Heading South On The Wichita Falls Circle Trail Finding Sidewalks With No Boondoggles

Yesterday I opted to head north on the Circle Trail after leaving the relative comfort of my abode.

Today I opted to head south on the Circle Trail after leaving the relative comfort of my abode.

Tomorrow I will be opting to head neither south or north on the Circle Trail after leaving the relative comfort of my abode.

Tomorrow I will be heading southeast after I leave the relative comfort of my abode.

I do not currently know how far southeast I will be heading tomorrow. Multiple variables are yet to be determined.

Regarding today's walk south on the Circle Trail. As you can see, this section of the circle is very straight, heading towards Kemp Boulevard and Lake Wichita Dam.

I did not make it to the dam today.

Instead I opted to route through a neighborhood to the west, leaving the Circle Trail to walk on a Wichita Falls novelty called sidewalks, which I rarely had available to me when I walked in the primitive Texas burg which calls itself Fort Worth.

Fort Worth should send some sort of task force to Wichita Falls to find out how Wichita Falls manages to have roads with sidewalks on both sides of the street, and parks with modern restroom facilities, with nary a primitive outhouse to be found.

And no embarrassing Boondoggles run by the unqualified son of a local corrupt politician....

Happy Holliday Creek Walk Along The Circle Trail

Hope y'all are having yourselves a mighty fine merry day after Christmas.

Warm air and blue sky has returned to my location on the planet.

A week ago today I super fast walked in sub-freezing air to Lake Wichita Dam.

I have had a hitch in my get-a-long, to varying degrees, ever since last Monday's super fast frigid walk.

Today I decided to take my aching self on a walk along the Circle Trail. That would be a view of that walk you are looking at here, looking north. That stream of water surrounded by freeze burned grass is Holliday Creek.

I do not know why Holliday Creek is spelled with two l's, unlike the Happy Holiday version of the word. I assume the creek is named after some guy whose last name was Holliday, with two l's.

On the east, or right side of Holliday Creek, in this view, is the Weeks Golf Course. I saw multiple golfers tooling about in their golf carts, enjoying the return of reasonable weather.

Going on a slow leisurely walk seems to have had an abating effect on my get-a-long's hitch. I suppose I should, or could, take myself some ibuprofen. But, I do not like taking potent painkillers....

Spencer Jack Takes His Dad White Christmas Sledding In My Old Neighborhood

Spencer Jack and his dad texted me a few minutes ago from Eaglemont in my old home zone of Mount Vernon in the almost always Evergreen State of Washington.

After the incoming Spencer Jack text message an incoming phone call arrived from Spencer Jack of the old-fashioned talk mode.

During the course of that phone call, for the first time ever, Spencer Jack Merry Christmas-ed me, and I he.

Prior to finding sled worthy hills at Eaglemont, Spencer Jack took his dad to my exact old home location at 1114 Pawnee Lane. Spencer is standing in front of my mailbox. My house is up the cul-de-sac on the left, barely visible.

The short Pawnee Lane cul-de-sac becomes a sledding mecca during those rare times there is enough snow to warrant such. I remember one winter where we were snowbound for well over a week. No vehicles. The hills in my neighborhood became alive with sliding merriment well into the night.

However, as you can see, sliding was not doable on Pawnee Lane this particular Christmas.

Eaglemont is a golf course country club type deal up the hill from Pawnee Lane. Very steep hills. When I first learned to mountain bike it was the Eaglemont hills which got me in shape for Moab and Slickrock.

Spencer sent me two videos. For some reason I could not view and edit them, this time, via my usual method. I just got a blank black screen. So, I was unable to morph the two videos into one. But, they are short and you can use your own ample imagination to morph the videos....

Spencer Jack Is Having Himself A Rare Skagit White Christmas

I mentioned earlier that whilst I was wind walking around Sikes Lake I got an incoming text message from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason.

That text message included the photo you see here, along with a screen cap from Seattle's KOMO TV showing Santa in the midst of delivering, according to KOMO, seven billion presents.

Looking past Spencer Jack's Christmas tree, through the window, the outer world appears to be white. And I'm not just talking about the white vehicle.

The text in the message confirms that outer world being white thing...

FUD---Santa arrived here some time last night while I was sleeping.

I am now waiting on FNSJ to arrive.

As you know, he maintains two residences here in Mount Vernon, one on the Skagit flat farmland and one on the hill. His home on the hill is enjoying a white Christmass this morning. The snow which arrived two days ago and has stuck around providing white Christmas.

FNSJ has asked that I take him to the Eaglemont area today to do some Christmas snow sledding.

I don't recall the last time we had a White Christmas in the Skagit Valley.

Hope Santa found you at your new residence. Have yourself a very Merry Christmas.

Just as I was about to hit the publish button on this blogging a new incoming text message arrived from Spencer Jack and his dad. This one included sledding video to be YouTubed and then added to a blogging.

Extreme Christmas Deflation Prior To Windy Wichita Falls Walking At Sikes Lake

For Christmas illustrative blogging purposes my plan today, prior to walking around Sikes Lakes, was to journey a slight distance further north on Taft Boulevard to photo document, in daylight, the biggest display I have ever seen of Christmas inflatables.

Well.

Due to this bout of extreme weather we are currently weathering, that biggest display of Christmas inflatables is currently deflated, I assume so as to prevent the wind from blowing Santa and his friends into the next county.

I will try and remember to return when the inflatables are once again full of air, before they leave when the new year arrives.

The way back south to Sikes Lake takes me by the parking lot for the Polar Express.

The Polar Express consists of multiple trams which haul Polar Expressers on an after dark journey through a winter wonderland of Christmas lights the likes of which I have seldom, if ever, seen.

I must remember to try and photo document that which the Polar Express sees before the lights disappear for the year.

By the time I got to Sikes Lake the wind was in full gusty mode. I saw one person step out of his vehicle to instantly find his baseball cap airborne at high velocity. I wish it had occurred to me to get out my camera and video document that guy's chase of his windblown cap.

I was not long into walking into the gale when my phone made its patented incoming text message noise. It was Spencer Jack's dad with a snowy Christmas message with photos.

After reading the text message I re-inserted the phone into its pocket and took my camera out of its pocket and put it in video mode. That video is viewable below. The wind is very loud, drowning out my commenting, for the most part.....

Thick Fog From Texas To Washington With Ice & Snow

This morning I blogged about my foggy outlook on the outer world in A Very Foggy Merry Christmas Eve Morning.

A couple hours later my phone made its incoming text message noise.

The text message noise was coming from Spencer Jack and his dad, with the following message...

Thick fog, with ice and snow, here today too.

Along with the picture you see here.

The "too" part of this message is a bit erroneous, due to the fact that the fog I was trying to see through this morning contained no ice or snow.

In the picture it appears Spencer Jack is driving his dad north on the I-5 freeway, about to exit to Highway 20, in my old hometown of Burlington.

If it were not foggy, to the right, you would be seeing what would be called a "mountain" in Texas, but is just known as Burlington Hill in the Skagit Valley, a location from which one can see actual mountains no matter which direction one looks.

Speaking of fog (and who isn't?) the fog has now lifted at my location.

What you are looking at above is the same view from my computer room window we had a foggy out look from this morning, with the sky now clear, with no mountains to be seen.

Actually the dirt hill known as Mount Wichita is about two miles in the distance, to the right. Also known as to the southwest. However, Mount Wichita does not reach a high enough elevation to render it visible from two miles away.

A Very Foggy Merry Christmas Eve Morning

Living close to the ocean it is no surprise when the sun arrives for the day to find that a pea soup fog has rolled in, rendering visibility only a couple hundred foggy feet in the distance.

Such is the case at my location on the planet on this Christmas Eve Morning of the Year 2016.

The view you see here is via my computer room window, looking at a car slowly plowing its way through the fog, heading north on Taft Boulevard in the port city of Wichita Falls, Texas.

I am almost 100% certain no ships are currently sailing on the nearby body of water known as Lake Wichita. I am not totally 100% certain this lack of sailing ships has anything to do with this morning's pea soup fog.

I do not know when, or if, today's Christmas Eve fog is scheduled to lift. I do know today's temperature is scheduled to be somewhere in the 60s.

Fog or not, I intend to have myself a mighty fine very Merry Christmas Eve, and I hope yours is mighty fine too.....

Fast Fudge Free Caribbean Tour Before Circle Trailing Home

Yesterday events conspired to prevent me from acquiring my daily prescription dose of endorphins gained the natural method via aerobic activity.

In the past couple days the mail person has delivered three packages which contained cookies and one which contained fudge.

Lots of fudge.

I am not used to consuming large quantities of nutritionally bereft buttery sugar products.

By this morning I was almost totally recovered from overdosing on sugar. I won't make the same mistake today.

And already today I have acquired by daily prescription dose of endorphins. Acquired via moving fast in bipedal mode through my Caribbean neighborhood, going from Barbados to Haiti to Grenada and then back to my abode via the non-Caribbean Circle Trail.

That is the Circle Trail you see above, via a photo taken a few minutes ago, looking north at a cold trail and a stormy sky.

Thunderstorms and rain and relatively high temperatures nearing 80 are on the menu for Christmas at my location.

Nothing like a few bolts of lightning and thunder booms to get a person totally in the Christmas spirit....

First Day Of Winter Attacked By An Old Lady In ALDI

This particular blog title is inspired by the new fake news fake headline ethic. Except in this case the headline title is sort of accurate.

Changing the subject from this blogging's title.

That is Google's First Day of Winter greeting from today you are looking at here. When one clicks its play button snowflakes begin to fall.

That's all. Click and snowflakes fall.

The Arctic Blast has retreated from my location, rendering the outer world less winter-like than it was a day or two ago.

Right now the outer world temperature is approaching 60.

Almost balmy.

I think I may have had my first encounter with a Trump empowered nincompoop today.

I was in line at ALDI.

A store where the line moves fast.  Sort of the antithesis of the Walmart line waiting experience.

I was waiting for the lady ahead of me to move forward, so I could push my cart forward, and thus easily unload onto the conveyor belt, when the borderline elderly lady behind me aggressively tapped me on the shoulder and officiously informed me I could begin unloading my cart now.

I told the overbearing busy body that I was waiting til there was more room. She then informed me there was plenty of room.

I ignored the lady, and then when I was able to easily unload the few items I was buying, I did so, After which I stuck one of the marking sticks on the conveyor belt. After which the officious lady thanked me.

I am not sure, but I suspect the look I gave this lady likely would be characterized as glaring, with me hoping my non-verbal communicating communicated something appropriate that indicated I thought her to be an overbearing officious moron.

As I wheeled away I heard this lady lecturing the checkout person about something. I suspect this lady is one of those who goes through her day having one idiotic confrontation after another, and considers such behavior to be normal.

So, that has been my first day of winter so far....

I Don't Think Spencer Jack's UPS Bobblehead Voted For Trump

I think, if I remember right, that yesterday I mentioned that whilst I was walking towards Lake Wichita my phone made its incoming text message noise.

When I got to a safe place I took the phone out of its pocket to find that the text message was from Spencer Jack's dad, and included the photo you see here.

I saved the photo attachment but somehow, in my high technology ineptness, deleted the text of the message.

Near as I can recall, and keep in mind I was outside in bright sunlight with a temperature well below freezing, but near as I can remember the message was something along the line of....

Aunts Clancy and Fancy sent Spencer a Xmas package to the wrong address. Don't know if Grandma and Grandpa helped with the address info. The Xmas package included that which you see here, a life size UPS Bobblehead which Clancy and Fancy apparently had made for themselves as some sort of morphed combination of their memorable likenesses. And then, apparently the morphed combination was extremely photoshopped, hence this UPS Bobblehead appears to have only one chin.

Hope you're having a good Monday and that those Electors do the right thing and not vote for that narcissistic, sociopathic madman.

Well, it is now Tuesday and now we know those Electors did the wrong thing in not doing their duty regarding the intended purpose of the Electoral College, that being that that institution is the failsafe the Founders added to the Constitution as a final defense against a populist madman becoming president.

I found a couple incoming Christmas packages in the mail yesterday. But no UPS Bobblehead from Clancy and Fancy.....