Communing With Nature At North Richland Hills Fossil Creek Park

Today during my daily nature commune I discovered the best North Richland Hills park yet.

Fossil Creek Park.

Located a short distance south and west of Linda Spurlock Park at which I parked and walked a couple days ago.

Fossil Creek Park is so named because Fossil Creek runs through it. As you can see this park is wooded and scenic. With a waterfall or two.

An unpaved trail meanders along the creek's edge, at times right at the edge of a steep drop off.

The trail looks down upon what appear to be deep, swimmable pools, once of which had a school of fish holding steady against the current. I am guessing these fish were bass. I assume they are edible bass due to the fact that the water appeared to be clear.

I don't remember if it is Fossil Creek, or Little Fossil Creek, or both, which are the evil nemesis of Elsie Hotpepper.

Walking along Fossil Creek it was easy to see how high this creek's water reached in flood mode, due to the evidence of litter deposited high up on trees along the creek's bank.

Above you are looking south at the Onyx Drive South Bridge over Fossil Creek. Due west of that bridge is the entry to, and parking lot for Fossil Creek Park.

The City of Richland Hills Park Department's website's description of Fossil Creek Park described it as being as if one has left a densely populated urban zone to suddenly find oneself in the wilderness.

I am recalling that description from memory, but I believe I got the drift of it fairly accurately.

Because walking along Fossil Creek, hearing birds tweeting, the noise of falling water, the lush forest of trees, well, it was a good commune with nature today.

Apparently Dallas Is Walkable While Fort Worth Is Fratty With ZBonz

On Friday I blogged about being impressed with what I saw whilst walking the Bear Creek Trail in Keller, Texas.

Soon thereafter someone calling him or herself Anonymous commented with three interesting links...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Still In Texas Walking Keller's Bear Creek Trail Finding A Castle, Palace & Sphinx": 

Fort Worth's newest park ZBonz opened earlier today.

Something to Bark About

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Here are the 10 most walkable neighborhoods in Texas and none are in Fort Worth. Every big city in Texas is represented save for one, Cowtown.

The 10 Most Walkable Neighborhoods in Texas

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Fort Worth does, however, have the frattiest college in Texas and the 4th frattiest in the nation. That school is Texas Christian University or TCU as some call it. Frattiest schools have the highest percentage of male students involved in social fraternities. SMU in Dallas is rated as the 8th frattiest school and is the only other Texas school in the top ten.

The Frattiest Colleges in America

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So, what I am thinking, after reading this, is that Fort Worth has two things to bark about. One being a new dog park, and the other bark worthy thing being having the 4th Frattiest college in America.

In the article about the new Fort Worth dog park I read....

Fort Worth residents and their canine companions have been eagerly awaiting the completion of ZBonz, a new dog park located at 6950 W. Camp Bowie Blvd., and on April 9, that wait will finally be over.

Well. I am sort of a Fort Worth resident, though currently in North Richland Hills. I have not been eagerly awaiting the completion of the ZBonz Dog Park. I knew nothing about it til today.

I am not sure I know what a Fratty school is. Is this a good thing? Or bad? Since Fort Worth ranks so high, I'm guessing it is the former. Is J.D. Granger a TCU product?

As for Fort Worth walkability, two paragraphs from that article...

According to our calculations based on Walk Score data, Dallas is the big winner when it comes to walkability. Not only did Downtown Dallas nab our number one spot for the most walkable neighborhood in the state with an 89 out of 100 Walk Score, but Dallas also tied for the most neighborhoods to make the top 10 list, with a total of three neighborhoods. Austin came in a close second place to Dallas, with three neighborhoods in the top 10 list, including the number two and three slots.

Which cities didn’t fare so well? Houston, San Antonio and El Paso, which made the bottom slots of our list, and Fort Worth, which didn’t make an appearance at all.

Downtown Dallas is the most walkable neighborhood in Texas?

Well.

I have walked all over downtown Dallas. And downtown Fort Worth. I find neither all that great a walking experience, but I would have to pick Fort Worth's downtown as the more walkable. Did Fort Worth lose points because of that shameful Heritage Park eyesore blighting the north end of its downtown?

Much of Fort Worth lacks sidewalks. But the downtown area has wide sidewalks on many of the streets. Walking from one end of downtown to the other is easy. The traffic is light, there are few people. Walking around downtown Dallas is a bit more challenging.

How did Dallas rank top in Texas? This makes no sense to me. Downtown San Antonio seems very walkable to me. And more interesting than downtown Dallas.

Now that you have me thinking about it, downtown Dallas does have a lot of attractions. Is Deep Ellum considered part of downtown? How about the Dallas Farmers Market? Downtown Dallas has a department store or two. Neiman Marcus comes to mind. Downtown Fort Worth is sadly lacking in the department store department.

Anyway, these type lists are usually a bit silly. This one seems to be a bit sillier than most...

Modern Capp Smith Park In Wautauga Texas With Passive Muscovy Ducks

In years gone by my Saturday norm was to hike the Tandy Hills, or bike Gateway Park, and then go to Town Talk.

But, the passage of time changes what one does on any given day of the week That and location plays a factor.

Currently my location is in North Richland Hills.

So, on this 2nd Saturday of April I stopped at the close by, biggest I have ever seen, Super Walmart to get myself some earplugs. I had trouble finding that which I was looking for and so resorted to asking one of the Walmart guides. I asked the Walmart guide if this was the biggest Walmart in the world. She indicated it is one of the biggest. It seems about double the size of the Eastchase Super Walmart I have been used to frequenting.

After finishing with the Walmarting I headed west to what is known as the Denton Highway, then headed north to what is known as the town of Wautauga to take a walk around Capp Smith Park.

In the first photo you are looking at something, again, that one rarely finds in a Fort Worth park.

Modern restroom facilities, with running water, including a drinking fountain.

I could not figure out what danger was presented by going beyond the point of this warning sign.

Capp Smith Park has a water feature created by a dam at the south end of the park, damming up a little creek. Fish swim in the pond that the dam created. I saw some guys fishing. I saw no signs warning fish catchers not to eat the fish they catch.

Capp Smith has a variety of features, such as this sun shaded amphitheater type area you see on the right. There are exercise stations located along the paved trail which makes a circle around the dammed pond.

And there is yet another modern restroom facility with running water at this relatively small park in Wautauga, Texas. The restroom facility you see below is at the south end of the park, which would make that first restroom facility we saw located at the north end.

A couple days ago when I found a modern restroom facility in the relatively small North Richland Hills Linda Spurlock Park I opined that maybe Fort Worth should send out a task force to find out how these small towns manage such modernity. Now add Wautauga to the towns the task force should visit.

Continuing on, I came to the scene below

Three guys taking turns taking pictures of themselves with a flock of Muscovy Ducks who seemed impervious to the intrusion. When the guy on the left saw I was taking a picture he got all apologetic and quickly moved away from the ducks. I said, no, I wanted you in the picture.

I then walked down the slope to the guys and the ducks. They said they'd been there about 15 minutes, with the ducks just sitting there, acting all nonchalant, instead of skittish, which is the duck norm.

I don't remember when last, before today, I'd been to Capp Smith Park. This used to be one of my roller blading destinations. My last time at this park may have been the time I tried to teach Gar the Texan how to roller blade.

Teaching Gar the Texan how to roller blade did not go well. He wobbled about 200 feet, then plopped down on a bench with a couple old ladies. Gar the Texan did not think he could do any more rolling. And so the attempt to teach Gar the Texan how to roll was ended.

We then went to a nearby Chili's bar, which presented a much more familiar type activity for Gar the Texan. Soon he found himself embroiled in a domestic dispute which was being disputed on adjacent bar stools.

Still In Texas Walking Keller's Bear Creek Trail Finding A Castle, Palace & Sphinx

I needed to ship something to someone from a UPS Store today. Looking for UPS Store locations I saw one in Keller near the Bear Creek Park trailway.

So, it was to Keller a package or two and I went.

When I lived in Haslet, a short distance to the west, I frequented this park frequently, usually to roller blade. This was the location where I learned to roller blade. Walking a couple miles of this paved trail today it sort of surprised me to realize I used to roller blade this narrow, somewhat hilly, curvy, busy trail.

Bear Creek Park has been greatly upgraded since I last walked this part of the planet. A large part of the park is currently closed due to even more renovations.

One of the new additions is what you see above. Soon I came upon two more of this type thing.

All together three of the coolest things I have come upon in a long while. The person walking with me wondered how much these clever abstract sculptures cost, what with Fort Worth spending about a million bucks on a piece of kinetic art which has moved few. The person walking with me opined that if that piece of junk in Fort Worth is worth a million these Keller works of public art must have cost several million.

Next to each of these works of abstract art is an explanation of what you are looking at. The one you are looking at here is inspired by a medieval castle built for King Ludwig II of Bavaria in honor of opera composer Richard Wagner

King Ludwig's castle was the inspiration for Disneyland's Magic Kingdom castle.

To see King Ludwig's castle, as envisioned by the clever abstract sculptor, you had to look through the viewing portal which directed you to look at the metal in a way which pulled all the pieces together into a recognizable image.

My favorite of the three is the one below. Can you guess what the twisted gold metal turns into when you look through the clarifying viewing portal?

The face of the Egyptian Pharoh Khafra, also known as the Sphinx.

The Sphinx was my favorite because it was the most difficult to see. In all three you had to move your focus around as you looked through the viewing portal til you eventually find the sweet spot which makes the vision clear. With the Sphinx I thought it to be amazing how all those chunks of metal could come together like this and looked solid, with shading and color tone changes, giving it a three dimensional look.

The third piece of abstract sculpture was inspired by Russian bad boy, Ivan the Terrble (Tsar Ivan IV).

Ivan got his terrible reputation by doing things like blinding the architect who designed this palace so that he could never create anything so beautiful again. Ivan the Terrible had this palace built to commemorate the capture of Kazan and Astrakhav.

The reason the above was my least favorite of the three was only due to the fact that it took no effort to see the random chunks of metal looking like what you see above. The Sphinx took a bit of effort.

Anyway, quite impressed with Keller today. That town has really grown since I first came to town late in the last century.

Below is a YouTube video I made when I came upon the first of today's works of public art...

Spencer Jack Flies To Portland To See The Wreck Of The Peter Iredale

I found out this morning that a couple days ago I erroneously blogged Spencer Jack Flies His Dad Over Mt. St. Helens On The Way To The Grand Canyon because I thought that was where Spencer was flying his dad.

Instead Spencer Jack flew his dad from Bellingham to Portland. I learned this this morning via email. The email included several photos, along with text from my Favorite Nephew Jason.

In the first photo Spencer Jack is in Astoria. Behind Spencer Jack is the Columbia River. That ribbon of steel above the river is the Astoria-Megler Bridge. The Astoria-Megler Bridge was built in around four years. Built over swift moving water with frequent depth changes called tides. Built while accommodating shipping traffic heading out to the Pacific or upriver to various ports.

Spencer Jack also sent me a video, via the phone which I turned into a YouTube video. The text message included no description of what we are looking at in the video. My best guess is the plane is coming in for its landing in Portland. I will copy Jason's email message below the photos and below that I will stick the video.

(UPDATE: Email from Spencer Jack's dad corrects uncle's errors. Email copied in its entirety at end of post.)

Below Spencer Jack is on an Oregon Coast Pacific beach. I don't know if this is at Fort Stevens State Park, Seaside or Cannon Beach.

The next two photos I did not expect to see this morning. In a case of extreme coincidence, something yesterday caused me to look up the Wreck of the Peter Iredale. Something caused that subject to cross my mind and have me wondering if the remains of the wreck still existed. So, I Googled Peter Iredale to find out.

How could I know I did not need to Google this because within a day Spencer Jack would provide the answer, including photo documentation.

And how did Jason and Spencer Jack come to have the below photo? A photo I do not have.

That is my dad and me, standing in front of the Wreck of the Peter Iredale.

And now the email message from Jason and below that the aforementioned video....

FUD --

Spencer Jack and I just returned home to the Skagit Valley tonight.

Sorry for the delay in providing you with photos of your greatest nephew's first visit to one of the great wonders of the world---that being the Grand Canyon.

Those photos are not provided in this e-mail.  

Spencer Jack and I postponed visiting such, for reasons not discussed in this e-mail, and flew out of our favorite airport, that being Bellingham International 38 minutes south to a town called Portland.   We have learned that air transport abbreviates unnecessary road time.  

Anyway....

We managed our way to Portland.

From Portland, we took turns driving our rental car to many tourist spots.  We visited Astoria, stopping at the school were Kindergarten Cop was filmed, attempted to see the old 'Goonies' house, before making our way south.   Had a blast at Fort Stevens.    Saw what is left of the Peter Iredale.   Spent the night in this tourist town called Seaside.   This town is so fun and so grown up from what I remember as a child.

Visited Canon Beach, and further south....the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and Spencer even talked me into going to Multnomah Falls.  

Hope all is well, and I hope you enjoy the photos, FNJ.



Update from Spencer Jack's dad....

The video was Spencer looking out the window, seeing his mother's house, and all of Skagit Valley whilst the airplane was descending into Bellingham.  I'm surprised FUD didn't recognize this.

Also, I believe that is your twin sister Fancy in the photo with your papa.

Are you feeling okay?   You appear to be displaying early onset of dementia. 

Today I Found Something In A Park I Don't Often Find In Fort Worth Parks

No, that is not Fosdick Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park you see here with a strange twisted pipe rising from the water.

This pond is in North Richland Hills in a park called Linda Spurlock Park.

I am currently staying in North Richland Hills near several parks, including Linda Spurlock's.

I tried to find Doctor Pillow Park because it sounded interesting, with some sort of Texas missions theme and trails through the wooded zone of Bear Creek. I followed the directions to Doctor Pillow Park, but when I reached where it should be I was at a dead end.

Both Google and my Microsoft Streefinder could not get me to Doctor Pillow Park.

As for Linda Spurlock Park, that one was easy to find. The was a pretty basic park. A paved trail runs around the perimeter. But, this small park did have something one usually does not see in a Fort Worth park, but do usually see in parks in modern parts of America.

An indoor restroom facility, complete with running water. And the sink inside had hand sanitizer lotion at sinkside.

Now, how come a little park in a little town is able to manage to have modern restroom facilities, whilst most parks in Fort Worth do not?

Perhaps Fort Worth could send a task force to North Richland Hills to try and find out.....

Spencer Jack Flies His Dad Over Mt. St. Helens On The Way To The Grand Canyon

Yesterday I blogged A Photo Of My Grandpa & Grandma Takes Me On A Detour Down Memory Lane in which I said something like "Jason if you are reading this you need to have Spencer Jack take you north to see if that Grandpa Porter memorial plaque still exists.

Well, Jason did read that and emailed that the going north to Lynden would have to wait til next week's agenda, because currently Spencer Jack is on Spring Break, which has Spencer Jack and my Favorite Nephew Jason flying to Las Vegas, I believe, unless the plan has changed since I last spoke to Jason.

From Las Vegas Spencer Jack is driving his dad to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Jason's dad, my Favorite Brother Jake, took Jason to see the grandest canyon in the world for the first time a month or two ago.

Jason was very impressed when he first saw the Grand Canyon. I remember my similar reaction a long long time ago. I can understand why Jason was eager to show Spencer Jack the Grand Canyon.

The email included a couple photos.

In the photo above I don't know which mountain is outside Spencer Jack's window.

Part of Jason's email said "Captured some great photos of two volcanoes on our way out of town. Apparently one of them erupted almost 36 years ago."

Well, I can tell the volcano in the foreground is Mount St. Helens. I don't know which volcano is in the distance. Adams? Hood? I don't think it's Mount Rainier.

How can it be 36 years since Mount St. Helens blew up? I recollect that day like it was yesterday. A little after 8 in the morning I was peacefully having myself a soak in the tub when I head loud concussive noise, like a bomb exploding. Soon a neighbor knocked on the door to tell us that the mountain had blown.

A Photo Of My Grandpa & Grandma Takes Me On A Detour Down Memory Lane

Emptying out a chest of drawers today I came upon yet more photos that I'd long forgotten I had.

In this photo you are looking at Laverne and Vera Wilder.

Laverne and Vera had a daughter named Shirley.

Shirley is my mom.

Which would make Laverne and Vera my grandpa and grandma. And my mom and her dad Laverne and Shirley.

I am currently trying to figure out what do to with several afghans Grandma Vera gave me over the years.

I never knew my Grandpa Laverne. Laverne and Vera divorced when my mom was five, give or take. Laverne had epileptic seizures which were not understood as such at the time, which ended up with my Grandpa hospitalized for a time in a mental hospital.

I am not sure at what point Grandma divorced Grandpa. After he was hospitalized or before.

What I do know is Grandma Vera always said Laverne was the love of her life. Even though Grandma had a very good marriage to the guy I thought was my Grandpa, Dr. Jim Porter. Grandma Vera later married Mr. Lee.

During all this time I did not know my real Grandpa was still alive, til one day my sister Jackie, she being the sister who now lives in Arizona, knocked on my Mount Vernon door, unsettled, due to the fact that she'd just learned from Grandma Vera that she had a Grandpa who was still alive, and in a Bellingham hospital. Jackie went to see our Grandpa, before knocking on my door.

Jackie talked me into going up to Bellingham to see our Grandpa in the hospital.

We walked in his room and he looks at me and says something like "Nice to see you, Jack." Jack is my dad. I look like my dad. Turns out that, via Grandma Vera, my real Grandpa had kept up with his grandchildren who he never knew.

Now, when did I find out that Grandpa Porter was not my Grandpa? Well, that is a good story.

Grandma Vera and Grandpa Porter had a 25th wedding anniversary party at the swank Camel's Club in Lynden, Washington. At that party my brother and I noticed our mom acting very unsettled when Grandma Vera sort of pushed mom to talking to someone. Who that someone was we did not know. Not til the next morning.

That night, when we were back home in Burlington my brother and I lay awake, unable to sleep, troubled by the anniversary party. As we talked suddenly we realized something we could not explain, as in how come Grandma and Grandpa have been married only 25 years, while mom is 32?

I told my brother in the morning, at breakfast, I would ask.

And so I did.

Mom instantly understood our confusion. And the fact that we did not know a key part of our family history. Mom said something like "Did you notice that older man your Grandma and I were talking to?'

Yes, said we.

Well, mom then drops the bombshell that man was her father, and our Grandpa. Mom explained that when she was little she was scared of him because of the seizures. And that when Grandma married Grandpa Porter, Grandpa Porter quickly became the guy mom thought of as dad.

Grandpa Porter was a cool guy. I remember him fondly. And was very sad when he died. His was the third funeral I attended. His was the biggest funeral I've attended. It over flowed the church.

Grandpa Porter was a veterinarian. As such he was a wheel in a lot of things. Such as the Northwest Washington State Fair, in Lynden. And then there was the annual fish derby in Fishtrap Creek. Grandpa Porter made sure his grandkids got a prize from the derby. I remember getting a real cool fishing pole that I used for years. After he died a memorial bridge was built over Fishtrap Creek, with a plaque dedicated to him. I wonder if that is still there.

Favorite Nephew Jason, if you are reading this, you and Spencer Jack need to go to Lynden and find the park through which Fishtrap Creek flows. I have forgotten the name of that park. Spent many hours playing there. It's a wooden pedestrian type bridge with a metal plaque type thing on the south side.

I tell you, these trips I have been taking lately down memory lane are exhausting....

Overheating With Maxine In The Mojave Desert

Yesterday I mentioned Discovering A Curly Perm Mount Baker Hike With Maxine after I discovered long forgotten photos of myself with an embarrassing curly perm.

Soon thereafter I discovered another photo with Maxine.

I think we were trying to emote being overheated while over dressed in California's Mojave Desert.

Or this may have been in Death Valley.

All I remember for sure is this photo was taken at some point in the 1980s.

And that we'd road tripped to California in a tiny Ford Pinto to go to Disneyland, Universal Studios and other Southern California attractions prior to heading east to Las Vegas and then the aforementioned Death Valley.

Discovering A Curly Perm Mount Baker Hike With Maxine

Emptying a file cabinet today I came upon yet one more treasure trove of long forgotten photos, including these two you see here, with me in a hair phase even more ridiculous than Gar the Texan's mullet.

I have no memory of the details of getting a curly perm. I remember doing such was a fad for a short period several decades ago.

My curly perm did not look all that bad at first, but as it grew out it grew into being Sideshow Bob long before The Simpson's.

Skipping along with me is Maxine. That white thing you see in the distance is the Mount Baker volcano. This was the first time I hiked the Schrieber's Meadow access to Mount Baker. I hiked that hike countless times since that first time. Maxine had hiked that hike for the first time way back in high school, which made her our trail guide.

The last time I was at Schrieber's Meadow did not involve hiking up Mount Baker.

Rather it was a wild blueberry picking session. Wild blueberries are plentiful and free for the picking in late summer at Schrieber's Meadow.

In the second photo I am clearly in full Sideshow Bob mode.

The gray plaid flannel shirt I am wearing was my favorite shirt for a long time. It may have made the move to Texas.

I am recently being freshly surprised by things that made the move to Texas which I have long forgotten about.

Like I'd forgotten that long ago, after the arrival of computers, but prior to the Internet being a big deal, I was publishing a new type thing called an E-zine. I called it Dean's World. I had a laser printer at the time, and printed Dean's World on both sides of the paper, just like a real magazine. Apparently early on I had a very primitive scanner, which I must have replaced with a better scanner.

Today I also found my original digital camera, a Casio that I bought at Costco way back in 1996, for $599. Paying that much for a digital camera, way back then, seems totally bizarre to me now. My phone takes way better pictures than that antique Casio did. And it ate up batteries. I don't think rechargeable batteries were yet available way back then.

But, my antique Casio did have one feature that turned out to be futuristic. The lens rotated. Meaning I could spin it around and aim the camera at myself, taking a thing now known as a selfie.

I used that antique Casio after the move to Texas, before I replaced it in early 2001 with an Olympus. Some of my favorite pictures were taken with that primitive Casio digital camera. When the light was just right it could manage to take a good picture.