Picnicking In Haltom City Without Elsie Hotpepper Or Amon Carter

I have long done my best to emulate my favorite Fort Worth historical figure.

Amon Carter.

When Amon Carter had the distasteful task of needing to venture all the way to Dallas he packed a lunch to take with him, so as not to leave any more money, than need be, in that evil town to the east of Fort Worth.

Now that I have exiled myself from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, on those rare occasions when I return, like today, I pack a lunch.

Today on my way out of the Metroplex mess I stopped at Whites Branch Park in Haltom City for a pseudo picnic.

Whites Branch Park should be named Ally Collins Park, but I digress.

I would never stop in a Fort Worth park for a pseudo picnic, due to most Fort Worth parks missing an essential picnic element that I deem necessary for a modern era picnic experience.

Can you spot what this little Haltom City park has which most Fort Worth parks lack?

If you spotted running water in the form of a fountain, you are very observant.

This little park in Haltom City also has modern restroom facilities with modern indoor plumbing. An amenity also lacking in most Fort Worth city parks.

Elsie Hotpepper texted me whilst I was picnicking in Haltom City, with geographic information.  I had harbored the delusion that Elsie Hotpepper was joining me on this picnic, but that was not to be, to my great  disappointment....

I Had Myself A BUC-EE World Famous Restroom Experience Today

A couple weeks ago en route from Wichita Falls to East Fort Worth I opted to exit 287 to 114 to take a different route than that which I'd been on way too many times, of late.

That route turned out to be a mistake, which I repeated today when I needed to be in Euless, which made the 114 route to 121, then south to Euless seem the sensible way to go.

It wasn't.

Anyway, when I went this route a couple weeks ago, at the point where 114 intersected with 35W, I was surprised to see the biggest bank of gas pumps I had ever seen. With no gas getting pumped. But due to all the cars parked around this location I figured it was open, but for some reason not pumping gas.

I figured wrong. BUC-EE's is the name of the place. Apparently a Southern institution I'd never heard of or experienced.

Til today.

Between the time of seeing BUC-EE's a couple weeks ago, in what turned out to be its under construction phase, I learned BUC-EE's is well known for its amazing restroom facilities.

I had not been amazed by a restroom facility since December 27, 1994 when I visited the palatial Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. Or was it in Whittier? I don't remember.

Since I first saw BUC-EE's its Grand Opening happened, and is still happening. So, today I joined the throngs pumping gas at one of the BUC-EE gas pumps. And then went inside.

I was not expecting the humongous beehive of activity or vast store of goods and food when I walked through the entry to BUC-EE's.

At the center of the store I came to a food preparation area with a rather astounding array of vittles.

One ordered ones vittles at a touch screen kiosk. I went through the motions of acting like I was ordering something. I touched the screen. A plethora of options came up. I chose Sandwiches. Then Fish Sandwich. I think the base fee was $6.99. Then add-on options were offered. I touched bacon, then jalapeno, then tomato, then extra fish. With each touch the cost was adjusted til I'd made myself a Fish Sandwich costing something like $10.99, plus tax.

I then walked away.

I think I saw the future of the fast food ordering experience today.

And then I found the entry to the BUC-EE's Restrooms.

As you can see, the RESTROOMS sign informs us they are World Famous!

Well, I certainly was impressed.

HUGE is a word that came to mind. Each, uh, station, gave its user a sense of privacy I'd not seen in such a facility before. And everything was automated. All one had to do for oneself was handle ones zipper or buttons.

I also dropped in on Miss Puerto Rico today, to see the babies and pick up some mail, and some other stuff.

The drive between Wichita Falls and the Metroplex seems shorter each time I drive it.

Visit To Wichita Falls Prairie Dog Town Ends With A Mama Dog Scolding

For my daily communing with nature today I decided to return to my neighborhood Prairie Dog Town and its Dog Town suburbs.

Soon upon turning onto the road which leads to the Wichita Falls Prairie Dog Town I came upon multiple Prairie Dog Puppies playing in the road.

By the time I got my camera pointed out the windshield all but the two Puppies you see here remained on the road, whilst the others had retreated back to the protection of their Mama.

We will see that Mama later in a photo and via video.

But first I got photo evidence of why the Wichita Falls Prairie Dogs seem to be so tolerant of their human visitors.

The above lady was with her kids, tossing food to the Prairie Dogs. I asked what she was throwing at them. Carrots was the answer. She said they eat just about anything. If you look closely you can see that the burrow receiving carrots is near some playground equipment. Let's look closer at that.

Prairie Dogs have built a Prairie Dog Town suburb quite close to the ladder which leads to a curving slide.

Another Prairie Dog Town suburb has been built near a row of swings. Clearly the Prairie Dogs like to live near where their human friends play.

Below is the aforementioned Prairie Dog Mama and a couple of her babies.

I got too close to the babies and their Mama, which had Mama scolding me and sort of waving her upper arms at me as she stood up. I think the scolding may have been Prairie Dog barking. You can see this incident in the video below, along with a look at the wall which surrounds Prairie Dog Town...

Another Night Of Thunder Booming Downpours In Wichita Falls

What a night. Rain began dripping, slightly, around three this morning. Soon that rain turned into a downpour accompanied by non-stop thunder, for hours.

Multiple lightning strikes so close the flash and boom were simultaneous.

When morning dawned I looked out to see my abode surrounded by water, a virtual moat. I need wading boots to get to my vehicle.

In the picture you are looking at the stormy view through my kitchen window.

The deluging has abated, somewhat. Have not heard thunder boom for about a half hour. This storm has tapered off a couple times, only to come roaring back.

There will be no climbing Mount Wichita today....

Waist Deep Comanche River Crossing Gives Texas Town Its Name

Wichita Falls.

Previously we learned how the Falls part of this Texas town's name came to be. That being that way back in the 1800s, when Wichita Falls came to be a town, there was a short drop of about three feet in the Wichita River which the locals thought was a waterfall, which a flood destroyed before the 1800s became the 1900s.

Hence the Falls part of the name, even though there soon was no falls, til a new artificial waterfall was made late in the 1900s.

I assumed that the Wichita part of the Wichita Falls name was an Indian tribe, long forgotten, not etched into the collective memory like the more well known Comanche or Apache or Navajo.

Well, I assumed wrong.

When one drives or walks around Wichita Falls, no matter where one is in the town, one sees directional signage which is very well done and very useful. I will make further mention of this in a subsequent blogging in the near future.

As one nears the downtown Wichita Falls zone the directional signage starts to have Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture on the list of what one is being pointed towards.

A couple days ago I followed the Wee-Chi-Tah directions and eventually found what you see above.

A sculpture.

To get to the Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture one is directed to cross the Wichita River, out of downtown, to what appears to be a past its prime industrial area.

Eventually the signs get one to a parking lot from whence one walks a short paved trail to the Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture, overlooking the Wichita River.

One then learns that this sculpture is one of the biggest in America honoring our Native Americans. The sculpture depicts a Comanche family crossing the Wichita River.

This Comanche family crossing the river is based on a Comanche legend, from whence Wichita Falls derives its full name.

A Comanche squaw, her child, a pair of Comanche braves, their horses and one colt were wanting to cross the river. The squaw wades out into the river to test its depth, then hollers back that the water is waist deep, a concept which when expressed in Comanche is "we-chi-tah."

The Wee-Chi-Tah sculpture depicts all aspects of this Comanche legend.

But, I must point out that that Comanche squaw must have been testing the river's depth during a drought period, because if she was testing its depth on a day like today she would find the water way deeper than waist deep.

I wonder what the Comanche word is for "water too deep"? Had this Comanche crossing of long ago been made when the water was deep the town would likely not be Wichita Falls....

Wichita Bluff Was Not Ready So I Counted Benches At Lucy Park

When I left my abode today in the noon time frame it was my intention to do some communing with nature at a new location on this first blue sky day in several days.

Since they were on my way to my intended destination I dropped into their town to see if the Wichita Falls Prairie Dogs were receiving visitors.

They were.

Leaving the Prairie Dogs I turned right where I usually turn left to climb Mount Wichita, and headed north to find the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

Well.

When I reached the nice new entry to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area with its equally nice and new parking lot it was soon obvious that this was an under construction work in progress. I came to this conclusion when I saw the trail you see above was blocked with a fence and a sign which said something like "For Your Safety Proceed No Further Construction Work In Progress." I could see some buildings under construction. Likely modern restroom facilities and picnic pavilions, since those seem to be the norm in all Wichita Falls parks, just like such is the norm in most modern American towns.

So, with communing with nature at the Wichita Bluff Nature Area not available I continued northeast a short distance to Lucy Park where I had myself a mighty fine time along with a lot of other people.

The Wichita River is running a bit more water, due to recent deluging, than when I last walked beside it. The color of the water in the Wichita River reminds me of Utah's redrock zone. I rather like it. I did not see a single piece of litter floating in the river, unlike another Texas river I can think of named Trinity.

The redrock river color would not seem to be conducive to fishing, yet I saw several guys with poles angling over the water.

Way back in 2005 I was at a party at the next door neighbor of Samson and Deliah in Kent, Washington. I liked the color scheme in the neighbor's house. It reminded me of Utah. Sort of like the Wichita River color scheme you see above, Redrock orange, green, tan, brown. All that is missing is a dash of muted turquoise.

I have mentioned before that all the Wichita Falls parks I have been to have had a lot of benches. Many of the rocking sort. Along the paved trails which run all over town there are a lot of benches. And drinking fountains.

Below is an example of one of the swinging benches, strategically placed under the shade of a tree.

At one point later in my walk around Lucy Park I stood in one spot and counted 17 benches as I made a 360 degree scan of the horizon. I tried to get a photo of the plethora of benches but that did not turn out well.

World traveler, Mr. Galtex, travels the world seeking out comfortable benches and then has Mrs. Galtex snap a photo of him sitting on his latest bench discovery. Mr. Galtex would have himself a field day in the Wichita Falls parks. With no need to use his passport....

Visiting The Wichita Falls Prairie Dog Town

About a mile north of Mount Wichita in Lake Wichita Park and about two miles west of my abode's location west of Wichita Falls' Weeks Park there is a Prairie Dog Town in what is called Kiwanis Park.

I first visited the Prairie Dogs on Tuesday, after a night of heavy rain. At that point in time the Prairie Dogs were in full frolic mode, as if celebrating that the night of heavy rain and thunder was over.

Two days ago I visited the Prairie Dogs a second time to find  nary a Prairie Dog anywhere to be seen. The weather on that day was misty and foggy. Methinks Prairie Dogs are averse to any form of precipitation.

Today, with the return of blue sky, on my third visit with my neighborhood Prairie Dogs they were in full frolic mode, seeming to be having themselves a mighty fine time.

I think the Wichita Falls Prairie Dogs get a lot of friendly human visitors.  The Prairie Dogs acted way less finicky than turtles and ducks I have visited in other Texas parks.

There is a thick enclosure around Central Prairie Dog Town. I assume this installed to try and keep some control over the size of the town.

However, somehow some  adventurous Prairie Dogs with a pioneering spirit have migrated out of the enclosure and have established multiple suburbs, some a couple hundred feet from downtown Prairie Dog Town.

I have always found Prairie Dogs to be real cute and cuddly. Sort of the American version of Meerkats, which I also find cute and cuddly.  Many of the Prairie Dogs in town today appeared to be puppies. Lots of little dogs.

Below is a short video I shot today of frolicking Prairie Dogs. The Prairie Dogs you will see in this video are some of the pioneer Prairie Dogs, building new towns outside of the incorporated Wichita Falls Prairie Dog Town....

Today We Learn Mount Wichita Is A Growing Dirt Hill With A Facebook Page

Yesterday I mentioned asking a pair of college students who were walking near the base of Mount Wichita if they knew how that mountain came to be.

They knew not.

I did not mention the pair are students at Midwestern State University, the college a couple blocks north of my abode.

This morning I did some Googling attempting to get an answer to that vexing Mount Wichita question.

Previous attempts to Google such were not successful. Today's attempt was successful, using the search term "Lake Wichita Park Hill". My first blog post about this subject shows up on the results, and when one looks at images of the Lake Wichita Park Hill, my first photo I took of the mountain, I mean, hill, is the first on the list.

From the aforementioned Midwestern State University's online school newspaper, in an article from way back on October 8, 2013 I read the following....

Residents visit the park for its running trail, dog park, disc golf course and a mound of dirt unofficially named Mt. Murphy after Jack Murphy, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

“The hill started about 15 years ago,” Murphy said. “It came as a suggestion when deciding how to use the excavated dirt from the bottom of Sikes Lake.”

Murphy said the hill is 83 feet tall right now. He said the plan is to build it up to 100 feet and turn it into a local attraction with perhaps a spiraling trail going up and a metal structure on top.

So, almost three  years ago that which I call Mount Wichita was only 83 feet tall? With a plan to eventually grow the mountain another 17 feet?

Well, Mount Wichita, I mean, Mount Murphy, seems way taller than 100 feet to me. I don't think a 100 foot elevation gain would be as aerobically stimulating as is the climb to the summit of Mount Wichita.

Yes, I am sticking with the Mount Wichita name. Mount Murphy just does not work for me.

After learning how Mount Wichita came to be I saw the search results also included a Facebook page dedicated to Mount Wichita.

Except on the Facebook page Mount Wichita is called The Dirt Hill.

Reading the plethora of comments on the The Dirt Hill Facebook page I learned I am not the only one who finds the climb to the summit to be extremely aerobically stimulating.

Dredging is part of the Lake Wichita Revitalization Plan. Methinks it would be a good plan to take that which is dredged and make a couple more mountains, so as to then have the Wichita Mountains. I think a Wichita Mountain Range would make for a very good tourist attraction.

Another part of the Lake Wichita Revitalization Plan is to make a sandy beach near the base of Mount Wichita.

A mountain range with a beach. Seems like a good plan to me....

A Visit To Mount Wichita Leads Me To Visit A Dam Spillway With Water Fountains

Due to excessive rain I knew Mount Wichita would be Mount Muddy today and hence, not climbable.

But, around noon I drove to Mount Wichita anyway to have myself a walk in the mist, mist which today in Wichita Falls has been like a stereotypical winter day in the Western Washington zone of the Pacific Northwest.

Whilst walking around Mount Wichita I came upon a pair of college students who were engaged in a conversation about water moccasins.

I was not interested in snakes, but I did interrupt the snake discussion to ask if they knew the story behind what created Mount Wichita. They did not know. I then asked if they were in Wichita Falls during the five year drought.

They were.

I asked how low did Lake Wichita get during the drought. The guy of the pair told me it shrunk way back til it was just a little puddle. He got out his phone and showed me pictures of the shrunk lake.

He then said if he remembered right there was a lot of informational signage about the lake at the dam's spillway. I asked how to get there. He told me. By his directions I realized the spillway was closer to my abode than Mount Wichita. So, I left the mountain and headed to the dam spillway.

That would be the Lake Wichita dam spillway you see above, with water spilling over the spillway. Above that is the only informational signage I found, informing about the Lake Wichita Pavilion which used to exist over the lake at this location.

Via the sign I learned Lake Wichita was completed in 1901. Eventually the Lake Wichita recreation area included a hotel, vacation cottages, baseball fields, a swimming pool inside a circular building with a carousel plus the Lake Wichita Pavilion which included a cafe, skating rink and a dance hall. The pavilion burned down in 1955, with all that remains being piers sticking out of the lake which we will see in a moment.

But first I must make mention of something in the second photo above. Near the information sign is that water fountain you see in the foreground.  I have seen several water fountains along the Wichita Falls trails. Quite a nice modern big city type amenity.

Continuing on, let's walk to the top of the dam.

As you can see a paved biking, jogging, walking roller blading trail has been installed on top of the dam. This trail extends all over Wichita Falls, including running right by my new abode.

If you look at the above photo closely you can see the aforementioned Mount Wichita in the distance, on the left.

Let's continue on to the dock we see below.

As you walk to the floating dock you can also see the aforementioned Mount Wichita in the distance. The bridge one walks across to get to the dock provided some pleasing rocking motion.

Looking south from the dock we see the aforementioned remains of the Lake Wichita Pavilion.

Do I need to mention that the Lake Wichita Pavilion appears to have been a real pavilion, unlike the imaginary pavilion America's Biggest Boondoggle has foisted off on the hapless citizens of another Texas town, called Fort Worth?

Currently Wichita Falls is in the process of building a new boardwalk type deal over the lake at this location, with a real pavilion eventually added. I suspect this will all be completed long before anyone sees anything worth seeing in Fort Worth's Trinity River Uptown Central City Panther Island Vision.

From the dock I zoomed in for a foggy across the pond look at Mount Wichita, looking like a snow-free mini version of Washington's Mount Rainier.

That concludes today's look at the scenery of Wichita Falls.

I have yet to find anything here that I don't like or am appalled by.

Well, the roads in some of the parks could use some upgrading. The road to the parking lot at Mount Wichita is a bit jarring with the bumps and potholes.

Why Are There No Real Housewives Of Fort Worth With Elsie Hotpepper?

Even though I am now headquartered about 120 miles northwest of Fort Worth I see no reason not to continue the popular series of bloggings about items read in west coast online news sources which I can't imagine reading in a Fort Worth news source regarding something in Fort Worth.

I don't remember if I got this example from the Seattle Times or the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

I have no idea what SIFF is, but can you imagine something in Fort Worth called SIFF featuring Fort Worth-centered movies though history?

Sleepless in Fort Worth?

A movie titled Sleepy in Fort Worth might be doable, featuring a famous panther napping in the sleepy town's mostly moribund downtown.

Can you imagine a movie industry magazine indicating Fort Worth to be among the best places to make movies?

I can't either.

Me actually thinks Hollywood is missing out on some rich material.

Like the Fort Worth Stockyards.

There is no other city in the world which has a twice daily cattle herd of longhorns ramrodded down a city street by cowboys and cowgirls.

Is there any other city in the world which encourages hordes of locals to float in a polluted river while drinking beer and listening to music at an imaginary island with an imaginary pavilion?

A Seinfeld type TV show would have a field day of material in Fort Worth. Mayors like downtown gun shooting Moncrief and pedal pushing Betsy Price. Embarrassments like J.D. Granger. And his mama. A plethora of corrupt courts and corrupt court officials. Epic eminent domain abuse. Businesses bragging about having indoor plumbing. City parks without indoor plumbing.

Fort Worth really is a one of a kind American city which Hollywood really needs to take a look at for some fresh material.

Currently Bravo TV is running a new Real Housewives franchise, The Real Housewives of Dallas. Bravo missed an opportunity for some good TV by not going 30 miles west to Where the West Begins to show America and the world The Real Housewives of Fort Worth.

Elsie Hotpepper would make for a great Bethenny Frankel of the South....