Ignoring Trail Closed Sign Finds Nothing Happening In Dry Wichita Falls Construction Zone

I needed to do some book checking this morning. Doing so entails venturing to downtown Wichita Falls to the town's library.

I do not know if such has become the norm in libraries across the planet, but the Wichita Falls public library is the first where I have experienced automatic robotic type devices facilitating both returning and checking out books.

Extremely efficient. Freeing up librarians to do more elevated librarian tasks than checking out books.

After returning some books and checking out some new ones I ventured west to Lucy Park, with the goal for the day to roll my bike's wheels to Wichita Falls to see if I could see what is holding up the remodeling of the falls' bridge and trail upgrade, a remodeling which has rendered Wichita Falls a dry falls for months.

I am fairly certain I recollect reading that this Wichita Falls remodeling renovation would only take about a month.

As I got my bike on the Circle Trails and aimed towards Wichita Falls I was not rolling long before I came to a trail blockage with a sign saying "TRAIL CLOSED".  I could see by the path worn around the blockage that others before me had scofflawed past the Trail Closed sign.

When I got to the currently dry falls I saw that which you see above and below. As in, nothing going on. Nobody to  be seen working  on this project. There were multiple indications that working on this project has been dormant for some time. Indications such as undisturbed mud. And no construction equipment in evidence.

What you are looking at above is the new bridge which replaced the bridge which had been deemed not worthy of approval by the criteria of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Past the bridge the old version of the Circle Trail has been removed, exposing dirt awaiting the installation of the new pavement of a wider trail.

No clue as to what has stalled this project, leaving Wichita Falls dry at that time of year when a lot of tourists pass through town, wondering where the falls in Wichita Falls is located...

Sunday Evening Wichita Falls Circle Trail Bike Exploration Ends With Log Jam

Yester Sunday morning a thunderstorm downpour nixed my plan to roll my wheels on the section of the Wichita Falls Circle Trail I had not previously seen, and thus did not know the route by which the Circle Trail made its way from my abode to the Wichita River.

By yester Sunday evening the sky had returned to being mostly blue and the morning moat which had surrounded my abode had drained, thus allowing access to the Circle Trail and the aforementioned rolling of my wheels where they had not rolled before.

Previous to yesterday's revealing rolling I erroneously assumed the Circle Trail somehow made its way north through the massive maze of highways intersecting at the southeast side of downtown Wichita Falls.

Instead of going under that maze of highways the Circle Trail heads much further east than I figured it did, continuing to follow Holliday Creek and the Holliday Creek Gorge, in the same manner as the Circle Trail follows Holliday Creek as it passes my abode.

The only major highway the Circle Trail goes under is Highway 287, just a short distance west of the Castaway Cove Waterpark.

Continuing north from Castaway Cove the Circle Trail passes under Scott Avenue, which was the main drag through Wichita Falls prior to freeways coming to town. I knew I was coming up on Scott Avenue because I saw the abandoned motel eyesores I had previously been appalled by, gone out of business due to the traffic diversion onto the freeways.

A mile or two after passing under Scott Avenue I came to the scene you see at the top. A gazebo overlooking an incoming creek joining Holliday Creek on its journey to the Wichita River. This gazebo has a bike repair/tire pump station. There are several of these located on the Circle Trail. The incoming creek is to the left in the picture, a bridge takes the Circle Trail over that creek with the Circle Trail then beginning a long descent on its way under a railroad bridge.

Soon after passing under the railroad bridge I realized I was nearing Williams Park.

Last Thursday after doing some after hours art walking in downtown Wichita Falls I biked to Williams Park from the MPEC (Multi-Purpose Event Center). Prior to reaching Williams Park I made the surprising discovery of the site of the original Wichita Falls.

Last night I pedaled through Williams Park, then past where I had turned around on Thursday, but I did not pedal all the way to the location of the original Wichita Falls. The sun's light was beginning to slightly dim, so I stopped at the location you see below, then turned around to start the roll back to my abode.

The rocking bench you see above overlooks a big log jam on the Wichita River. I have no way of knowing if this log jam is a permanent feature, or something which was the result of a recent high water event. Log jams such as this have been known to go from jam to dam.

I have greatly enjoyed my newly expanded look at the Circle Trail. It would be nice, however, if the Circle Trail actually made a circle, with its missing sections filled in, so that one could make a round the town trip rather than having to backtrack from whence one came.

That and it would also be a good thing if some other paved trails were added, providing additional ways to roll around town, in addition to the Circle Trail which will eventually, literally, actually roll all the way around town...

Thunderstorm Downpour Nixes Sunday's Wichita Falls Bike Ride

Anticipating a long bike ride this Sunday morning, when I checked the weather forecast I was pleased to see nothing wet or booming was on the menu for the time frame I expected to be rolling my wheels.

But, despite the forecast and what was on the weather menu, the sky this morning looked threatening from the time the sun began illuminating.

And then sometime around ten I heard booming in the distance, which grew louder as the minutes passed.

A unexpected, unpredicted, unwanted thunderstorm had come to town.

Eventually I opted to sit outside to watch from my patio venue the lightning striking in the distance.

As time passed the lightning grew ever closer and the booming ever louder.

And then one bright strike and simultaneous boom, along with a downpour, caused me to seek interior shelter.

I retreated to the location of my camera to retrieve it and then returned to the patio exit, sliding open the door to take the deluging photo you see above.

Until the rain ceases and drainage occurs I am now surrounded by a moat, whose passage past requires a floating device or getting wet wading.

I have a floating device in the form  of a  kayak, but I enjoy wading.  I do not know which means I will use should I decide to escape before the moat subsides...

After Hours Artwalk Leads To Closed Circle Trail With Original Wichita Falls

Yester evening after an hour of walking around the downtown Wichita Falls After Hours Artwalk I got my bike out of its truck bed storage location and pedaled to the Circle Trail, intending to head west to Lucy Park, checking out what I thought would be the newly re-furbished Wichita Falls, with a new bridge and trail improvements.

Instead I came to what you see here, a Trail Closed sign with another sign behind that sign saying Falls & Trail Closed for Construction.

I thought this construction was supposed to be done being constructed. Don't I remember reading the project would take about a month? And that I read that months ago?

The closed trail soon turned from a lemon into lemonade when I turned my bike around and headed the other direction, with the Circle Trail passing through landscape which created the illusion I had left the city to enter a verdant, lush jungle of green following the Wichita River.

Within a half mile I found myself passing the Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture on the opposite bank of the river. Shortly after that I began hearing the sound of water flowing in rapids mode.

And then I came to something I did not know still existed, much less expect to see.

Those rapids I was hearing were at the location of the original Wichita Falls, which I thought had long totally disappeared during a flood way back late in the century which preceded the previous century, as in sometime in the late 1800s.

My weak photographer skills did not do justice to the Wichita River water which was moving rapidly behind the sign which tells us...

THE ORIGINAL FALLS ON THE BIG WICHITA RIVER FOR WHICH THE CITY WAS NAMED

One of the Circle Trail's swinging benches overlooks the site of the original Wichita Falls. I sat and swung for awhile before continuing in a easterly direction.

I was not long back rolling my wheels, or so it seemed, when I was surprised to find myself already at Williams Park. I think at that point it was only four miles, give or take a mile or two, back to my abode's location adjacent the Circle Trail.

But, I needed to reverse direction so as to return to my bike hauling vehicle.

As I started to head west I realized the illuminating orb was beginning to retreat from its daily lighting duty.

The impending setting of the sun caused me to increase the speed I was rolling my wheels. Even so, I stopped at the Original Wichita Falls for one more photo.

A sunset view of that aforementioned swinging bench overlooking what remains of Wichita Falls.

Why did I not know that one could still find the original Wichita Falls, and that such was marked by signage? I have perused multiple publications about Wichita Falls and never came upon this information.

The main thing I discovered, besides Wichita Falls, from yester evening's bike ride, is that doing such late in the day makes for a pleasant, shady ride, unlike doing the same thing in the middle of a HOT day.

I think I will be making visiting Wichita Falls a monthly thing after I walk around the monthly downtown Wichita Falls After Hours Artwalk...

Wichita Bluff Nature Area Looking Good Nearing Completion

Yesterday after watching the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade I decided Independence Day was a good day to check out the current state of construction of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area and that area's extension of the Circle Trail which circles Wichita Falls with a few gaps.

Well, I was pleased to see there has been a lot of progress with the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

When completed this will give the Circle Trail something it lacks on all its other miles.

A hill.

Not a steep hill, but an elevation gain which will require some gear shifting whilst pedaling uphill and some braking whilst coasting downhill. In addition to the Circle Trail this Nature Area also has the possibility of hiking trails being added, meandering up and down the bluff, maybe all the way to the Wichita River.

Below you are looking at part of the new section of the Circle Trail, sloping downhill. Railing will need to be added due to the fact that there is a steep drop off on the left side of the trail.

Below we have walked down the slope to the bottom of the gorge, to the new bridge taking the Circle Trail across a creek the name of which is not known to me. Wichita Bluff Creek? Sounds good to me. From the bridge we are ascending back up the slope, hence the view you see here.

I do not know if when it is completed the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area will be a natural area of the caliber of the one I miss in Fort Worth, that being the Tandy Hills Nature Area.

It has been well over a year since I have had the pleasure of experiencing one of the few things unique about Fort Worth, that being a wild natural area so close to the sleepy town's downtown.

In a few months my monthly trip back to D/FW will shift west from Euless to south Haltom City, which is near Gateway Park and the Tandy Hills. I suspect I will be returning to the Tandy Hills in the near future for some salubrious hill hiking and nature communing.

In the meantime I hope the Wichita Bluff Nature Area finally finishes being constructed, with a grand opening celebration. Likely with no TNT explosions.  Wichita Falls is a much more sane, sensible town than the previous Texas town I lived in....

2017 Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade

The 2017 Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade is now history.

This year's downtown Wichita Falls 4th parade experience was much more pleasant than last years, due to the temperature being perfectly pleasant this year, while last year was hot and humid.

This year I arrived at the parade location later than last year, thus a shorter wait til the parade began parading by.

Whilst waiting I called my mom. About one minute into talking to my mom the parade started up, two blocks to the north from my parade viewing location. Leading the parade were police and fire truck vehicles in blowing their horns and sirens mode. So loud mom heard it all the way in Arizona.

I have never been to parades, anywhere, where I have seen so much candy tossed to parade watching kids, as what I have witnessed in Wichita Falls. It is like Halloween without the trick or treating.

And kids come prepared with bags to hold their candy loot. In addition to candy I also saw beads being tossed, like Mardis Gras in New Orleans.

I took no photos of the Sheppard Air Force Base contingent as they marched by. My camera was in video mode at that point in time. You  can watch the video of the military marchers below.

Before we get to the video let's take a look at some of what I saw parading today.

I do not remember horses with cowboys and cowgirls in last year's Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade. Or maybe they were there and it was a marching band I remember missing. Which was also the case this year. With several high schools in town one would think there would be a marching band  or two, such as I always heard whilst viewing the Arlington 4th of July Parade.

I like the multiple homemade family float type entries in the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade. Such reminded me of years ago when my dad would build us kids elaborate floats for the Burlington Berry Dairy Days Parade. We often won first place.

I also like entries such as the above pickup with a couple candy tossers riding on the tailgate. I believe these type things are known as Classic Americana.

Above we see some of the candy scramblers in action.

Cub Scouts were doing the flag waving on this entry. Red, white and blue seemed to be the dominant color theme for the day, for obvious reasons.

And now the video where you will hear the loud start of the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade and see the flags of multiple nations march by carried by Sheppard Air Force Base Airmen and Airwomen...

The Last Time Together Of All Mom & Dad's Children

When I woke up my phone this morning I saw that which you see above, sent by Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew, Jason. Somewhere in my current abode is the hard copy version of this photo. Mom and dad included a framed version of such in a Christmas package a couple Christmases ago.

I believe the above photo documents the last time all my mom and dad's children were assembled at the same time. This was on Saturday, July 27, 2002, at the Lynden Fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington. We were all at this location to attend a Slotemaker-Jones family reunion, which was the biggest such family even in  Slotemaker-Jones family history.

That would be dad and mom sitting in front.  All my favorite nephews are in this photo. From the left we see nephews Joey and Jason, then Joey and Jason's temporary step-mom,  Jill, with their dad, my brother Jake's arm around Jill. Next we have my sister Jackie, standing next to her first husband, my favorite brother-in-law, Jack. Next to Jack is my sister Clancy, then me, in front of Jack and Jackie's first born, my nephew Christopher, then my little sister, Michele, with Christopher's little brother, Jeremy, on the far right.

A 2017 version of this photo, if one had been possible, would have included mom and dad's one and only great-grandson, Spencer Jack, along with nephews David and Theo, and my one and only niece, Ruby.

I should have gone to Arizona this past Christmas....

Early Morning Mount Wichita Volcano Ride With No Firecrackers

Soon after the first July Monday morning sun arrived, after being fueled by coffee, I opted to roll my wheels, and my handlebars, for a few miles to the west, to get myself an up close look at the Mount Wichita pseudo semi-volcano, which appears, here, to be erupting, with lava spewing from the volcano's crater, flowing down the south side of the volcano.

Or that may be an eroded trail to the top of the volcano, and not a lava spew.

For well over a year I have looked out my kitchen window whilst brewing my morning coffee to see a lot of Wichita Fallers out on the Circle Trail, with the majority in rolling their bike wheels mode, along with some joggers, skateboarders, stroller pushers and walkers.

With me back in bike riding mode this seemed like a good morning to join the throng on the Circle Trail.

Tomorrow, what with it being the 4th of July, the only thing I sort of know I am doing for sure, is going to downtown Wichita Falls to watch the 4th of July Parade.

I have been asked to go to Charlie in the afternoon for that little town's 4th of July celebration. Charlie is about 20 miles northeast of Wichita Falls, slightly south of the Red River, and Oklahoma. All I know about the Charlie 4th is it involves listening to music and consuming watermelon.

I have yet to hear a single firecracker cracking.

My old home zone in Washington was always like being in a war zone during the 4th of July period. Not that I have actually ever been in a war zone, but I imagine such to be like the explosiveness I used to experience this time of year at my location in Mount Vernon.

From my very first 4th of July in Texas, late in the last century, til the present, I have found Texas to be surprisingly quiet during the 4th of July period. I had expected Texas to be extremely noisy. I suppose a lot of the lack of Texas 4th of July noise is due to the lack of easy access to buying fireworks, what with there being only a couple Indian Reservations in Texas, where Washington has dozens of Indian Reservations selling fireworks.

And tobacco.

And operating casinos...

J.D. Granger Spews Trumpish Bridge Propaganda Exposed By Captain Andy

On the day of my return from a couple week escape from Texas, Elsie Hotpepper sent me a link to an article in the Fort Worth Business Press titled TRV bridge construction begins anew.

I read the article to find myself pretty much appalled and once again thinking to myself that the sad town of Fort Worth really does suffer from having no legitimate newspaper doing actual investigative journalism.

To recap, several years ago, with much explosive fanfare, the Trinity River Vision Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision had a big celebration to celebrate the start of construction of three simple little bridges which were to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

I do not remember how long there was some constructive effort before the bridge building ground to an unexplained halt. A halt which was reported in what passes for a newspaper in Fort Worth, to be expected to last only a month. That month soon stretched to over a year.

No Fort Worth local news source seemed interested in finding out the reason for America's Biggest Boondoggle's bridge building problem.

And now in the Fort Worth Business Press we learn that building those bridges is supposedly once again underway.

However, Fort Worth's Captain Andy drove by the "construction" zone where activity was alleged to have resumed, to find that nothing is happening, at least such as what is visible to a passing eye. Maybe a microscope could detect some bridge building activity.

Captain Andy took a few photos of the bridge construction ghost town. But, before we get to those let us look at what J.D. Granger had to say about this embarrassing debacle in the article in the Fort Worth Business Press....

After being on hold for about a year, “the bridge cages here are well underway. We had a tough issue going on with the contractor who was making a lot of design claims and problems with it. Our team, the city of Fort Worth and TxDOT were saying ‘no it’s the way you’re building it,’” Granger said.

“We went ahead and did a [6 ft. tall, 8 ft. wide and 20 ft. long] mockup of it, we cut that section open and sure enough it showed the design was very good. So, with that the bridge contract is now going full speed once again,” he said.

Now, spend some time digesting the lunacy of what J.D. Granger is telling you in the above two paragraphs.

Bridge cages are well underway? What does that mean? They had a tough issue with the contractor who saw problems with the design? Which had J.D.'s team telling the contractor the problem was with the way the contractor was building it? And so J.D., and his team, built a mockup of the bridge piers, which they cut open to show the design was very good, which he claims has the bridge contract once again going full speed?

Going full speed ahead, except Captain Andy detected no sign of anything happening.

The FWBP article also claimed...

They expect to begin pouring concrete piers for the North Main bridge in mid-July, and plan to continue pouring one new pier every two weeks until all bridges are complete.

I have never understood how it is these pier forms, into which concrete is to be poured, are supposed to support a bridge deck. Were massive concrete foundations already in place under the piers? It looks like these piers are being built on the surface, with no foundation. How is a ditch dug under these bridges after they are already built?

So many questions, but never any answers.

And now Captain Andy's photo documentation of the current status of nothing actually happening with America's Biggest Boondoggle's bridge construction.

First off, the million dollar aluminum homage to a trash can, installed at the roundabout which is near the only one of the three bridges to get to any state of construction. This is among the locations where, years ago, the Trinity River Vision abused eminent domain to take property, and now years after that theft, pretty much nothing has been done with the property which was taken for a bogus ill-considered, badly planned, ineptly implemented flood control economic development project.

A drive by somewhat closeup look at one of the wooden pier forms looking no different than it has looked for years. After concrete is poured into these forms, supposedly a bridge deck will be added.

Below we see two even closer looks where nothing appears to have changed where J.D. Granger claims the Boondoggle's bridge building is now going full speed again. Claimed by Granger to be going full speed again when the bridge building has never gone full speed. Is Granger a fan of Trump? Is he emulating Trump's penchant for spewing falsehoods?

How is it that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram does not cover this debacle? Asking questions which need to be asked? Or editorializing that it is long past J.D. Granger's expiration date?

We surely now know the answer to that question asking what could go wrong with putting an unqualified son of a local congresswoman in charge of a public works project for which he had zero training. Was it really worth it, giving this boy this job, just to motivate his mama to secure federal funds to keep her offspring gainfully employed til he reaches retirement age?

And, if I have said it once, I have said it more than once, Fort Worth suffers due to the town not having any actual legitimate newspaper...

Jack Slotemaker: December 12,1930 - June 30,2017: A Very Special Dad & Grandpa

I woke up my phone this first morning of July to find a message from my sister Jackie...

"Sorry. 9:28-he's at peace."

Another message was from my sister Michele, which simply said "Found this on my phone".

The "this" to which Michele refers is the photo you see here, me, dad and mom. It took some thinking but I think this photo was taken a little over five years ago, soon after I touched down at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, waiting for my checked in bags to arrive.

I am having trouble processing how we went from being so happy watching dad walk to his room, and making jokes and teasing so recently, to this.

When I checked email this morning the first message I saw was from my dad's first grandson, Spencer Jack's dad, my brother Jake's eldest son, Jason.

The subject line of Jason's email was A Very Special Dad & Grandpa.

Uncle Dean,

I received late news tonight of your dad's passing.  Lot of emotions and thoughts.  My initial thoughts of your dad, my grandpa, is that I cannot think of a more patient, humble, kind and loving man.

As I digest the news of my first grand parent passing, I thought I'd share the photo you see here, plus the following text (a chapter from a draft of my own dad's book on his childhood):

Dad worked a laborers job Monday thru Friday, with the weekends and a one paid week vacation off a year. He’d leave his work at work. His job was a means to provide for his family, nothing more. It was not a career. There was no chance of advancement. It was just a job, a job at a small town milk processing plant. If there was ever a complaint regarding his work, we never heard it.

Mom and Dad’s day began with a 3:30 a.m. alarm clock awakening. Our kitchen/dining room was one large room with a door separating the living room and a door separating the kitchen and hall leading to the bedrooms. Mom would get up with Dad to make his breakfast and lunch and they’d close the normally open hall and living room doors to keep any noise level at its lowest level so we could stay asleep.  Mom would go back to bed after Dad left for work and would be up again to get us off to school. Dad punched in at 4:30 a.m. and was back home by 1:30 p.m. Afternoons and weekends were his to... (And it goes without saying Mom had a part in all of this.) Were his to…….

….build a float for the Berry Dairy Days parade.
….coach Little League and Babe Ruth baseball teams.
….just play catch along side of the house.
….take us camping, and camping, and camping.
….visit the Grandmas and one Grandpa until he died. The Grandmas lived within three blocks of each other in Lynden. Fun Grandma Vera who consumed alcoholic beverages and smoked cigarettes, (she quit both vices later in life), and religious Grandma Slotemaker who read the Bible daily.
….take us fishing, plunking from shore on the Skagit river.
….take us salt water fishing for salmon, cod, and halibut in the waters of the Puget Sound.
….go digging for horse clams and wading for Dungeness crabs on the tide flats of 
an island named Samish at the south end of Bellingham bay.
….take us to experience the beauty of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park and Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho, Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, Redwoods National Park in northern California, and Olympic National Park in Washington, and also to play in the snow of what is now North Cascades National Park while searching for the perfect Christmas tree.
….take us to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Cable cars, and Lombard Street. The Tar Pits in downtown Los Angeles, and the Ambassador Hotel two weeks following the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy who had just won the California Democratic primary
….take us to San Diego to Sea World and then across the border to Tijuana to barter for trinkets.
….take us to the coastal tide flats of the Pacific Ocean to dig Razor clams.
….take us to experience the light show illuminating the waters of the Columbia River cascading over the Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington while on a camping trip to Sun Lakes State Park.” Roll on Columbia roll on.”
…. take us to the 1962 Worlds Fair in Seattle to shake hands with astronaut John Glenn who had just finished his February 20, Friendship 7 mission of orbiting the earth three times.
….take us to meet LBJ at the Peace Arch in Blaine
….teach us the value of money and hard work
….take us Easter egg hunting.
….teach us to be respectful of our elders.
….teach us to owe up to our mistakes.
…. attend every school event.
….be home every night for dinner.
….build a foosball table in the garage using plywood and wood dowels, because buying new in the store was too expensive.
….build a rocking horse in our backyard using an old bike frame and coil car spring bought from Larry’s Auto Wrecking. We had played on a fiberglass shaped horse at a park in Everett and Dad saw how much fun it was for us.
….teach us to drive so we could pass our drivers test the day we turned 16.
….take us trick or treating until we all had at least one paper grocery bag full of candy.
….have an extra paper grocery bag (paper or plastic was not an option) to replace the grass soaked bag whose bottom fell out.
…. be there for you no matter what.
….love you and your better half.

Hope all is well with you, and I'm glad you ventured to see him.  - Jason.