Festival Green.

Another district of the plan is called the Marine Creek District. This is to the south of the existing Stockyards and includes activating the mule barns, whatever that means, plus more stores, restaurants, 250 parking spaces and office space.

The third district in the plan is the Swift-Armor District, that being the area to the east of the existing Stockyards which I have long called the Stockyard Ruins.

The Stockyard Ruins, I mean, Swift-Armor District will include more office space, a hotel, more restaurants, two residential areas, a parking garage with 450 spaces, along with surface parking with 500 more parking spaces.

Will the Swift-Armor District preserve any of the Stockyard Ruins? I hope so. I'd never seen anything like the Stockyard Ruins before I moved to Texas. They look like photos I've seen of war zones. Like Berlin at the end of World War II.

The concern over the Fort Worth Stockyards Heritage Conceptual Plan is that the actual concept of the plan may not pay proper homage to the actual heritage of the Fort Worth Stockyards, possibly destroying that which makes the Stockyards unique.

From what I have seen of the plan and what with my limited understanding of it, I can sort of get behind the Stockyards North District part of the plan. I'm not so sure about the Marine Creek District part of the plan, and I really don't like the Swift-Armor District part of the plan, unless it somehow preserves some of the Stockyard Ruins.

What I really think will happen is this plan will peter out and never happen, just like the countless failed attempts to restore the New Isis Theater to its former glory.....

Today Heavy Rain Blocked Me From Access To Arlington's Village Creek Indian Ghosts

At some point in time during the middle of the night I woke up to find myself feeling a chilly breeze which felt like the air-conditioner in chilling mode.

However, the air-conditioner was not running, but the ceiling fan was spinning and unbeknownst to me the temperature in the outer world had plummeted into the 60s.

Brrrrr.

As I lay awake, shivering, in the distance I heard rumbling. As the rumbling grew closer I started to hear the pitter patter of raindrops hitting my windows.

Soon flashes of lightning and booms of thunder flashed and boomed pretty much non-stop til after the sun arrived, struggling to bring light through the dense cover of black clouds.

By the time the time of my regularly scheduled swim arrived the lightning had ceased striking, but the rain continued dropping. And so I had myself a mighty fine time swimming in the rain this morning, with the water in the pool feeling significantly warmer than the air for the first time this year.

Around noon I drove to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to find access at the west entry blocked by the gate with its "Closed Due To Flooding" sign.

So, I drove to the east access to the Indian Ghosts, in Interlochen, where I soon saw that Village Creek really was in flood mode, as you can see above.

More rain is in the forecast, along with chilly temperatures, as in, currently, past noon, the outer world is heated to only 71 degrees at my location.

Again. Brrrrr.......