Shocking Revelations Find Fort Worth Bridges Way Behind Construction Schedule

Last night an incoming text message from Elsie Hotpepper came in with text saying "You're gonna love this!"

Along with a link to an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram titled...

One of the Panther Island bridges in downtown Fort Worth is behind schedule, again

I do not know if you click on the above link that you will be able to read the article, or if you will be blocked by a paywall. For some reason I was able to read the article, unimpeded. 

And Elsie was right, sorta, well, I didn't exactly love this article, it is more accurate to say I was appalled and amused by this latest bit of inept Star-Telegram pseudo journalism.

Just the title is amusing. One of those pitiful little bridges is behind schedule, again? All three of those pitiful little bridges being built over dry land to possibly one day connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island have been behind schedule for years.

All three of them.

Way behind schedule.

Let's go through this article, commenting as we go along. The first paragraph...

The bridge needed to connect White Settlement Road to what eventually will be Fort Worth’s Panther Island is behind schedule, again, this time by a few weeks.

Behind by a few weeks behind the previous multiple behinds? Construction of these little freeway overpass type bridges began with a TNT exploding ceremony way back in 2014. With a then astonishing four year project timeline to build three little bridges over dry land.

Continuing on...

The bridge was first scheduled to open to traffic in 2017, along with two others, but design issues pushed completion back two years. Then in 2019, project officials said the White Settlement bridge would be finished by late summer 2020, but the date was pushed back again to the end of last year. COVID-19 and construction delays pushed the date into 2021, and a Tarrant Regional Water District spokesperson in December confirmed board members were told traffic would flow in February.

Okay, an item in the above paragraph has bugged me for years. "...design issues pushed completion back two years..." What are these design issues that caused such a problem with the building of little bridges over dry land? Does the Star-Telegram not employ a single investigative journalist who might try and find out what these design issues have been? 

Continuing on we will skip a couple paragraphs til we get to this one...

“Bridges for White Settlement, North Main and Henderson are being built over dry land for a cost of nearly $90 million. The three bridges are needed to connect downtown to the planned Panther Island, an 800-acre island in the Trinity River that would be formed after a bypass channel is cut between the two forks. The $1.17 billion project has languished without federal financial support for years.

The bridges are needed? So vitally needed they have been built in ultra slow motion? Needed to connect downtown Fort Worth to an imaginary island? An imaginary island which may be formed one day in the distant future when a cement lined ditch is dug between two forks of the Trinity River? And it is a puzzlement to some why this inane insane project languishes without federal support?

And then we come to this doozy...

The North Main bridge is capable of supporting a trolley, a feature that confused Panther Island board members David Cooke, the city manager, and James Hill, a water district board member. Both were interested in understanding if the bridge costs more and why such a feature was included when there is no trolley.

Oh my, one of the bridges is capable of supporting a trolley. A feature which confused various board members responsible for this ongoing Boondoggle. Are there any modern bridges, anywhere, which are not able to support a trolley? 

Continuing on, we will skip two paragraphs which discuss Fort Worth's hapless efforts, a decade ago, to build a short trolley line, and get right to the final paragraph in this latest example of Star-Telegram journalistic ineptitude...

Rademaker said he wasn’t sure what the North Main Bridge would have cost without sections designed to hold a streetcar. There is not track on the bridge. Concrete has been poured so that if the city wanted to run a trolley, a new bridge would not bee needed, he said.

Rademaker is a senior project manager for Fort Worth. Perhaps someone in this position not knowing rather germane factual details, such as the cost of various elements of a project, might be an element, among many, why this relatively simple public works project has become America's Dumbest Boondoggle.

And see if you can spot two rather embarrassing embarrassing mistakes, of the erroneous verbiage sort, in that final paragraph, copied and pasted, from this Star-Telegram article.

Does this newspaper not employ any editors? Or proofreaders...

Day Two Of February Plan To Lose COVID 30 On The Circle Trail

On Day Two of my February Plan to rid myself of the COVID 30 I have gained during this long period of limited activity, along with eating too much, I returned to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. Yesterday I parked on the parking lot on the west end, today I parked on the parking lot on the east side of the Nature Area.

Being on the east side I decided to check out the progress of the Circle Trail extension which will eventually connect the Loop 11 current Circle Trail termination point to Lucy Park and the Lucy Park current termination point of the Circle Trail.

Today I walked to the end of the current progress of the Circle Trail construction. That is what you see on the left in the above composite photo documentation. On the right I turned around for the view of the completed trail, heading back to the Loop 11 bridge over the Wichita River.

If the circle of the Circle Trail is ever completed I will be able to leave my abode on my bike and roll almost 30 miles, back to my abode, making a circle around town. That sounds like something I might do once. 

In the meantime I am on a fast track to being able to once again fit into every pair of pants in my closet...

Wichita Bluff Hoodoos Rise & Fall With Dirty Blonde Medusa

 

With nary a whiff of wind blowing and with the temperature not nearly freezing, I decided this first day of the 2021 version of February would be a good day to commune with nature in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

I arrived at the western parking lot of the WBNA a few minutes after Rush Limbaugh began polluting the airwaves with his peculiar brand of ignorant conspiratorial idiocy. 

I was only a couple minutes into walking, barely under the entry sign which marks the start of the west end of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, when an extremely weird thing came into view. A female with a head which looked like it was covered by a giant yellow bush.

As the yellow bush grew closer it began to look like a Medusa snake head of long blonde dreadlocked curls. Googling "Medusa" came up with the following, which is sort of close to what I saw...

As the Wichita Bluff Medusa got even closer I saw that she was barefoot, and dirty, as if she'd been wading in the Wichita River. I howdy-ed her as I passed quickly by. I got no response. She acted furtive, like a caged squirrel.

At about the half mile mark I came to the regular zone where Hoodoos are erected. That is what you see photo documented at the top. 

Continuing on I walked for a couple miles before turning around.

When I came to the Hoodoo location, on my return to the parking lot, I saw, to my shock and surprise, that the Hoodoos had been destroyed in the short time since I saw them fully erect.

After I turned around at the end of today's nature walk I met only one person on the way back to my vehicle.

That same Dirty Blonde Medusa.

Had she ventured off the paved trail in her bare feet and destroyed the Hoodoos? Why would anyone engage in such insane madness.

When I passed the Dirty Blonde Medusa the second time I re-howdy-ed her and again received no response. A couple hundred feet later I looked back and saw she had stopped walking and was looking in my direction. When she saw I had turned to look at her she shouted something incomprehensible. I don't think it was English.

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

Lock On The Lucy Park Wichita River Suspension Bridge Takes Us To Paris

Yesterday the outer world at my location was heated to a temperature somewhere in the low 70s zone.

Today, on this final Sunday of the 2021 version of January, the outer world is back being chilled to a temperature a few degrees above freezing. As in 41 degrees when I drove myself to Lucy Park this morning for a short windy communing with nature.

Looking at the locked photo I took this morning whilst swaying on the suspension bridge which is suspended over the Wichita River, one would not think a strong wind was blowing, what with no waves waving on the river. 

I think, maybe, the river water is too muddy, and thus too thick, to have the wind making waves. Sort of like slow moving reddish brown gelatin impervious to being impacted by gusts of wind.

I did not think to count them, but there are a lot of locks now locked on the Wichita River suspension bridge. Each visit seems to find a couple more locks. I don't quite understand the point or reason, but have been told this replicates locks on a bridge across the Seine River in Paris.

That's Paris, France, not Paris, Texas.

Now that you are causing me to think about it, maybe Paris, Texas also has a bridge with locks locked on it.

I have not personally visited either Paris. I understand the Eiffel Tower in the French version of Paris is more impressive than the Eiffel Tower in the Texas version of Paris.

The Texas version has a cowboy hat at its top...

Can't Call Mom On Her 88th Birthday

January 30, 2020.

Mom's birthday.

Today marks the second year I have not had on my to do list to call mom to wish her happy birthday.

Math is not one of my strong suits, but if I calculate correctly mom would be 88 today.

I don't know when the photo you see here was taken, other than it was in the early 1950s. Dad was either home from being stationed in Europe during the Korean War, or on his way to Europe. 

The Army sent dad home when his dad, my grandpa, became sick and was dying. Mom did not know dad was coming home. Dad made it to Bellingham, called mom, who was getting ready to be in a wedding, asking if mom could come pick him up at the Bellingham bus station.

Mom got there as fast as she could. 

After dad's dad's funeral my dad was ordered to report back to the Army, on the east coast. The check-in location was either in New York City, or nearby.

Without giving it a whole lot of thought mom and dad decided to drive across the country, to New York City, and that mom would return to Europe with dad.

When mom told me this, and it seeming a surprising plan, I asked how did they know they could make that happen? Mom said they really hadn't thought it all out and just assumed they could somehow make it work.

But, when dad went to report in, instead of being told when he was shipping out to Europe, he was told he was being mustered out of the Army.

So, mom and dad decided to make a loop of their return to the west coast, heading down the east coast to Florida, and then across the south, including driving through Texas. 

When mom and dad retired they sort of recreated that cross country trip from the 1950s.

Without going to NYC.

Towards the end of that long roadtrip mom and dad managed to be in Las Vegas when I was there, staying at Treasure Island. This was over Thanksgiving weekend of 1995.

I don't know how well mom would have managed with this COVID nightmare. We would have had to go multiple repeats explaining why we can't do the free sample circuit at Costco, or get a Costco hotdog, or go to Penny's McDonald's.

Mom would have greatly enjoyed the end of Donald Trump. Being appalled at Donald Trump provided a lot of good stimulation for my mom. I remember being in Arizona when Trump made an ass of himself with Putin. I think it was in Helsinki. Mom and I sat there listening, with mom just shaking her head. 

One time when we were listening to Trump be stupid mom actually asked how come there is no Lee Harvey Oswald when most of the world would welcome him? A few seconds later Trump said something incredibly dumb, and a lie, to which I said something like "How can someone be his age and be so ignorant?"

To which mom said something like "You shouldn't speak disrespectfully of the president." 

To which I said "Just a minute ago you were wishing for a Lee Harvey Oswald to rid the world of Trump!"

Mom had a tendency to be contradictory like that.

During my final visits with mom she would bring up making sure she got reunited with dad, when the time came. I'd say something like we will make sure that happens.

But, that still has not happened. Mom is in a cabin on Harstine Island, about 150 miles southwest of dad. 

The reunification should take place, I hope, well before mom and dad's next birthdays...

Cold Walking To Sikes Lake Bayou With Incoming Books From Linda Lou

With the temperature a couple degrees above freezing, feeling the need for some outdoor nature communing, I opted to drive the short mile to Sikes Lake for a Goose Walk.

And once again I did not layer on enough outer wear to stay warm.

All was fine til shortly after I took the photo you see here, standing on the westernmost Sikes Lake bridge, looking west across the scenic Bayou of Sikes Lake.

The lake trail takes a sharp turn to the east from the Bayou location. And that had me heading directly into the wind, which had that wind chill thing happening, making it suddenly feel as if I had stepped into a deep freeze frozen way below zero.

Eventually I made it back to the warmth of my vehicle, and soon thereafter the shivering ceased.

Upon arriving back at my abode I checked to see if anything was in the mailbox and found that which you see photo documented below.

What you are looking at above are the contents which were in a package sent from Mount Vernon, Washington by Linda Lou.

I can not remember when last I had so much fun trying to get to the insides of a package. Linda Lou had tightly wrapped the contents in layers of steel strength tape which a sharp knife had trouble cutting through. 

Now with three new books to read I won't be needing to venture to the library for awhile, other than to return the four books I currently have checked out.

Thanks Linda Lou...

Pharmacy Chauffeuring To World's Littlest Skyscraper With Bernie Sanders

This morning I found myself doing volunteer chauffeur duty chauffeuring a semi-elderly person to a pharmacy so as to acquire some pharmaceuticals. When that task was completed I asked the semi-elderly person if a walk in Lucy Park might be salubrious, even with the semi-frigid temperature.

Yes, sir, that sounds fun, replied the semi-elderly person.

The pharmacy is on the east side of downtown, across from a lot of train tracks. Heading to Lucy Park nearing that collection of train tracks, whilst looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Wichita Falls, I realized I was seeing a view of the World's Littlest Skyscraper I had not previously seen. Previous views have been up close, and from the north or west side.

It is easy to pick out the World's Littlest Skyscraper in the above photo documentation. Or so it seems to me. But, if you can not quite make it out, the World's Littlest Skyscraper is that brown structure in the middle, surrounded by blue structures., directly above the white van.

Continuing on to Lucy Park.

Above we are looking at that aforementioned semi-elderly person doing his Bernie Sanders impersonation.

The semi-elderly person forgot to bring his walking stick, but even without that support he had quite a walk, covering several hundred feet in several minutes.

So, that has been my exciting day, so far, on this final Tuesday of the 2021 version of January. I am liking that blue sky has returned, thusly greatly alleviating my SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder)...

Hank Frank & Linda Lou Take Me On A Skagit Valley Sunday Drive

That is FGNHF (Favorite Great Nephew Hank Frank) you are see above, smiling at you and looking cute. Hank Frank texted that selfie to me, with the text saying "Howdy FUD".

I do not like being technical regarding these type matters, but shouldn't that be "Howdy FGUD"?

I texted Hank Frank back, asking if he was taking good care of his mom and dad, and making sure they are behaving themselves. I also asked if he'd had any snow yet in the valley.

Hank Frank replied back "No snow so far this year. They took me for a drive this morning and there was fresh snow in Clear Lake hill. I really like drives. I point out at every stoplight from the backseat at an outside voice level what color I observe. Red, green or the occasional yellow."

Sometimes I think I may be a bit of an old fuddy duddy. Like finding it makes me feel outta sync with the times regarding the fact that all my nephews, and one niece, have smart phones. The older nephews, that does not seem too hard to understand, but the younger ones, ranging from 13 to 2, well, I will just say that when I was their age I did not even have my own dumb phone. I shared a phone attached to a cord attached to a wall. And I couldn't send photos thousands of miles. Or videos.

And then, whilst I was exchanging text messages with Hank Frank, another text message came in from the Skagit Valley, from Hank Frank's cousin, Spencer Jack's neighbor, Linda Lou. 

The text message from Linda Lou also included a photo along with text.

The Linda Lou text said "Descending from Conway Hill, view of the Valley, and the San Juan Islands in the distance."

It has been a few years since I have driven down steep Conway Hill. At the bottom of the hill one soon comes to Interstate 5. We are looking west in this view. I think I can make out Mount Erie on Fidalgo Island, sticking up on the horizon to the left of the middle. That may be Orcas Island sticking up above the horizon on the far right.

There are a lot of islands in the Skagit Valley neighborhood. Real islands, surrounded by real water. Not imaginary islands surrounded by a cement lined ditch, which Fort Worth has been trying to build for most of this century, currently stuck trying to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland with that aforementioned imaginary island.

If Linda Lou croseed I-5, drove through the little village of Conway, then continued over the bridge over the South Fork of the Skagit River, to Fir Island, to another bridge leaving Fir Island, crossing over the North Fork of the Skagit River, back to the mainland, Linda Lou would be aiming directly towards where Hank Frank lives and operates his apple orchard. 

Next summer maybe I will get to go on a drive with Hank Frank and Linda Lou...

Thick Cloud Cover Prevents Seeing The Mountain From My Location

 

Yester morning Elsie Hotpepper asked me how I was doing.

Not so well, in way too many ways, was the short version of my reply.

In the longer version I said I felt in dire need of being on an ocean shore with mountains, due to slowly going stir crazy due to being stuck due to COVID, barely having left this town for over a year, let alone leaving this flat, scenery challenged state.

So, yester morning had me lamenting wanting to be on an ocean shore gazing at mountains, and then yester afternoon brought me, via incoming email, three scenes of both saltwater and mountains.

The incoming was from Washington, from Harstine Island, located in south Puget Sound. Sent by little sister Michele. 

The text in the email said "The colors of the sunset against The Mountain were amazing last night."

I think I have mentioned previously that when you are a Washingtonian when you refer to The Mountain you are talking about Mount Rainier, it being the biggest of the state's five active volcanoes.

I cropped one of the tree photos to get a closer look at The Mountain. That is what you see above. The uncropped version is what you see below.

Next summer, if the current COVID situation improves, I expect to see the above view with my own eyes.

In the meantime I gaze out my window at a gray sky dripping drizzle, with downpours and thunderstorms on the menu for later today. And no volcanoes, mountains or oceans no matter which direction one looks...

Saturday Nature Communing In Lucy Park With Linda Lou & Elsie Hotpepper.

With the outer world chilled to a comfortable 40 some degrees, with a slight drizzle foggily drizzling, I decided to put on my Sherlock Holmes sleuthing cap to venture to my favorite Wichita Falls location, Lucy Park, to do some nature communing.

Linda Lou called just as I put the period on the previous paragraph.

Linda Lou told me she's cold at my old home location of Mount Vernon. 

How cold, asked I?

40 degrees said Linda Lou.

That is about how cold I am here, way down South, said I.

Linda Lou then asked who Elsie Hotpepper is.

I get asked that question regarding Elsie Hotpepper with some regularity. This is a difficult question to answer.

Linda Lou is a nurse, which makes her a valuable resource regarding anything to do with the medical business.

 And now we have a cloudy cold look at part of the Lucy Park forest of naked trees.

In a couple months the above will return to being in jungle mode, with me on the lookout for snakes and other reptiles as I do my nature communing. No alligator worries, though. Alligators don't make it this far north.

I made Chile Verde in the Instant Pot today. Super easy. And super tasty if you like the New Mexican version of Mexican food.

And super warming when the weather outside is frightful...