September Sunday Walking Wichita Falls Circle Trail Til Closed

On this first day of September, still slowly recovering from Friday's harrowing drive to America's favorite metro-mess, an early morning, hopefully salubrious, walk seemed like a good idea.

And so it was to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area of the Circle Trail I drove to do some walking.

In the photo what you are looking at is is the current termination of this section of the Circle Trail. The trail is not really closed, more accurately the sign should say "TRAIL END".

Or even more accurately, "TRAIL TEMPORARY END".

At the point where this section of Circle Trail ends, in a mile or two to the east, one comes to the Circle Trail in Lucy Park. Bids came in a couple months ago to close this gap, but all three bids were way over budget, so it was back to the drawing board, looking for more funds, or a lower bid.

One can see why trail building in this location would be challenging, what with pushing through what looks like a jungle, alongside the sometimes raging Wichita River.

Once the Lucy Park/Wichita Bluff Circle Trail gap gets closed there are then only two more gaps to close to complete the circle. The most challenging of those gaps is the one at the south end of the trail, where the Circle Trail currently terminates in Lake Wichita Park, near Mount Wichita, with the gap continuing until one gets to Barnett Road, with the Circle Trail there looking to be too narrow with too many street crossings.

If one day the circle of the Circle Trail finally lives up to its name I will be able to leave my abode to go on an almost thirty mile bike ride, totally free of dealing with street traffic, except for that aforementioned Barnett Road section which needs an upgrade.

I can not remember the last time I rolled myself on a thirty mile bike ride. Doing such sounds daunting at my advanced age and decrepitude level...

The Imaginary Eyes Of The World Are On Fort Worth

Years ago, early on in my exposure to Fort Worth's Star-Telegram official city propaganda organ, I made note of an odd phenomenon occurring with frequency in that newspaper, a phenomenon which came to be known as "Green With Envy Syndrome".

Where in an article about some perfectly ordinary, nondescript subject, the article would declare that this subject was making towns, far and wide, green with envy. There were multiple iterations of this, verbiage, such as some lame thing would somehow supposedly give Fort Worth "Bragging Rights".

This type nonsense is a sub-set of other Star-Telegram nonsensical propaganda, such as an ill-conceived public works project turning Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South. Or a lame food court type thing being modeled after public markets in Europe, and Seattle's Pike Place. Or a sporting goods store being destined to be the top tourist attraction in Texas.

And now we have a new iteration of the Star-Telegram's "Green With Envy Syndrome".

College football kicks off with all eyes on Fort Worth

Yeah, that sounds believable. College football kicking off is causing all eyes, everywhere, to be on Fort Worth.

The article contains multiple embarrassing instances of nonsense. Let's go through the article and look at some of those embarrassing instances of nonsense. The first three paragraphs...

When nearly 2 million people tune in to ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday, Fort Worth will be front and center.

The game between Oregon and Auburn will be played at AT&T Stadium, but Rece Davis, Lee Corso and crew will be in Sundance Square. That’s good for DFW sports fans, but it’s great for Fort Worth as the city looks to boost tourism and national attention.

“You can’t pay for the kind of free advertising ‘GameDay’ gives us,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.

________________

Okay, so "all eyes" is now reduced to 2 million people with 4 million eyes. And though the football game will be played in the Dallas Cowboy stadium in Arlington, Fort Worth will be front and center.

And this will somehow boost tourism in the town few tourists tour, and those 4 million eyes will be giving Fort Worth much needed national attention.

Fort Worth's mayor thinks you can not pay for this kind of free advertising.

Well, I can not help but wonder why ESPN does not broadcast from downtown Arlington's Founders Plaza, which is close to the stadium, is bigger than Sundance Square Plaza, has a large stage. And something Fort Worth rarely has, modern public restrooms. Does Fort Worth give ESPN one of those incentives the town is so fond of giving any business indicating possibly wanting to come to town?

Continuing on with the continuing nonsense with three more paragraphs...

“College GameDay” averaged 1.9 million viewers last year and it’s safe to assume that number will be the same or better for broadcasts this year. That’s priceless exposure, said Mitch Whitten, executive vice president for marketing and strategy for Visit Fort Worth.

Studies have shown most outsiders imagine Fort Worth as a much smaller city, between 30th and 40th in size — think Albuquerque, New Mexico, or Fresno, California — instead of as a top 20 city, larger than Seattle, Denver or San Francisco, Whitten said.

“There’s no question that nationally people associate Dallas-Fort Worth as one big area,” he said. “This helps us elevate Fort Worth as a city of its own.”

_______________

So, Fort Worth has a national reputation for being a much smaller town than it is. We assume the size we are talking about is population, because that is the only measure which ranks Fort Worth as a big city. Now, why would people not realize Fort Worth is a "bigger" city than Seattle, Denver or San Francisco.

Well, stating the obvious, Seattle is known for having hosted a successful World's Fair, which left a Space Needle and a Monorail in its wake. Seattle is known as a scenic town, surrounded by water and mountains, a major port, connected to the Pacific, home to Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Costco and other world wide known entities. And the town has a big skyline of towers, and two sports stadiums downtown. Oh, and cruise ships and ferry boats. Denver is known for being a mile high, with a backdrop of Rocky Mountains. San Francisco is known all over the world for a big bridge built over actual water, a skyline of skyscrapers, Fisherman's Wharf, being hilly, cable cars, Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, and a lot of other things, including being a beautiful Pacific Ocean port.

Meanwhile Fort Worth is known, world-wide, for....I'm waiting...uh, can you think of anything?

The recognizable skyline? A bustling downtown which is a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year? For being the only big city in America with no downtown grocery stores or department stores? For city parks with a ridiculous number of outhouses. With most streets having no sidewalks?

For having public transit in the form of a converted bus called Molly the Trolley?

Well, to be fair, which we always are, there is the Fort Worth Stockyards, which are the one and only thing in Fort Worth which is remotely unique.

Oh, I forgot, Fort Worth is getting national recognition for hosting America's most embarrassing boondoggle, the Trinity River Vision, limping along for most of this century with little to show but a mess of stalled construction. Oh, and there is that eyesore which has been boarded up for over a decade, Heritage Park, dedicated to honoring Fort Worth's history, located at the north end of downtown, across the street from the county courthouse.

The article continues on with multiple additional instances of propaganda, including the final paragraph...

“People often ask whether that view down Main Street is real or a backdrop, which I think says a lot about our downtown,” Campbell said.

_______________

Really? People often ask if the view is real or not? Looking down Main Street? Isn't that the view which ends with that unfortunate part of the convention center which looks like a giant flying saucer has landed on downtown Fort Worth?

Another indicator of how embarrassingly clueless this "All Eyes On Fort Worth" hyperbole is, is can you imagine a Seattle, Denver or San Francisco newspaper touting such over something so lame? No, I can't either.  A headline declaring "All Eyes on San Francisco as ESPN Broadcasts from Fisherman's Wharf as College Football Kicks Off" followed by an article touting how this will be a huge boost to San Francisco tourism, boosting the town's image.

Read the entire College football kicks off with all eyes on Fort Worth  article for the full dose of Star-Telegram Chamber of Commerce propaganda nonsense which bears little resemblance to reality.

Turbulent DFW Excursion With Explosions & Flying Grocery Carts

Til today it had been a couple months since I took the long way to D/FW, as opposed to flying to D/FW, which is a quick trip, well from Wichita Falls, a little longer from Phoenix.

I digress.

So this morning reasons arose which made it make sense to drive to D/FW.

The weather was not predicted to be any level of dire.

Not long after heading southeast on 287 the first weird thing happened. Suddenly it was obvious the northwest bound lanes were getting rained on, whilst the southeast bound lanes I was on were dry.

That strangeness last for a couple miles. And then the black smoke you see above came into view.

Soon it became obvious this was an incident on the road. Soon after that the road was blocked with traffic diverted to a frontage road. From the frontage road one could see a long line of vehicles was stuck behind the incident.

Driving slow on the frontage road we eventually came to whatever it was which had happened. No details could be determined whilst passing by, other than a big ball of flames spewing smoke.

I forgot to mention, by the time of the exit to the frontage road the sky had gone into drop a downpour mode. Which explains the view from my rain coated side window as we passed the conflagration.

Continuing on towards D/FW the sky eventually brightened.

And then around noon I arrived at Winco. The sky was blue. No sign of a storm no matter which direction I looked.

I was in Winco for about a half an hour. Upon exiting Winco I felt like Dorothy must have felt when she began her journey to Oz.

Calm had been replaced by storm. Dark clouds looked like tornado makers. Lightning was striking. Thunder boomed. Wind was blowing strong. Grocery carts were sailing across the parking lot. I had trouble securing my goods whilst the wind threatened to send them skyward.

Eventually I was back on my way to return to Wichita Falls. But not before navigating the bizarre mess one must drive through to get from Tarrant Parkway to Highway 287.

If I have said it once, I have said it twice. Fort Worth is not a town which wears big city pants. How in any sane world is it okay to have approved all that retail development without upgrading the roads? It is just inexcusably bizarre. And the type thing one does not see in what is known as modern America.

In modern America they do this thing called URBAN PLANNING. You do not give the go ahead to retail/commercial development without also having adequate infrastructure upgrades.

I can not imagine how any citizen of Fort Worth can drive 287 to Tarrant Parkway and not be appalled. Or try to drive Tarrant Parkway to 287 and also be appalled.

And yet it somehow remains a mystery to those who run Fort Worth in what is known as the Fort Worth Way why the town has such a bad reputation and has to offer bribes in any attempt to land various developments, be it a new residential building, a sporting goods store, a corporate headquarters, or anything else.

How can it not be known by ardent Fort Worthians that towns which have, uh, attributes, do not need to bribe with pathetic incentives?

Cascade Scenery Thunderbolts Tuesday With New Bike Parts

Good news sort of started yesterday when I first checked email. And then after that the day sort of went downhill.

Those early morning incoming emails told me replacement parts were being shipped to me to replace parts which broke on my bike, those being parts which should not have broken.

So, even though there was no warranty that I was aware of, a reasonable complaint to the manufacturer about the issue resulted in multiple emails from various sources, including UPS, telling me the parts are on their way.

So, Schwinn is well on its way to getting back its good reputation it had long ago, back in the previous century.

I shan't detail all of yesterday's woes.

But, around noon I went on a walk on the Circle Trail where I eventually found myself dodging lightning bolts and big rain drops delivered at high speed.

Prior to the thunderstorm I was walking and talking to my Arizona sister. Mom is not adjusting well to her new home.

After lunch, I took off for ALDI, feeling melancholy.

For years I used to call mom and dad whenever I got gas, to tell, usually mom, what the gas cost and what the current temperature was. In recent years I call, and when mom answers, I ask if mom wants to ride with me to ALDI, or Walmart, or the library, or some such thing.

At mom's new home her phone did not move with her. I got a text message on Sunday from my Tacoma sister, who was in Arizona, with mom, asking me to call either her phone or my Arizona sister's phone, so I could talk to mom.

When mom got on the phone I did not ask if she wanted to ride with me anywhere. That was no longer possible. I could not understand much of what mom was saying, til I sorta said goodbye, to which mom said something I could clearly understand, a question she usually always asked, as in "When are you coming for another visit?"
To which I replied, "As soon as I can get there." 

And then later in the afternoon Linda Lou called with some rather shocking news. Not my place to be detailed. Suffice to say, America's longest war needs to end and all the troops need to come home.

The news from Linda Lou caused me to email Maxine, something I had been intending to do for some time. So, I emailed Maxine the shocking news from Linda Lou, thinking Maxine likely had already heard, but in the oft chance she had not, I was emailing her with the shocking news.

Maxine quickly emailed back, she was as shocked as was I by the news. In my email to Maxine I also asked if she'd been doing any fun hiking.

So Maxine included two photos of her most recent hike, one of which is what you see at the top.

The Shannon Ridge Trail to the Mount Shuksan Summit.

Just last week, hiking photos from my favorite ex-sister-in-law, of a hike near Mount Shuksan, had me wondering if hiking to the summit of that craggy mountain was a doable thing.

Maxine's photos of the Cascade Mountains sort of activated that homesick feeling such photos have been causing me of late.

There are plans afoot to return to the Pacific Northwest. To visit? Or what? Time may tell...

Thousands Of New Imaginary Downtown Fort Worth Residents By 2022

It seems like only yesterday, or the day before, we asked if you had Read Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Boondoggle Bridge Design Flaws Investigation?  in which mention was made of the fact that Fort Worth suffers from not having a real newspaper, and that the town's Fort Worth Star-Telegram acts more like the town's Chamber of Commerce mouthpiece than a normal newspaper of the practicing investigative journalism sort.

And then this morning, on the front page of the Star-Telegram, once again, a big Star-Telegram propaganda headline touting These projects will bring thousands of new residents to downtown Fort Worth by 2022,  leading to yet one more of those Chamber of Commerce type pieces which have long been so annoyingly ridiculous to anyone with an iota of common sense and a memory.

Those not familiar with Fort Worth, in the photo above, that is the stunning skyline of downtown Fort Worth, as seen from the west, looking across that wide ditch which is known as the Trinity River. On the left, in the photo, crossing over the ditch, that is Fort Worth's one and only actual signature bridge, the West 7th Street Bridge, which many locals thought should have been the design of the three simple little bridges stuck in slow motion construction for years, trying to cross dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Let's take a tour through this latest article of Star-Telegram propaganda and ferret out some of the ridiculousness.

But, before we do that let's make mention of the fact that that downtown, where projects will supposedly bring in thousands of new residents, currently has zero grocery stores, zero department stores, not many restaurants, and few of the other amenities one might expect to see in the downtown of a town with a population over 800,000.

So, let's start with the first sentence of this latest Star-Telegram propaganda...

Tim and Donna Young are proud to be called “Mr. and Mrs. Downtown Fort Worth.”

Okay, that is just weird. Apparently this couple met in 2012, live in the downtown Texas & Pacific Lofts, can be seen walking around town, and for these obvious reasons their friends have given them this "Mr. and Mrs. Downtown Fort Worth" nickname.

And...

Tim Young said he feels “like I live in Paris sometimes” because of their urban-centric lifestyle.

Oh yes, one can see how living in downtown Fort Worth would feel like living in Paris. what with downtown Paris being known for having no grocery stores or places to shop, and few restaurants or sidewalk bistros. And then there are those Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the Seine River. And that boarded up eyesore park at the heart of downtown Paris celebrating the storied history of Paris.

Yes, one can easily see how one could feel like one is living in Paris when living in downtown Fort Worth.

Let's leave the Youngs and their Parisian dream now and move on with the rest of this article...

As the city looks ahead to the next five to 10 years, much energy will be spent encouraging growth in the city’s core. Nearly a dozen new buildings are in the works downtown, according Downtown Fort Worth Inc. – some that will reshape the skyline as soon as 2022, when as many as 3,000 new residents could live downtown.

Wow! After all these years of the Fort Worth skyline seeming to be permanently stagnant, by 2022 the skyline will be reshaped! So excited to see that. And maybe as many as 3,000 new residents could maybe live downtown.

Nearly a dozen new buildings are in the works? What does that mean? Someone has thought of maybe building? The only other big city newspaper I pay much attention to seems to make mention of new buildings coming to downtown only after the building of such is a done deal, as in being built.. Not just a pipe dream. Like last week I read Google is building a new tower north of the downtown Seattle Amazon campus, along with residential towers to house the incoming new Google workers.

Then there is a paragraph about three new buildings which have received approval from the Fort Worth Downtown Design Board. No clue as to how close these three buildings are to actually being built, but the three paragraphs which follow the mention of these three possible new buildings are amusing...

The new buildings may not be as noticeable as the Omni Hotel Fort Worth or the City Center Towers, but they will be the first new residential high-rise structures built downtown in decades.

Ann Zadeh, the councilwoman representing downtown, said her hope is that downtown’s skyline will fill in with buildings that stand out.

“When I drive by other cities with prominent skylines, I think it’s a great visual,” she said. “That’s what I want for downtown.”

First new residential structures in downtown in decades? Is that not sort of a telling fact? And downtown's councilwoman hopes the Fort Worth skyline will fill in with stand out buildings, because when she drives by other town's skylines she longs for a similar visual for downtown Fort Worth?

I have long wondered what long time natives of Fort Worth, who have not recently visited towns in modern America, think when they see another big city for the first time in a long time. Like if they drive 30 miles east and see the world-wide recognizable skyline of Dallas, and see those hundreds of miles of Dallas light rail. Along with downtown shopping of the Neiman-Marcus sort.

Or see the downtown of a town like Seattle, with multiple vertical malls, multiple downtown grocery stores, multiple downtown department stores, transit tunnels under downtown, an ever changing skyline, and dozens of downtown highrises under construction, not just being talked about possibly being built.

And then there is this doozy of a pair of paragraphs...

City planners are confident in the residential growth, but commercial investment is less clear. The city’s long-term economic development plan relies heavily on attracting new corporate headquarters to Fort Worth with an aggressive goal of landing seven Fortune 1000 companies in the next five years.

As many as 80 companies are in talks with the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce about moving or expanding in Fort Worth, said Chris Strayer, senior vice president of business attraction. About 40% of those would need office space, and downtown has been a target.

Really? As many as 80 companies are in talks about moving to Fort Worth? An aggressive goal of landing seven Fortune 1000 companies in the next five years?

All the time I have been in Texas, Fort Worth has been trying to lure companies to Fort Worth, using all sorts of incentives. Never successfully. How about sending a task force to towns which do successfully lure the companies Fort Worth fails to lure to find out why? Like why would a company choose, I don't know, Plano, over Fort Worth? Or Irving? Or Austin? Or Tempe, Arizona? Or any other town in America which do land a new company coming to town.

Fort Worth even managed to fail at having hometown Radio Shack succeed at locating a new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth. This resulted in a typical Fort Worth boondoggle disaster, with the Radio Shack new headquarters being taken over by Tarrant County College, after the debacle managed to rob downtown Fort Worth of acres of free parking and the world's shortest subway, which gave easy access to downtown Fort Worth.

This delusional pie in the sky propaganda article just goes on and on. Mentioning the need for more commercial space, you know for offices, you know, for all those companies coming to town where all those new people living in downtown Fort Worth will work.

Why, they are even giving tax incentives to the owners of the dozens of downtown parking lots if they will vertically build.

Any downtown with dozens of parking lots taking up acres of downtown building space is not a healthy downtown.

And then there is mention made of something called Neighbor's House Grocery, opening in October on the ground floor of a downtown building. Imagine that, yet one more attempt at a downtown Fort Worth grocery store.

Maybe some thought should be given to fixing Heritage Park. That really can not be a good selling point for any corporation looking to come to town, a boarded up eyesore celebrating the town's heritage, located at a key location across from the county courthouse.

Maybe some thought should be given to how dumb it looks for a downtown of a big city to have something called Molly the Trolley as part of the town's limited, primitive, downtown transit system.

And also, why in this article about the soon to be booming downtown Fort Worth is no mention made of that HUGE development immediately north of downtown, you know, that development known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision?

A troubled vision which has been trying to see progress for most of this century, which touts an imaginary island with multiple residential towers, retail establishments, and canals to travel between attractions.

What do those corporations think about that BIG mess due north of downtown when they visit to consider moving to town? Those simple little bridges stuck in slow motion construction can not be a good selling point of the town's viability. Let alone the absurd fact that those simple bridges are being built in slow motion over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Will this supposedly newly booming downtown Fort Worth be the final death knell of the Trinity River Vision and its long ill-fated economic development scheme and imaginary flood control?

Time will likely tell...

Read Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Boondoggle Bridge Design Flaws Investigation?

This The light-rail bridge being built in south Bellevue seems to soar unsupported over I-90 Here’s why article showed up in the Seattle Times yesterday.

This is a long, detailed article explaining the engineering involved in building a rail bridge. This rail bridge is part of a $3.7 billion light rail expansion approved by Puget Sound voters, known as the East Link, connecting Seattle's Chinatown / International District with Bellevue, across Lake Washington, via the I-90 floating bridge.

The East Link section of the expanding Link Light Rail system is on schedule and on budget, opening to riders in mid-2023.

This article in the Seattle Times about a public works project is yet one more example of what I find so confounding about Fort Worth's sad excuse for a newspaper of record, the Star-Telegram.

Yes, I know railing against a newspaper is a bit of a cliche, but in the Star-Telegram's case there are way too many instances of something legit to rail against.

I was not long in the D/FW zone before I realized something was not right about the Star-Telegram, seeing that newspaper acting as if it is some sort of bizarre propaganda tool for the local chamber of commerce.

Such as touting something that turned out to be a soon to fail glorified food court as being the first public market in Texas, and modeled after Seattle's Pike Place and markets in Europe. Or the time the Star-Telegram touted that a sporting goods store would become the #1 tourist attraction in Texas.

Sometimes I find the Star-Telegram propaganda and misinformation to just be simply amusing. Other times I find the propaganda to be borderline irresponsible.

Such as, way back near the start of this century, touting an ill-conceived, ineptly implemented pseudo public works project as being something which would turn Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South.

Almost two decades later Fort Worth still bears zero resemblance to either of the Vancouvers of the North.

Now, back to the bridge subject.

We are now in year five of Fort Worth's infamous bridge fiasco part of what is known as the Trinity River Vision, trying to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, across a cement lined ditch which may one day be dug and filled with polluted Trinity River water.

It is known, via sources other than the Star-Telegram, that there have been engineering problems and conflicts with various project engineers regarding the built in slow motion bridges.

But, unless I missed it, there, has not been a single article in the Star-Telegram detailing what those bridge design / construction issues are, and how they have caused these bridges to now have a completion timeline some point in the next decade.

The now almost universally discounted Riveron Review of the ongoing Boondoggle did not detail any of the actual problems with the bridge building. The Riveron Review did repeat the disinformation propaganda regarding why those bridges are being built over dry land, and why the highly regarded design of the West 7th Street bridge design was not used.

We talked about the Riveron Review fraud in Has The Trinity River Vision Riveron Review Been Officially Rejected?

Why is there not a single actual investigative type journalist reporting for the Star-Telegram who insists on trying to get to the truth of what is behind all the problems which would, in most modern towns in America, have been a long ago completed public works project?

How can this ridiculously ineptly implemented project in Fort Worth be touted as a vitally needed flood control project, needed to protect lives and property, when the project ambles along in ultra slow motion? That and the area in question has not flooded in well over a half a century, while other areas of Fort Worth, and Tarrant County, do have serious, unmitigated flood issues endangering life and property.

How did Oklahoma City manage to build that town's massive Bricktown development? A similar concept to Fort Worth's hapless Trinity River Vision. How did Tulsa manage to build its award winning Gathering Place development along the actually scenic Arkansas River?

Do Oklahoma City and Tulsa have actual real responsible newspapers of record honestly reporting on what goes on in their towns?

I've lost track of how many times I have made mention of the fact that Fort Worth suffers due to not having a real newspaper.

Lately it has been mentioned to me that there are some Fort Worth locals who are trying to bring real, much needed, investigative journalism to Fort Worth. I would not recommend holding ones breath waiting til that actually happens...

My Life Now Includes A Shocking Elsie Hotpepper Republican

A couple days ago an incoming email asked me if I had seen Elsie Hotpepper's online biography on a website called MyLife. The emailer indicated to me that the Elsie Hotpepper Bio contained at least one bit of info which would likely shock me. And so, of course, I clicked on the link and did soon find myself shocked...

Elsie's Bio

Elsie Hotpepper's birthday is 07/11/1963. Elsie is 56 years old. Elsie's Reputation Score is 4.35. Previous towns in which Elsie has lived include Las Vegas, Nevada and Cannon Beach, Oregon. Sometimes Elsie goes by various nicknames including Elsie Hotspot, Elsie Hotspotter, Elsie Nothotter and Elsie Jalapeno Hotpepper. Background details that you might want to know about Elsie include: ethnicity is Native American, whose political affiliation is currently a registered Republican; and religious views are listed as Scientologist. We know that Elsie is single at this point. Elsie's personal network of family, friends, associates & neighbors include Elmer Hotpepper, Ethel Hotpepper, Peter Snively and Petunia Hotpepper. Taking into account various assets, Elsie's net worth is greater than $25,000 - $49,999; and Elsie makes between $100 - 149,999 a year when she feels the need to have a job.

Birthday: 7/11/1963
Political Party: Republican
Ethnicity: Native American
Religion: Scientologist
Income: $100 - $149,999
Net Worth: $25,000 - $49,999
Relationship: Single

__________________

Okay, now that is new information. Elsie Hotpepper is a Registered Republican?

Shocking.

I do not know if being a Republican and a Scientologist are two things which should be in conflict.

As for Elsie Hotpepper being of Native American descent, this does not shock me.

I suspect Elsie must be of the Cheyenne tribe, known as the Tsistsistas, meaning Beautiful People.

Or possibly Comanche, what with that fierce Hotpepper warrior spirit and those prominent cheekbones...

Back Biking With MSU Mustangs Considering 1988 Time Travel With Miss Daisy

If I remember correctly a few days ago I mentioned my bike was in malfunction mode due to the pedal crank being noisily cranky.

Months ago, last winter, my bike went through a similar cranky period.

And then suddenly the cranky crank returned to normal.

And stayed in that normal state until the day after a severe night time thunderstorm a week or two ago, a thunderstorm which poured down some rain.

The morning after that storm my bike was still wet, even though it is safely anchored, undercover, overnight. And riding the bike that same morning was when the crank returned to being noisily cranky.

Then a few days ago, after several days of the temperature being well north of 100 I decided to see if whatever had made my bike cranky had somehow dried up and gone away.

And so it did. And I have been enjoying HOT bike rides ever since, including today's which included a stop at the MSU fountain.

To the right of where my handlebars are located above is the new MSU Mustangs I visited on Saturday at their newly installed location by the soon to open Centennial Hall.

After the above fountain drink break I rolled over to that aforementioned newly installed Mustang location.

You can not quite make it out, due to my inferior photography skills, but the small pond in which the Mustangs are stampeding has now had water added, with the fountains in burble mode. The cyclone fence construction barrier has now been removed, replaced my regular ol' 'DANGER' tape.

Let's zoom in and see if I can get a better picture of the Mustang stampeding over the burbling fountain.

There you go. This would be a much better photo if that traffic cone had not intruded.

Prior to exiting air-conditioned comfort for a HOT bike ride, Sister Jackie called with a report on how Miss Daisy is doing. I do not recollect mentioning that Miss Daisy has moved to a new location, still close to Sister Jackie, but no longer in Sun Lakes.

Miss Daisy is gradually adjusting to her new surroundings, and enjoying the time travel machine which came with the move.

Yesterday Miss Daisy spent several hours back in 1988, babysitting her grandsons, Christopher and Jeremy, before returning to 2019 to watch a Little League game on TV with dinner.

Sister Michele will be using conventional air travel means to fly south on Friday to see Miss Daisy at her new location. I do not know if Miss Daisy is planning on taking Michele anywhere interesting in her new time travel machine...

Where In The PNW Are David, Theo & Ruby This Time?

That asking me "Where in the PNW are David, Theo & Ruby this time?" question was asked in the subject line of an incoming email, last night, which included only one attached photo.

Which is that which you see above.

Along with that question in the email subject line, the text in the email also asked...

"Can you do it with just one pic?"

Hence the singular pic documenting the trio's most recent Pacific Northwest outing.

Upon seeing the above aforementioned pic the first thing which came to mind was one of my all time favorite locations, close to where I lived in the Skagit Valley, that being Larrabee State Park, accessed by one of the most scenic roads anywhere, Chuckanut Drive.

So, I Googled Larrabee State Park and then clicked on images to soon see the one below, which seems to mirror the one of the trio above...

From the Wikipedia Larrabee State Park article...

Larrabee State Park is a public recreation area located on Samish Bay on the western side of Chuckanut Mountain, six miles (9.7 km) south of the city of Bellingham, Washington. It was created in 1915 as Washington's first state park. The park covers 2,748 acres (1,112 ha) and features fishing, boating, and camping as well as mountain trails for hiking and biking. It is managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

Larrabee was one of my favorite go to locations when I lived in the neighborhood. On a hot summer day on the beach, to the left of the rocks you see David, Theo, Ruby and their maternal parental unit, Michele, standing on, you would be seeing a large crowd. Swimming is possible, what with the water being clear, with a steep drop off, and the temperature of the water being refreshingly chilly.

To the north of Larrabee one finds Teddy Bear Cove. A clothing optional beach. I may have been at that location a time or two.

Hiking up Chuckanut Mountain was a year round destination when I lived in the Skagit Valley. At Larrabee one finds the southern remains of the old interurban transit train, now turned into a trail. Many a time I biked that trail from Larrabee to its end point at the Alaskan Ferry Terminal.

If I remember right the last time I pedaled the Interurban Trail was with the Tacoma Trio's cousins, Christopher and Jeremy. I recollect Jeremy getting a bit unsettled at one point on the trail where navigating a steep canyon is a bit challenging.

Again, if I remember right, the last time I was at the summit of Chuckanut Mountain it was with the Tacoma Trio's cousin Joey. One of the funnest bike rides in the Skagit/Whatcom zone is the long downhill coast from the top of Chuckanut Mountain. I'd pedaled to the summit before, and then did the downhill coast.

So, this time with Joey it became one of my infamous Nephews in Danger episodes. I instructed Joey to carefully control his speed, watching carefully for trail junctions. And that I would meet him back on Chuckanut Drive at the Interurban Trail parking lot.

I made it to the parking lot before Joey did, barely. At that point in time Joey indicated that was the best bike adventure he had ever had. I think the time I let Joey and his brother coast down the Mountain Loop Highway from the Monte Christo access point came later.

I am currently thinking I may be in Arizona this coming Thanksgiving at the same time the Tacoma Trio is at the same location. Maybe this time their parental units will let me have a 21st Century Nephews and Niece in Danger episode driving David, Theo & Ruby to the top of South Mountain...

Midwestern State University Traffic Jam With Two New Mustangs

I headed to the Midwestern State University campus this morning to take a shady walk in what I thought would be a virtually abandoned campus, due to the day being Saturday.

Well.

I soon found myself perplexed by a long traffic jam of vehicles trying to get to some unknown, to me, location.

Soon I was to learn the long traffic jam was trying to make its way to a drop off zone where incoming students could unload their goods.

I do not know why people did not just park on one of the many empty parking zones and then walk their stuff to its final destination, thus avoiding that long line moving in slow motion.

But, it all made for an entertaining spectacle.

And then I came to the location you see above. The new Centennial Hall building nearing its construction completion, almost ready for its grand opening next month.

Today I saw a pair of Mustangs running wild in the currently unfinished water feature in front of the new building.

This is the first two of an eventual four Mustang sculptures, one for each class, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, With each class of Mustang bigger than the one before.

I have no way of knowing which two classes of Mustang I saw installed today. I suspect, maybe, freshman and sophomore.

These are realistic horse sculptures. Impressive.

I have been watching this new building get built for years, it seems like it began soon after my arrival in town. I like watching something like this progress. To my eyes this is a well designed building, with architectural nods to all the various styles of buildings on the campus.

I think I may attend the Centennial Hall grand opening event...