Golfing Lake Wichita Dam To Rock and Roll Windy Lake Wichita

Last night, whilst watching my one hour of TV allotment, during the entire hour a wind warning message scrolled across the screen, interrupted every few screen crosses by being replaced with a warning graphic in the upper left corner.

I find this type TV weather warning far less annoying, and far more useful, than the Weather Drama Queen nonsense I used to be subjected to on DFW TV whenever weather got a little dicey.

So, around noon I decided to ignore some of the warnings and drove my motorized means of motion to Lake Wichita Dam, where I hoped to see big waves breaking across the lake.

Above you are looking at the face of the earthen Lake Wichita Dam. I do not recollect having shown this view before. The humans you see on the dam are golfing in the wind on the new Disc Golf Course which has been installed at this location since my last visit.

And below you are looking at one of those new Disc Golf installations. And whitecaps on Lake Wichita. The waves do not look quite ready for a surfboard.

I thought video of the walk down to the floating dock might be fun. I figured the wind would be so noisy my pithy commentary would not be able to be heard. So, from the top of the dam all the way to the floating dock I had my camera in video mode.

When I got the video off the camera and onto the computer I quickly saw I wanted to edit out all but the part where I get near the dock and begin getting pummeled by wind and waves.

However, the new version of Windows does not have the easy to use Windows Movie Maker of the quality level I was used to easily using. The video editing program which comes with Windows 10 was able to trim out what which I did not want. But I could not then figure out how to save what remained.

Frustrating.

And Googling for help was no help, other than pointing me to the Microsoft Store where I was able to download the new version of Movie Maker made for Windows 10.

However, I was also unable to figure out how to get the new Movie Maker to trim that which I did not want.

Again. Frustrating. It used to be so easy.

So, I uploaded the whole video to YouTube. Then I tried out the new YouTube Studio and its video editing. I was once again easily able to trim the excess, but was again unable to figure out how to save the result.

Which leaves us with the entire windy noisy video. At about the 54 second mark you come to what I was actually trying to use, and lose all which came before that mark.

When I am out on the floating dock you can actually hear me over the wind. Mostly because I think I was sort of screaming in shock at the rocking and rolling and getting splashed by incoming waves...

Great Google Work On No Policy Violations With Other Nonsense

This week has seen a few things I've not seen before showing up in my email inbox.

The first one was from Google AdSense.

The subject line in that email was instantly disturbing...

Your AdSense Publisher Policy Violation Report for pub-7334641582664711 on Feb 17, 2019

That was just the subject line. The message in the email was a long one, and had me thinking I had committed some sort of egregious crime, well, violation.

It took some link clicking in the email message to figure out the "violation" was on a long ago blog post titled Clothing Optional Hippie Hollow Nude Beach in Austin.

I looked at that ancient blog post, and saw that the only thing which I thought might possibly be objected to was the selfie photo of myself minimally attired. But that seemed totally tasteful, to me.

So, I then clicked the option which allowed me to ask that this "violation" be reviewed, because I believed there to be no problem of the violation sort.

The response to that request told me the review could take up to ten days, and that ad serving to that page would continue whilst it was being reviewed.

In less than 24 hours, as in the next morning, I got another email from Google AdSense telling me that the review of my violation had been completed, and to click a link for more information.

I did so, clicked the link and came to a webpage on which all that was written was....

Keep up the great work

You have no policy violations

Oh my, putting me through this stressful nightmare, and then to be found innocent. What a relief.

And then there was the following email, which you see screen capped above, with the actual email including the partial screen cap of the blog post in question...

________________

Please Remove Post from 2012

Hi Durango,

While I do not find your post offensive the comments are not accurate and I have a career outside American Idol now so I would like it if you could please remove this from your site. 

Thanks, 

Johnny Keyser

Many Viewers Not Happy With The Unexplained Dismissal Of Johnny Keyser

________________

So, I clicked on the link to read the blog post which was written so long ago I had no memory of it, til reminded by re-reading it. Is Google still indexing this blog post? Does it show up if one Googles "Johnny Keyser"?

Just a second, I will go find out...

Well, I went many pages deep without the Many Viewers Not Happy With The Unexplained Dismissal Of Johnny Keyser showing up.

Reading the blog post and the comments I can see why Mr. Keyser did not find the post offensive. But, I don't see what is so inaccurate about any of the comments. And comments are just that, comments, as in someone's opinion. Not necessarily factual.

I can't fathom why someone would be motivated to go to the bother of emailing about this, let alone requesting someone go to the effort of removing a blog post.

Trouble is, I have not logged into the Google account from which that particular blog post sprang in several years. I would gladly delete this post if it took zero effort to do so, even if I do not see any reason to do so...

CBS Austin Being Captain Obvious About Us First-Born Children

I did not realize this was not already a well documented scientific fact regarding us first-born children.

Of course, there are always exceptions to any rule.

Is Donald Trump the oldest of his siblings?

We know Donald Trump Jr. is the oldest of his siblings And definitely an exception to that first-born being smarter concept.

Tiffany is the only brains in the Trump family. And she is fourth born of the known children of Donald Trump.

But, if you wanna get technical, Tiffany is the first-born of the second wife of Donald Trump Jr.'s father...

Another Semi-Cold Texas Holliday Walk One Month Before Spring Arrives

One more month and this winter misery should be fading into history.

Next month my return from Arizona is currently scheduled to happen the day before spring arrives.

This morning Spencer Jack's primary paternal parental unit text messaged me that his Arizona information sources were telling him that our relatives currently located in the Grand Canyon state were experiencing a snow event.

I heard via the TV this morning that Las Vegas was being blanketed by a rare snowstorm, as was most of the desert in which Las Vegas is located.

I have received no accounts from any of the Arizona relatives that the Valley of the Sun is currently in Valley of the Snow mode.

About an hour before noon today I made the mistake of installing too many layers of the clothing sort to go on a walk in what I had erroneously thought was a near freezing temperature. I soon found myself doing some unzipping.

As you can see above via the photo I took this morning, looking north, green is slowly replacing brown at my location on the planet. By the time I return from Arizona all that you see above should be green.

Looking into the Holliday Creek Canyon I was surprised to see less water flowing in Holliday Creek than I remember any time previous. And that water is running clear, not the usual muddy.

Arizona nephews Christopher and Jeremy's primary maternal parental unit called me yesterday. From that call I learned I can look forward to the Saturday after I arrive when all the relatives, and others, who I would like to see, will be at one location, including, I think, the cutest cat I have ever seen, Munchie.

From yesterday's call I also learned that while the flight to Arizona may not be bumpy, the ride once I arrive may be...

Wichita Bluff Ghost Bikes Ruins Cow

On this 2019 version of President's Day I decided to use my mechanized movement device to roll myself to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

I did this in order to engage in another bout of intense training for next month's possibly brutal hike to the summit of Arizona's Camelback Mountain.

Near the new Circle Trail parking lot one parks at to give one access to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area from the east I saw that which you see here.

A collection of what looks like "Ghost Bikes" suspended on a short bluff.

The above photo does not show all the ghost bikes. The below photo does show all the ghost bikes...

Speaking of spooky things.

Today was the first time I had another look at the ruins one sees from the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area since I made mention of the ruins last year, well, a couple months ago, in December.

I blogged about these ruins in Wichita Bluff Nature Area Look At Mysterious Construction, verbalizing my puzzlement as to what this was. My favorite Texas Historian, who goes by the name of CatsPaw, was equally curious and soon found some answers to the mystery.

I also posed the question on the Wichita Falls Rants & Rave Facebook page and got a lot more answers, including one from a fireman who helped put out the blaze when that which you see above caught fire and was destroyed.

I do not think I ever got around to blogging about what I found out about this Wichita Falls relic. If I remember right I got bogged down with other issues. And now a couple months have gone by and I don't remember the details, such as the name of the famous oilman who built this place, and then abandoned it.

Today it looked like a vehicle was on the property, and some orange cone type markers were added to what was seen in December. And a solo cow grazing.

As I was taking photos an elderly passerby passed by and asked if I was taking a photo of the horse. I did not feel there was any legitimate reason to correct the elderly gentleman's animal identification...

Sikes Lake Biking With Flock Of Seagulls Henry & Ralph

What with the temperature barely above freezing this morning when I considered the idea of going on a bike ride on this third Sunday of February I decided today would be a good day to stay inside in a temperature controlled environment.

And then, about an hour before noon, whilst looking for something else, I came upon my ski gloves which I did not remember had made it to my current North Texas location.

And so, what with super insulated gloves now available, I decided to layer on the layers and take myself on a bike ride.

Turned out I was overly layered.

Blue sky, a temperature a dozen degrees above freezing, almost zero breeze, and add in a little exercise and by the time I made it to Sikes Lake I found myself switching out the ski gloves for my regular bike gloves, then removing two layers of hoodie, and unzipping the windbreaker.

Lately the geese at Sikes Lake seem to have gone somewhere other than their regular home. I have read rumors about geese invading the small town of Iowa Park, located a short distance northwest of Wichita Falls. And upon hearing this wondering if this is where the Sikes Lake goose flocks had migrated.

Today there were a few more geese than my last lake visit. But the seagull population has soared. In the above photo documentation you are seeing on a few of the flock of seagulls. Me stopping to take a picture sent most of them into panic mode, from which they quickly recovered to return to roosting position.

Why so many seagulls at Sikes Lake? I've seen nary a gull ever at nearby Lake Wichita. Shouldn't seagulls be somewhat near, you know, a sea? As in saltwater. The nearest such wet thing is hundreds of miles distant, that being the Gulf of Mexico.

Anyway, I ended up having myself a mighty fine time rolling my bike wheels. Eventually I made my way back to the Circle Trail and soon thereafter my phone made its incoming text message noise. I stopped at the first swinging bench I came to so as to dismount the bike and see what the message was.

The text message was from my favorite Jason and Joey nephew's dad, who also is my little brother.

The text in the message...

"Henry is hugging Ralph. Henry's Dad also hugged Ralph when he was a little boy."

I tried to read this message in bright sun, and was not able to accurately do so til I got back to an interior space. Bright light and the small version of the attached photo also did not become clear til I got it off the phone and onto a bigger screen.

Henry's dad is the aforementioned Joey nephew. I have no memory of this Ralph character who is being hugged by Henry. The older I get the more I seem to forget.

I do not know if Henry (and his dad) will by joining his cousin, Spencer Jack, and uncle Jason next month for the hiking expedition up Camelback Mountain. My best guess is this is unlikely....

Frigid Saturday Lucy Park Walk Suspended Above Clear Wichita River

The temperature this third Saturday of February was a degree above freezing when it seemed to me to be a good idea to join the throngs of other frigid air aficionados for an ultra brisk walk in the Wichita Falls scenic zone known as Lucy Park.

The first photo you see here was taken after I successfully crossed the swinging suspension bridge suspended over the waterway known as the Wichita River.

As you can see, no leaves remain in trees, but a little green colors up the base of the leaf less tree you see here.

The above view is from the north side of the river, this is the location of an RV Park, visitors park parking, and a mountain bike trail. I am parked on the opposite side of the river, by the Lucy Park log cabin and swimming pool. That white sign above the entry to the bridge indicates the bridge can only accommodate 20 people at a time. 

I really can not imagine 20 people swinging on this suspension bridge at the same time. It would seem multiple calamities might ensue.

Now that you are making me think about it, following 20 people across this bridge might be fun, greatly adding to the element of possible danger.

Above we are in the middle of the bridge. See that twisted cable looping around the cable which suspends the deck of the bridge? Note that this loop has rusted halfway through. Adding some additional danger to that danger element which makes crossing this bridge such an adventure.

Til today I had not seen the Wichita River looking like it is above. Not muddy, not a reddish/brown color which always reminds me of Utah redrock.

Today the Wichita River water was clear!

This had me trying to see fish having themselves a pleasant clear water swim. But, I saw none.

Due to the recent lack of precipitation rendering the off pavement Lucy Park trails dry, rather than the more usual muddy status one finds this time of year, today I hiked far off the paved trail, deep into the leaf less woods.

At one point I found myself walking by the State of Texas Visitors Center on the opposite side of the river. Seeing that indicated to me I had walked a long ways.

Soon thereafter I came to that which you see above.

Remains of another suspension bridge? I don't know. It appeared to be the ruins of some sort of mechanism for moving something across the river.

When today's walk came to its termination point I heard myself remarking that this was the best outdoor excursion I have had in a long time.

But, I am ready for freezing temperatures to go away now, not to return til next winter...

Camelback Prep Via Climbing Mount Wichita

In Texas in one week I experience what used to be an entire year's worth of Washington weather.

As in a few days ago my North Texas location was cold, cloudy, wet, foggy, icy.

In other words, a typical Western Washington winter day.

Then yesterday the sky turned blue and the temperature neared 80.

In other words, a typical Western Washington summer day.

And now, one day later, the outer world is being fall or spring like, if one were in Western Washington, with the temperature closer to freezing than 80.

Next month I am scheduled to hike with Spencer Jack and his dad to the summit of Camelback Mountain. I do not know if Camelback Mountain is in Phoenix or Scottsdale. Or if both towns share a piece of the mountain.

The hike to the summit of Camelback is not an easy hike. Many fail to make it to the top. Helicopter rescues frequently occur.

Such as what happened when some of Spencer Jack's aunts and his grandpa attempted to conquer Camelback.

So, in order to stack fate in my favor, today I decided I probably should amp up my mountain climbing readiness. And so I rolled my mechanized wheels to the base of my closest mountain and hiked, twice, to the summit of Mount Wichita.

The halfway to the Mount Wichita summit view is what you see above.

I was joined by a couple other mountain climbers. None of us came even remotely close to needing a helicopter rescue...

Valentine's Day Olympia Snow Report Not From Elsie Hotpepper

Early this Thursday afternoon, as I was enjoying my lunch time Valentine's Day concoction of baked deconstructed turkey pot pie, using whole wheat spaghetti noodles rather than pie crust, with all the usual pot pie stuff mixed in, my phone made its semi-regular incoming text message noise.

I figured it was Elsie Hotpepper replying to my most recent pithy text message about Elsie's potential Trump boy relationship, which I had sent seconds before, between bites of that aforementioned deconstructed turkey pot pie.

But, it was not Elsie Hotpepper.

The fresh incoming text message, with two attached photos, was from one of David, Theo and Ruby's maternal parental units, sent from Olympia.

Well, I am assuming such, since the photos were of Olympia, with the only text in the message being "Snolympia" in the first message with "So Much Snow" being the text in the second message.

I knew the snow has been busy melting the last 24 hours, or so. Apparently the melting has progressed enough that my little sister was able to make it to Olympia to do her investigating of complaints of judicial and prosecutorial abuse complaints.

Why does Texas not have such an office investigating these type complaints? I have eye witnessed two Tarrant County judges who definitely should not be judging anything or anyone. One a Tea Party ignoramus, the other seemingly senile.

I digress.

I do not know if Olympia was covered with the most snow of any of the Puget Sound towns during the recent bout of too much snow.

Olympia is at the far south end of Puget Sound, close to mountains of the Rainier sort, and others.

While the Puget Sound zone melts, at my location in North Texas, we are no where near melting, as in currently the temperature is more than 40 degrees above freezing, possibly hitting 80 or more today.

With this return to the outdoors being semi-balmy, I was able to actually enjoy riding my bike for the first time in days without the need for multiple layers of outer wear, including two layers of gloves.

I gave my mom a pre-Valentine's Day call last night.

During that call I learned Spencer Jack's cousin, Henry, has flown to Montana, while Henry's dad,  Spencer Jack's uncle Joey, has floated somewhere on a boat so as to catch some salmon.

The weirdest thing I learned from talking to mom was that Spencer Jack's grandpa's sister's new RV is falling apart. My sources previously told me that now falling apart RV cost about a quarter million $ when bought a couple years ago. Mom says the residents are living in the RV, at the repair shop, whilst attempts are made to stop it from continuing to fall apart.

I told Spencer Jack's dad about the new RV which is falling apart, requiring hospitalization, which had Spencer Jack's dad speculating that perhaps grandma misunderstood, and that it was the RV residents who were falling apart and needing special care.

Spencer Jack's dad's supposition almost makes more sense. How does a new RV fall apart? I know nothing about such things...

Tacoma Thaw Keeps David, Theo & Ruby School Free Another Day

Today's Wednesday morning look at the Tacoma backyard of David, Theo and Ruby documents the fact that the Big Thaw has greatly reduced the level of whiteness at their location.

In addition to the photo there was the following text message...

"Aaaaaaaggggghhhh School is closed again today!!!!"

School closed would seem to indicate another play day for David, Theo and Ruby, and their playmates also known as parental units.

Wet snow is not quite as fun to play with as fresh frozen snow.

In others news from Pacific Northwesterners whose news I track, yesterday I learned Linda Lou is escaping the current Pacific Northwest record breaking snow events by flying to New Orleans where she will be staying a couple days in the French Quarter before boarding a ship which will sail her to the Grand Caymans, where the temperature is currently 84 degrees, and some Mexico location I am not currently remembering, which will likely be equally warm.

Warm and free of any possible chance of snow. Unless some freak occurrence happens, such as the blizzard that snowed Maui yesterday...