Did Thousands Celebrate Fort Worth's New Bridge With A Walk Across?

Saw that which you see above, on Facebook, yesterday. An aerial view, looking north, across San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, in 1937, on a day in May when people walked across the new bridge whilst planes flew overhead.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most iconic signature structures in the world. You see a photo of that bridge and you know what and where it is. Like seeing the Statue of Liberty, or the Eiffel Tower.

It took less than four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge, back in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The bridge was built over deep, fast moving saltwater, with widely varying tidal levels. 

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, Texas.

Way back in October of 2014 Fort Worth had a TNT exploding ceremony to mark the start of construction of three simple little bridges, over dry land, intended to one day connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, when water is added under the bridges via a cement lined ditch.

Those three simple little bridges were touted as destined to become iconic signature bridges, recognized world-wide as being in Fort Worth.

The first of the three bridges to be somewhat completed opened to some traffic in March of 2021.

Almost 7 years after that TNT explosion marked the start of construction.

I do not know if San Francisco had a TNT exploding ceremony, or a ceremony of any sort, to mark the start of construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I also do not know if Fort Worth had a celebratory day with its new bridge, where people could walk across the short new bridge, whilst airplanes flew overhead. 

I suspect not.

Fort Worth Congresswoman Kay Granger's son, J.D., was given the job of being the Executive Director of what eventually became known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

The builders of these bridges.

J.D. was given this job to help motivate his mother to secure federal funds for the project, because Fort Worth was too poor, and did not know how to finance public works projects in the way towns do who wear their Big City Pants.

J.D.'s salary eventually went over $200 K a year, plus lots of perks, such as junkets to other towns. 

Eventually, a few years after it became obvious that Fort Worth had become home to America's Biggest Boondoggle, J.D. was removed as Executive Director of the TRV, with an experienced project manager hired to replace him.

J.D. was given a new title, and no pay cut.

A sane town would long ago have demanded J.D. be fired. Particularly after it became widely known he was engaging in an extra-marital affair with a Trinity River Vision subordinate, creating what is known as a hostile work environment.

A sane town would also long ago have replaced J.D.'s mother with a Representative in Congress who actually represented the people they were supposed to represent.

But, that ain't Fort Worth.

An amusing irony of those three pitiful little bridges being touted as one day being iconic signature structures representing Fort Worth to the world, is that that likely is going to be a reality.

Those three bridges will symbolize a town which has trouble getting much done. From installing sidewalks along streets, to installing modern facilities in the town's parks, allowing the removal of the ubiquitous embarrassing outhouses.

Symbolizing a poorly thought out public works project the public never voted for, claiming to be a vitally needed flood control scheme, where there has been no flooding for well over half a century due to flood control measures already in place which the rest of America already paid for.

The un-needed flood control scheme masked a poorly thought out economic development scheme, which was designed to enrich those who owned property in the area which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle, property owners such as the Granger Grifter Gang. And others.

Am I erroneous? Was there a celebration with the opening of the first of Fort Worth's pitiful little freeway overpass-like bridges? With the public walking across the new bridges.

If so I saw no photos of such, and would appreciate seeing one if such exists...

All Sikes Lake Goslings On Display Today With Pink Evening Primroses

On this 3rd Saturday of the 2021 version of May I rolled my bike north on the Circle Trail for a few miles, with a windy assist from the south speeding me along effortlessly. Eventually I tired of the easy sailing, so I exited the Circle Trail to head west to Sikes Lake. 

Whilst in the outer world today the temperature was nearing 80, with that aforementioned wind blowing in clouds which later today are scheduled to produce booming thunder and possible big balls of hail.

My past couple rides around Sikes Lake I have not seen that big throng of goslings I have previously made mention of. I have no clue where they go when they are not seen. It is not like there are a lot of places to hide dozens of geese.

Yesterday's bike ride I came up on a mom and dad goose pair with four goslings. There were waddling on the parking lot of Vernon College, which is located at the northwest end of Sikes Lake. I would have taken a photo of those geese at that odd location, but at that point in time I was focused on my malfunctioning music playing device.

Today I saw all the geese previously seen.

The big flock of dozens of goslings, and their full grown guardians, were first seen exiting the lake. Doing such appeared to be a struggle for some of the goslings. I crossed the bridge and got myself south of the flock to take the photo you see above, where you can see some of the goslings in the field of pink evening primroses.

A short distance, as in about 50 feet, to the east of the flock of gosling frolicking in the primroses, I came upon what appeared to be the goose family I saw yesterday at Vernon College.

Minus one gosling.

I have been told it is treacherous sailing for the goslings when they are paddling on the lake. There are big fish in Sikes Lake.

Catfish and bass.

I have seen those monsters jump out of the lake to catch a fly. Apparently those big fish will also quickly swallow a little gosling floating on by. Such would likely happen so quickly mom and dad goose would have no clue what happened to one of their babies.

Mother Nature can be a harsh mama at times...

The Serious Texas Hoodoo Cairn Controversy

Long ago, in the first decade of this century, I regularly hiked the Tandy Hills in Fort Worth.

At some point during that first decade there was a news story out of Utah about a scout master leading his troop of Boy Scouts in toppling over a Hoodoo in Kodachrome State Park. That state park is located right by Bryce Canyon National Park, at a much lower elevation, and features similar rock formations.

Around the time the scout master got in trouble in Utah an artfully stacked pile of rocks appeared next to one of the Tandy Hills trails. I remember seeing this and thinking it to be a remarkable feat of rock balancing. I took a photo and blogged about it, speculating on what created this remarkable feat of rock balancing. And with Utah Hoodoos fresh on my mind, I jokingly speculated about this, wondering something along the line "Was this a natural formation I had not noted before? A Texas version of a Utah Hoodoo".

Upon returning the next day I found the Tandy Hills Hoodoo had been toppled, just like that Utah Hoodoo. And then over and over and over and over again, new Hoodoos would appear on the Tandy Hills, always to be knocked down again.

So, yesterday I made mention of having been erroneous regarding the correct name of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. This prompted an amusing comment from someone named Cowtown Crude...

Cowtown Crude has left a new comment on your post "Learned To Remove S Biking Wichita Bluff Nature Area With Thunder Cracked Window":

"...that I have been erroneously adding an 's' to Bluff.".

You also incorrectly refer to cairns as hoodoos.

Cairns - a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline. Man-made

Hoodoos - shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. Naturally occurring.

A recent episode of Jeopardy! included a clue with cairns as the answer.

_____________________

I knew those piles of rocks were not really Hoodoos, and that such piles were often manmade trail markers known as Cairns. But, I think I will stick with wrongly calling these remarkable feats of rock balancing Hoodoos.

Scroll down past the below Cairns and you will see my all time favorite photo, and some Washington Cairns

At some point in time during the 1990s, my nephews Christopher and Jeremy took me to the Mount Baker Ski Area on a warm September day.

That is my Favorite Nephew Jeremy on the left, which would make that my Favorite Nephew Christopher on the right. If you regularly read this blog, a few days ago you saw a photo of Jeremy and Christopher kissing their mother during Christopher's wedding weekend in Cabo San Lucas.

Jeremy and Christopher are sitting on top of Tabletop Mountain. Behind them is Mount Shuksan. The Mount Baker volcano is in the direction Christopher is looking.

And behind Jeremy and Christopher, between the nephews and Mount Shuksan, you can see a row of Cairns. I am just about 100% at the point in time I saw these I did not refer to them as Hoodoos. I don't think I knew of Hoodoos then. I don't remember if I knew they were known as Cairns at that point in time.

Looking at that photo of JR and CJ it causes me that homesick feeling. I was looking forward to seeing such scenery this summer. I doubt the hike up Tabletop would have happened. That would be fun though. It's an easy hike with a long series of switchbacks taking you to the top.

I do not plan on visiting the Wichita Bluff Nature Area Hoodoo Cairns today. But, my current plans may change as the hours of the day roll on by...

Learned To Remove S Biking Wichita Bluff Nature Area With Thunder Cracked Window

This morning I drove my bike to the east parking lot access to the Circle Trail on Loop 11. I had planned to roll my bike's wheels east on the Circle Trail to see what the current state of progress is of the construction of the link to the Circle Trail in Lucy Park.

But, the trail in that direction was blocked today by jackhammering on the trail near the parking lot.

So, instead of east I headed west to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, where I realized today, upon seeing the entry sign, that I have been erroneously adding an 's' to Bluff.

Apparently this is only one Wichita Bluff.

I think I turned the Bluff plural because there is more than one instance of the trail going up and down on what I assumed were separate bluffs.

Anyway, I had myself a mighty fine time doing some speeding bike riding. And I managed to have on the right amount of clothing. With the temperature in the high 50s, and a wind blowing from the north, sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt kept me from getting too chilly.

Blue sky is scheduled to return tomorrow.

Yesterday's thunderstorm did damage.

Damage to my abode. 

A strike of lightning and the simultaneous clap of thunder felt like an earthquake, vibrating the floor and walls. And cracking the glass in one of my kitchen windows.

It has been over 20 years since I have experienced a real earthquake. I never felt any of the fracking quakes with plagued the D/FW area when the Barnett Shale earth poking was going on.

Wichita Bluffs Nature Area Wildflowers

This is the time of year when Texas is at its most scenic. Well, more accurately, this is the only time of year when the Texas landscape is naturally scenic.

As you can see, the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area is alive with a little color, and a lush jungle of green. 

Til today it had been awhile since I went hiking on the Wichita Bluffs. I do not remember last spring, or the spring before that, the Wichita Bluffs being this green, with so many wildflowers.

Conditions this year must be optimum for wildflowers to bloom. Even so, I have only seen the State Wildflower of Texas where people have planted it in their landscaping at their house. I've not seen a single bluebonnet blooming naturally anywhere on the landscape at my location in North Texas.

The last time I visited the Wichita Bluffs, the area where Hoodoos arise, the area had no Hoodoos. Today there was the Hoodoo you see above. There were no wildflowers blooming by the Hoodoo.

I think the orange wildflower you see above is known as an Indian Paintbrush. I could easily be wrong about that. I have no idea what the purplish/blue wildflower's name is.

As you can see, via the photo at the top, it is cloudy here today. A slight drizzle drizzled whilst I was hiking.

Yesterday the outer world heated to nearly 90. Today a big chill has cooled the outer world down into the 50s. Thunderstorms are on the weather menu for later today...

Happy Mothers' Day...

I don't know if this is my Favorite Nephew David, or my Favorite Nephew Theo who is correcting his teacher's erroneous correction in the above New Yorker illustration....

You Know You Are From Washington When You Have A Favorite Brand Of Cannabis Mayonnaise

On Facebook this morning I saw a Heinz or Hunts version of mayonnaise which contained cannabis. This later  disappeared from Facebook when I went to find the pot mayonnaise image for blogging purposes.

I thought I would make mention of this and ask anyone who might know, who lives in one of the free American states, like Washington, Oregon, Colorado,  Arizona, Alaska, and others I am not remembering right now, if such a product is now sold in grocery stores.

I Googled looking for the image of the Heinz or Hunts green colored product, to no avail. But, I found others.

Also Googled to learn there are now 16 states which have pretty much decriminalized the use of marijuana. Along with Washington, D.C.

When Washington the state legalized the sale of recreational marijuana products, one of my nephews sent me a package which contained mint chocolates infused with cannabis.

I am fairly sure sending such to one of the backward, repressive states is likely breaking some sort of law.

It is so strange how states can be so different. One state, with the population highly educated, with good schools, resulting in a progressive liberal population, while another state, with the population not so well educated, with the schools not having a good reputation, resulting in a repressive, conservative population.

I remember shortly before moving to Texas, being at a festival in Fremont, in Seattle.

Fremont declared its independence from the U.S. decades ago, claiming then to be the Free Republic of Fremont. I may have the name wrong.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Fremont acquired some communist era artifacts, like statues. All in good fun, but of the sort which would have ignorant right wing nut jobs ranting in other parts of America.

Like where I am now.

Anyway, I was at this festival in Fremont, it may have been the Summer Solstice Festival, the one which begins with the big naked bike ride, which I have never seen. So, Wanda and I are wandering around and we see this guy hawking hash brownies for $1. There was a policeman about 10 feet from the hash brownies guy, who had a steady stream of customers, which soon included me and Wanda.

Well, that was one tasty brownie and it made for a much more interesting Fremont Festival experience.

Point being, well before the product was legalized, a permissive tolerance policy was pretty much in play in Washington.

And then I moved to Texas, where the concept of a permissive tolerance policy has just way too many syllables for most Texans to understand.

Speaking of Washington, also on Facebook I saw a semi-amusing item credited to comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who, apparently, now lives somewhere in Washington and who has lived there long enough to make the following observations about living in Washington...

1. If someone in a Lowes/Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Washington.

2. If you've worn shorts, flip-flops and a warm-jacket at the same time, you live in Washington.

3. If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Washington.

4. If you measure distance in hours, you live in Washington.

5. If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Washington.

6. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Washington. (That is “if” you have “AC”)

7. If you can drive through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Eastern Washington. If you live in Western Washington and can’t drive through 2” of snow and are in a ditch or have stalled out in the middle of the road, you are now pissing off all those who migrated from Eastern Washington to Western Washington, who now regret their choice. 

8. If you get your kid's Halloween costumes to fit over 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Washington.

9. If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with leaves, mud or ice, you live in Washington.

10. If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Washington.

11. If you feel guilty throwing bottles, cans or paper in the trash, you live in Washington.

12. If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Washington.

13. If you know more people who own boats than have air conditioning, you live in Washington.

14. If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Washington.

15. If you consider that if it has no snow on it (with the exception of the recently erupted), it’s not a ‘real’ mountain, then you live in Washington.

16. If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tullys, you live in Washington.

17. If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Washington.

18. If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Snoqualamie, (he misspelled Snoqualmie) Wenatchee , Spokane , Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, (the Willamette is a river in Oregon. When my mom and dad moved from Washington to Eugene, where I was born, they were giggled at due to mis-pronouncing the name of the river which runs through Eugene as Willa-meetee), you live in Washington.

19. If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Washington.

20. If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai food, you live in Washington.

21. If you go camping with a tarp, scotch guarded cloths and waterproof matches on you, you live in Washington.

22. If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Washington.

23. If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you definitely live in Washington.

24. If you buy new sunglasses every single year because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, then you live in Washington.

25. If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your Washington friends, you live or have lived in Washington.

___________________

Now I am off to Amazon to see if I can order some Cannabis Mayonnaise. One would think if such is available it would be on Amazon, what with Amazon being headquartered in Seattle...

Bike Riding With Dozens Of Goslings In Sikes Lake

Rolled my bike to Sikes Lake this second Saturday of the 2021 version of May. A couple days ago I was at this location and saw a few dozen goslings being herded across the paved trail, heading to the lake. Walkers and bikers stopped to watch and not interrupt the passage. 

The guardian geese get quite aggressive with their protecting the babies duty. You get a warning hiss noise with a tongue stuck out and wagging. I have not pressed the issue far enough to see what happens if one presses forward toward the hissing tongue.

I have been goosed by a goose before. I believe that is the correct term indicating being bitten by an angry goose. It is painful. It happened to me in a raspberry patch in Washington when I was a pre-teenager. 

The temperature was in the mid 80s whilst biking. The wind blew strong from the south. So strong it made for slow going in the lowest gear when heading home via the Circle Trail.

I saw a lot of golfers golfing on the golf course east side of Holliday Creek. How does one golf when the wind is blowing 30 miles per hour, with gusts?

In Cabo San Lucas With Latest Addition To Extended Jones Family

That is my Favorite Nephew Christopher you see above, with his newly wed wife, my Favorite Niece-in-Law Carissa.

Christopher and Carissa are in the Weston branch of the Jones Family, located in Arizona.

The nuptials took place May 1 at a location in Cabo San Lucas called the Garza Blanca Resort.

As you can see, via the photo documentation above, attendees to the wedding were required to be attired in earth tones. 

Via additional photo documentation it appears Christopher's younger brother, my Favorite Nephew Jeremy, was his usual rebel self and did not follow the earth tone edict.

Then again, I may be wrong, and blue is an earth tone. 

That is Jeremy, in blue, and his older brother, Christopher, in earth tones, kissing their mother, my Little Sister Jackie, who is also known as my Favorite Jackie Sister.

I know the name of Jackie's earth tone is Champagne. I know this because Jackie told me such. 

This is the first time I was not able to attend the wedding of one of my nephews. This was the first nephew wedding which did not take place in the United States.

I just remembered, I also did not attend my Favorite Nephew Joey's wedding. But that one does not count because I was not invited, because Joey and Monique eloped. At least that is what I was told. Joey and Monique got married in Montana, which is in the United States, and so attending those nuptials would not have required a passport.

That and the Joey/Monique nuptials took place prior to the COVID nightmare.

COVID made flying to Cabo a more difficult wedding to attend, in addition to needing a passport.

I can not help but wonder which nephew wedding is up next. Jason 2.0? Jeremy? David? Theo?

If Vegas were taking odds I would bet on Theo's being the next nephew wedding to take place, hopefully somewhere in the United States, well after COVID has faded into history....

Way Back To 1989 With Jason & Joey

Yesterday on Facebook I saw a photo posted by my Favorite Ex-Sister-in-Law, Cindy. 

Cindy is Spencer Jack and Hank Frank's Grandma. 

Which would make Grandma Cindy Jason and Joey's maternal parental unit.

The photo was of the group sort, a collection of baseballers assembled for some sort of baseball thing at Lake Padden in Bellingham.

Bellingham is the last semi-big town one drives through on I-5 before reaching the border with Canada.

Lake Padden Park is of the sort I really do not see much of in Texas. As in a city park which is HUGE, with multiple amenities. Miles of trails, some quite challenging. Excellent swimming. Multiple playfields for various sports. Amenities like modern restrooms and water running out of a faucet. This park can get a bit overwhelmed on a HOT summer day. When I lived in Washington I frequented Lake Padden frequently.

And this is not even Bellingham's only big park. Whatcom Falls Park is a scenic wonderland the likes of which do not exist at my current location. Again, miles of trails, a swimming hole like something out of a a movie.

Think Blue Lagoon without palm trees.

But containing a forest of big old growth evergreen trees...

Anyway, back to Jason & Joey. The photo above, cropped from a larger photo, was taken in 1989. That is Jason on the left, making that Jason's little brother, Joey, on the right.

Cindy remarked, in a comment on this post, that this year, the 1989 young version of Jason turns 42.

Turns 42, with a kid, Spencer Jack, older than Jason was in 1989.

The rapid passage of time really is not for the faint hearted...