Spencer Jack Took Me On A St. Patrick's Day Trek Around Puget Sound

Email arrived this morning from my Favorite Nephew Jason, with a subject line of "Evergreen Trip on St. Patrick's Day" documenting where Spencer Jack went on yesterday's Irish oriented holiday.

The text in the email....

After exploring Fort Casey on a beautiful sunny Pacific Northwest day, your FNSJ took me to Barnes & Noble and a tangled web under the Space Needle today via ferries, a monorail, and the World's Longest Salt Water Floating Bridge.

That would be Spencer Jack at Fort Casey you see above. Fort Casey was a Spanish American War era fort, built on Whidbey Island to guard the entry to Puget Sound. Another fort, Fort Flagler is on the Olympic Peninsula side of the strait, in Port Townsend.

I have had myself many a fine time exploring Fort Casey. It's sort of a kid's paradise. If I remember right, the last time I was at Fort Casey was with Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey.

Joey and I ferried our bikes from Fort Casey to Port Townsend, pedaled to the aforementioned Fort Flagler, then made it to the last ferry of the night for a rocky float back to Whidbey Island where I found a note on my pickup from the park ranger telling me to knock on his door and he'd open the locked gate to let us escape.

Continuing on with Spencer Jack's St. Patrick's Day.

I am guessing the below photo was taken near the Keystone Ferry Dock where Spencer Jack and his dad were waiting for the ferry so they could float to Port Townsend.

Below Spencer Jack is at the back of the ferry as it leaves Whidbey Island and the Keystone Ferry Dock.

The email mentioned the world's longest salt water floating bridge, but no photo was included of such. That bridge would be the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. The original version of which sank during a storm, late in the last century.

From the photo below I think I can accurately ascertain that Spencer Jack eventually made his way to Bremerton, where the ferry to Seattle was boarded, which would explain the below photo.

That body of blue water is known as Elliott Bay. When America's Biggest Boondoggle gets around to putting water in what may be known as Pond Granger, the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth may be seen in scenes such as you see above. I don't know if ferry boats are planned for Pond Granger. I suspect not.

Spencer Jack and his dad, particularly his dad, can not go to Seattle without riding the Seattle Monorail.

Above Spencer Jack is at the front of the Monorail, heading to Seattle Center, the location of the Space Needle.

The contraptions Spencer Jack is climbing on have been added since last I have been at the Seattle Center.

I have no idea what Spencer Jack is inside below.

Is it a mesh sky bridge between two elevated locations?

Spencer Jack likes to read.

Which may be why Spencer Jack, at his young age, is a fan of bookstores and libraries.

Spencer Jack's St. Patrick's Day trek around Puget Sound freshly reminded me of how many fun things there are to do in Western Washington, fun and varied, within a relatively short distance.

Meanwhile, at my current location......

UPDATE #1
Above I said Spencer Jack had emailed no photo of the aforementioned Hood Canal Floating Bridge. Spencer Jack's dad read that and informed me that the Hood Canal Floating Bridge is seen in the background of the below picture. And that they had to wait a half hour for the bridge to open to allow a boat to pass.

When I saw this photo I did not notice the line of cars or the bridge. I just thought it was a photo of Spencer Jack wearing big sunglasses. Turns out those are his dad's sunglasses. Now, on to the next update, from my Favorite Cousin Scott.

UPDATE #2
scott barry has left a new comment on your post "Spencer Jack Took Me On A St. Patrick's Day Trek Around Puget Sound":

hey, durannngggooo, just wanted to clean up a little of the geography in your recent post. fort flagler is located on marrowstone island, which is across the bay a little south and a little east of port townsend. fort worden, the third of the three forts constructed to protect puget sound -- and they did it well -- is located at the northeast tip of port townsend and has a great view across the sound to ebey's landing on whidbey island and beyond to mount baker. olivia and i spent many a day on the beaches at fort worden...

Fort Flagler did not sound right to me, so I Googled it, saw it was by Port Townsend, then assumed that was the name of Fort Casey's counterpart. I did not remember the Fort Worden name til the memory was restored by my cousin. I don't think I have been to Fort Flagler. I have been to Ebey's Landing many a time. Great hiking, high bluffs upon which cactus grows due to, I think, being in the dry rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains.

I Did Not Know A Thunderstorm & Hail Was On The Texas Weather Menu For Today

Yesterday was a borderline HOT blue sky cloud-free day which started for me with a long swim in the not too cool pool you see here under a dark, cloudy sky.

I did not know thunderstorms were on the menu when I got vertical last night.

Sometime around three in the morning extremely bright flashes lit up my bedroom, almost non-stop.

What fresh hell is this, I lay there wondering, wondering this because while the extremely bright flashes seemed to be close lightning strikes, I heard no thunder rumbling.

And the outer world was dead calm. No wind. Nothing but those silent extremely bright flashes of light.

An hour or longer later I finally heard a distant thunder rumble adding sound to the light show.

Eventually the thunder grew louder.

About an hour after the thunder got loud the tornado sirens started screaming. Yet there was still no wind blowing. The tornado sirens screamed for about 15 minutes before ceasing with the screaming.

And then rain began downpouring, soon joined by big chunks of hail pummeling the windows.

The rain and thunder booms ended an hour or so ago.

Apparently more booming is scheduled for later today and tomorrow.

Below, from Facebook, this morning in West Fort Worth....

Today Facebook Told Me I Was Basically An A+ Genius

I ignore most of the link bait attempts whilst visiting Facebook.

But every once in awhile I will click on one if the bait hooks me.

Like today, I clicked on one that said that most people could not answer 20 questions about subjects they learned in elementary school.

Well, most of those 20 questions were a bit more advanced subject matter than what I remember learning in elementary school.

I got all 20 questions right, though. And an A+ grade. It's been decades since I got an A+ for anything.

The test result also said "You're basically a genius." If I had a dime for every time I've been told that, I'd have at least a dollar. The genius blurb is in that faded text under the kid with two thumbs up.

Recently I got hooked by another Facebook link baiter. This one hooked me by saying something like "On average only Chefs can answer more than four of these cooking questions correctly."

Well, the questions were so dumb and easy I don't see how anyone could get one wrong. Like there'd be a photo of a cracked egg, with the question asking what the yellow part of the egg is known as. The choices, other than yolk, were totally absurd. All the questions were like that.

I think some of these Facebook link bait quizzes are designed to make stupid people feel smart. I know they have that effect on me.....

Is Rush Limbaugh's Radio Empire Crumbling?

I saw this on Facebook a minute or two ago. Ironically I was listening to Rush Limbaugh ranting about the latest Super Tuesday's election results.

Rush Limbaugh is not sounding like a ranter who is in the midst of a crumbling radio empire.

I'm listening to a local car advertisement right now. So, apparently this particular car dealer is ignoring the Dump Rush people.

Methinks Limbaugh has a steady audience of like minded, poorly educated listeners.

And that there are likely a supply of advertisers willing to support right wing hate radio.

Then again, if this is true that the radio empire of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk is facing imminent bankruptcy, that would be the first hope for humanity and American sanity news I have heard of late.

An Ides Of March Oakland Lake Park Walk Around Fosdick Lake With Throngs Of Little Kids

Earlier today I mentioned that someone was wanting to sell me a coffee machine so my Oakland Lake Park employees could have fresh brewed coffee.

That put Oakland Lake Park and Fosdick Lake on my mind. And so I took myself on a drive west for a couple miles and joined a throng of Spring Breakers enjoying the balmy Ides of March.

As you can see Oakland Lake Park has greened up nicely in preparation for the arrival of Spring in a few days.

As I was walking across Fosdick Dam a throng of kids were running towards me, led by a big dog. A little girl who was barely post toddler brought up the rear. When she got to me she looked up, let out a scream and turned around to run back to her mama.

Why are little kids so afraid of me? I must look like a sinister monster to them.  Or maybe it's my walking stick that frightens.

By the time I got my phone out of its pocket, turned on and in camera mode the only kids remaining as photo subjects were the two little guys you see above.

This was one happy group of little kids, well, except for the little girl who ran back crying to the safety of her mama when she saw me.

Wondering About Getting Water For Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park

About once a week I get email from China offering to sell me customized souvenir trinket type junk for my Pioneer Plaza business.

But, I have no Pioneer Plaza business. All I have is a webpage I made about the Cowboy and Longhorn Herd statues at Pioneer Plaza in Dallas.

This morning I got email with the subject line you see above, "Get Coffee and Water for Oakland Lake Park."

The Coffee part perplexed me, but the Water part had me thinking this was a person, like me, who wonders how a city park can have picnic facilities with no running water, for public safety sanitation sake.

And no modern restroom of the indoor plumbing sort.

Well, turns out the sender of this email, Office Vendor Specialist Jennifer, was offering to provide my Oakland Lake Park employees fresh brewed coffee at the best rates available.

But, I currently have no Oakland Lake Park employees. All I have is a webpage I made about Oakland Lake Park.

Rocking With The Waves Aboard A Washington San Juan Ferry

That which you see here is something I am unable to see at my current location on the planet.

Huge waves crashing into a ferry.

Apparently my old home zone was windy this weekend.

The ferry getting splashed is a San Juan ferry. That is the only identifying info in the Skagit Breaking News Facebook post which was the source of the video below.

The San Juan ferry route runs from Anacortes out to several of the San Juan Islands, with Friday Harbor the furthest destination. Anacortes is the town where Spencer Jack sells burgers at the Fidalgo Drive-In.

I have been on a Washington ferry a time or two when the ride has been scarily rough. A crossing from Port Townsend to Keystone comes to mind. The boat got to rocking so rambunctiously that it was not possible to walk.

The wave you see crashing aboard, above, splashes at about the 2:30 minute mark in the below video....

Sad Day With A Few Photos Of Geff & Lulu

This morning I blogged about the loss of someone I have known for decades.

Geff Hinds.

Over the decades I have boomeranged in and out of contact with Geff and his lovely wife, Lulu.

And then there was a time in the 1990s when Geff and I sort of bonded over a couple shared interests, which I mentioned in the blogging earlier today.

I remember on the last day of our 1994 Lake Powell houseboating Geff and I took off in the early evening for a hike. We knew the nearby rock formation was known as the Moki Steps. We did not know what that meant. We hiked up the trail and came to a ladder. I climbed the ladder, Geff did not want to. I think I mentioned before we shared a fear of heights.

So, I went back down the ladder and we headed back to the houseboat. I remember saying something to Geff along the line of is it as surprising to you as it is to me that we are getting along so well. Geff said something like it was like we did not actually know each other before. Like I said, it was a bonding moment.

Soon after that bonding moment we found ourselves surrounded by bats, thousands of bats. Which is why the last houseboat docking location was known as Bat Cove.

So, after I blogged this morning about Geff's passing, his lovely wife, Lulu, commented to that blogging with the following....

lulu has left a new comment on your post "Sad News From Washington":

Thank you Dean. If you have any pictures of Geff & i, I would love to have access to them. L

__________________

I had looked through my photo collection this morning and saw a few photos with Geff and Lulu. After Lulu indicated she would love access to them I scanned four of the photos, the best of which, I think, is the one above, taken in Death Valley, after my van got a flat tire.

Much drama ensued after that tire popped. But, soon we made it to Stovepipe Wells for the night. That is Geff, acting like he is a paparazzi blocker, stopping someone from taking a photo of his wife.

The next two photos are from the Lake Powell houseboat trip.

Geff had hurt his back, so Lulu had to do all the heavy lifting, rolling goods to the houseboat docked at Bullfrog Basin Marina.

The above photo was taken at what we called Cougar Cove, due to a cougar coming on board in the middle of the night, with me scaring the cat off by screaming like a crazy person when I looked up to see a big cat staring at me. Everyone else was sleeping on the roof. Only I was inside guarding the entry. No one believed my tale til the next morning when big cougar tracks were seen embedded into the sand.

In the above photo Lulu is barbecuing with Geff's assistance.

A couple years after houseboating we journeyed to Moab for a lot of mountain biking and hiking.

The above photo was taken on the Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park. That would be Geff in the lead, followed by Lulu, with their son, Andrew behind his mama.

The Fiery Furnace hike took place two decades ago. Yet in my memory, it seems so recent.

Do not ask for whom the bell tolls......

Sad News From Washington

Sad news from up north this Sunday morning. Via text message and Facebook I was told the person you see on the left in the photo passed away yesterday.

Geff Hinds is the name. Pretty much the most creatively talented person I have ever known.

In the photo Geff is walking on a trail in Zion Canyon National Park. An overnight stay in the Zion Lodge was part of the most complicated road trip I ever executed.

Four days of Lake Powell Houseboating, floating to Rainbow Bridge, a scary descent down the Moki Dugway, overnight at the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, Monument Valley, caught in a blizzard in a log cabin on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, three nights in Las Vegas, overnight at Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley and a sidetrip into Yosemite National Park.

It was due to Geff that I learned how to make websites. Soon after returning home from the Lake Powell houseboating trip all who were on that boat got connected to the Internet. This was back in 1994. Soon we were emailing maniacs.

Back then the World Wide Web was real slow. Geff discovered it first, via something called Netscape. Geff early on saw that this newfangled WWW thing was really gonna be something. I just found it to be real slow. One day I got an email with a link to a website.

Mud Sluts.

Geff had figured out how to make a website using this thing called HTML. Geff's Mud Sluts was all about mountain biking. Mud Sluts was soon named Cool Site of the Day. Back then being Cool Site of the Day was a very cool thing. Soon thereafter Geff made another website called Lulu & Durango: As The WWW Turns.

As The WWW Turns was soon picked as Cool Site of the Day.

Soon thereafter I was summoned to Gig Harbor, told  that Geff had something for me. That something turned out to be a logo graphic and the HTML for a website called Dialing Doctor Durango. Geff showed me how HTML worked. He made it look simple. But it was too much like doing math for my simple mind.

So, I quickly found an HTML editor called Hot Dog, which basically made making webpages easy. Soon I was churning out material. Dialing Doctor Durango never was a Cool Site of the Day. But it did get picked to be Funky Site of the Day.  Doctor Durango got questions from all over the world. That is how I met Singapore's Wee Cheng.

One day I was informed that a German university had listed Dialing Doctor Durango as one of the Top Ten medical websites on the Internet. That was soon followed by a serious medical question from the UK.

People not getting that I was not a legitimate doctor, that it was a satiric type website, was perplexing. So, I killed Dialing Doctor Durango and morphed it into The Durango Files.
Soon after moving to Texas I killed The Durango Files.

It was with Geff I went on my first mountain bike ride on an actual real mountain trail. I can not remember if it was before or after that the Mud Sluts name came to be. But, that's what Geff's biking group was called.

Mud Sluts.

A couple years after houseboating Geff arranged for a group of Mud Sluts to journey to Moab. I had wanted to do that ever since New Years Day of 1994, when I was at Islands in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park and saw mountain bikers far below. I said right then when I get back home I'm getting myself a mountain bike. And then come back here. And so I did, making it back in late March of 1996, if I remember right.

On that return to Moab, in addition to mountain biking, there was hiking the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park.

Depending on what trail was being biked the group of Mud Sluts ranged from a dozen or so to the group of seven you see below, at the trailhead for the brutal Porcupine Rim Trail. I had no idea what I was getting into. The trail starts with about a thousand foot elevation gain, reaching an incredible view of the valley far below. And then the ride is basically a downhill bumpy roller coaster for miles. I don't think I'd ever been so exhausted.

That would be Geff, second from the right, with me third from the right. Geff and I shared a fear of heights. The Porcupine Rim Trail put that fear to a test.

On that Moab trip we also biked the Slick Rock Trail. Well, actually, Geff and some of the Mud Sluts biked the whole trail. It was too difficult for me. I bailed after a couple miles. We also biked the Gemini Bridges Trail. That was an easy fun one, but it required some logistical maneuvering due to the trailhead being a long ways from the trail's end.

During the 1990s I rolled my wheels many miles with Geff, all over Washington and Oregon, in addition to the one Moab mountain biking trip.

I have one Geff memory that sort of haunts me. On the last day of Lake Powell houseboating, heading across Bullfrog Basin to return the boat to the marina, Geff said something like "When can we do this again? Can we really wait a whole year to do this again?"

Now for me, I was real happy to get off that boat, and was a bit surprised that Geff was ready to do it again. But, I was back houseboating on Lake Powell four years later. I don't think Geff ever made it back. Hard to believe that that first Lake Powell houseboat float was 22 years ago.

Thanks for all the good memories, Geff.....

Sporcle Found Fort Worth Forgettable With Dallas Extremely Unforgettable

Yesterday I blogged about Amazon biospheres and Fort Worth's slow motion bridge construction boondoggle.

Someone named Anonymous then made an interesting comment which led me to some interesting data of the random list sort.....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Amazon Biospheres & Fort Worth Slow Motion Bridge Construction":

Cowtown (Fort Worth) didn't fare well in a list of the most unforgettable U.S. cities.

Dallas did really well placing 4th highest on the list. 

Seattle was 9th highest while Fort Worth was well behind at 45th place. Fort Worth is the 16th largest city and yet only the 45th most well known.

Dallas Ranks Among the Most Unforgettable American Cities

____________________

This listing of America's Unforgettable Cities came from something called Sporcle, which used a highly evolved scientific means to come to its conclusions. Below is a graphic from Sporcle listing the Top 10 Most Unforgettable American Cities.

San Jose, that is a big town in California, fared quite poorly in being memorable.

As Anonymous already told us, Fort Worth also fared quite poorly in being memorable for one of America's higher population towns.

Three paragraphs from the D Magazine Dallas Ranks Among the Most Unforgettable American Cities article about the Sporcle data....

It’s no surprise that when asked to name all 100 cities, most-populous New York was rarely missed. More than 99 percent of users got it. Compare that to poor San Jose, which only 66.6% named, even though it is the 10th-largest in the U.S.

Dallas is golden by comparison. Ours is the 9th-most populous city, but we were named on the fourth-most quizzes, 92.4%. Decades of the Ewing family and America’s Team and (less fortunately) JFK conspiracies have allowed Dallas to burrow deep into the collective consciousness. We’re only beat out by the three-largest U.S. cities, which is nothing to be ashamed about.

But what about our best little suburb sister city to the west? Fort Worth is almost as bad off as San Jose. It’s the 16th-most-populous city, but ranks 45th among those named in quiz responses. Only 59.2% of Sporcle users remembered it.

____________________

I do not know what Fort Worth could do to make itself more memorable and less forgettable. Dallas had its skyline burned into the collective memory of much of the world due to a hit namesake television show. That and one of the world's most infamous crimes took place in Dallas, which also burned the town into the world's collective memory.

Maybe when the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision, also known as America's Biggest Boondoggle, is ever completed, Fort Worth will become memorable for its lively waterfront with hordes of beer drinking inner tube floaters floating under three stunning signature bridges recognized the world over.

And a giant Liberty sized statue of J.D. Granger honoring the man who brought world wide recognition to previously un-recognized Fort Worth, Texas.....