Finally We Hit 100 In Formerly Chilly Wichita Falls

Today, Monday August 9, is the first time this year I have seen my phone tell me we've hit 100. About a month behind my old home zone going over 100. 

I did not go on a bike ride today, or yesterday.

Too HOT.

This morning I had the fun adventure of chauffeuring a senior citizen to the doctor for a regularly scheduled checkup.

Which took over an hour.

I sat in my vehicle, under the shade of a tree, with the windows open, reading, whilst the old man got checked up.

I had a break from reading when someone from my old home zone called because he was stumped trying to identify the people in a photo I had sent his phone. He only was able to identify three of the five, even though he'd seen one of the two he was not able to identify, in person, two Saturday's ago.

I sent the same photo last night, that time via Facebook, to someone from my old home zone who now lives on the east coast. She was on a train returning from a vacation at an Atlantic Ocean resort town to her current home zone where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox. She also was only able to identify three of the five, but only one of the un-identified was the same stumping one as what stumped the other stumped person.  

I knew Linda Lou, who sent me the picture, was meeting up with the person these other two could not identify. And even though I had been told, when I saw the photo I had to ask to confirm, because, well, this person did not look much like I remember her looking.

So, I can see why those other two could not identify this person who looked so different, but there really is no excuse for not recognizing the other two, Betty Jo Bouvier and Russell B...

Nephew Jason Sends Me Cascade Mountain Hiking With His Mother

When I visited Facebook this morning I soon saw there was a message from my Favorite Ex-Sister-In-Law, Cindy, who is also Spencer Jack's grandma, and nephew's Jason and Joey's maternal parental unit.

Cindy's Facebook message asked me if I was able to see the pictures of the hike she went on yesterday. And that Jason thought I would be interested in seeing them.

I messaged back to Cindy that I had not seen her latest hiking pictures, but I would go find them, which I did, including the one you see here, with Cindy at the end of a wooden bridge.

I told Cindy that I assumed Jason wanted me to see these pictures as part of the multi-front attempts to make my homesick for the ultra scenic Pacific Northwest.

Cindy messaged me back saying that Jason thought I'd taken him hiking the Bridal Veil Falls/Lake Serene Trail, and so I would like seeing them. So this was not an attempt at triggering homesickness.

I have zero recollection of taking my Favorite Nephew Jason to this location, accessed off Highway, also known as Stevens Pass, one of the mountain passes over Washington's Cascade Mountains.

I don't remember ever taking Jason hiking anywhere. I do remember taking his little brother, my Favorite Nephew Joey, on multiple hikes, to locations like Mount Baker, Sauk Mountain, and the Glacier Peak volcano.

Til yesterday Western Washington had gone 55 days without rain. Cindy and her fellow hikers got dripped on, but looked well prepared for such a calamity, as evidenced by the below photo, with Cindy in the yellow raincoat.

The south Puget Sound Seattle Tacoma zone did not get much precipitating, but my old home zone of the Skagit Valley did.

One person opined Saturday's long downpour was like Mother Nature was making up for her 55 day absence with a massive deluge.

Even with a 55 day drought Washington's mountain forests appear to still be quite evergreen.

Cindy said they hiked the Lake Serene Trail, not the Bridal Veil Falls Trail. But, even so, I am assuming the waterfall we see below must be Bridal Veil Falls. Then again, it could be just one of the many waterfalls one sees in the Cascade Mountains, which is the reason why this mountain range is so named. Because of all the Cascades cascading down the mountain slopes. 

Years ago I recollect being somewhere in the North Cascades, on a logging road, and opining that I did not recollect ever seeing so many waterfalls before. The argumentative sort in the vehicle with me then told me those were not waterfalls. If they are not waterfalls, what are they, I asked? The argumentative sort hemmed and hawed trying to come up with what these were if they were not waterfalls.

The eventual answer was "They are downhill rivers".

No I am not making that up. I don't remember how many days passed before I realized the word the argumentative sort was searching for was "cascades".

Does the above look like a waterfall or a cascade to you?

One day, hopefully soon, I will get to witness such things in person...

Biking Fishing & Mountain Climbing At Lake Wichita

My new bike rolled me to Lake Wichita for the first time this morning.

And, now that I have a speedometer/odometer attached I know how many miles that particular bike ride is.

9.54 miles.

I saw a lot of people enjoying the outer world today, including multiple people fishing, such as those you see above, under a canopy next to the Lake Wichita flying fish sculpture. 

I don't like the idea of eating fish one catches in water so murky it has zero visibility. Fish caught in pristine clear water seems like a much better idea.

It has been a long time since I have hiked to the summit of Mount Wichita. Today I saw several making the treacherous trek. 

As you can see, even though we are days into August, we are still green in North Texas.

I read this morning that Western Washington got its first moisture in 55 days yesterday. And that was just a light misting. 

I also read that last month's record breaking heat wave turned the Walla Walla Sweet Onion crop to cooked mush. I have not heard if the fruit orchards of Eastern Washington have been hurt by the HEAT. 

Mom & Dad's 70th Wedding Anniversary

On this day, August 6, 70 years ago, my mom and dad became husband and wife. 

August 6, 2008 was the last time I was at the same location as mom and dad on their wedding anniversary.

That location was my sister Michele's house in Tacoma, a year or two or three before the arrival of David, Theo and Ruby. The only kids in the Tacoma house at that point in time were the Adventure Poodles, Max and Blue.

I did not see mom and dad on the day of their 50th anniversary, because that year, 2021, August 6 was on a Monday, so the Happy 50th Anniversary party happened the following Saturday, August 11.

If I remember correctly, and sometimes I do, I was on the road, somewhere between Texas and Washington on August 6, 2001. No one, but two of my nephews knew I was roadtripping home for mom and dad's 50th.

That roadtrip home in August of 2021 was my last time to have done so. The world seemed to drastically change a month later, on September 11, which happens to also be my Favorite Nephew David's birthday. Next month David becomes a teenager.

Throwback Thursday To Blackberry Shakes At Fife's Pick Quick With The Tacoma Trio

The above may be my favorite photo taken during the previous decade.

August 15, 2017.

Theo, David and Ruby were taking me to the airport to send me to Arizona. 

On the way to the airport we stopped at the Pacific Northwest's legendary Pick Quick burger joint in Fife, to have ourselves some burgers and blackberry milkshakes.

During my week with the Tacoma Trio I taught them there is nothing better, milkshake-wise, than a blackberry milkshake.

Ruby was hesitant at first, being a chocolate aficionado, but eventually Ruby came over to the blackberry side.

If I remember right, Aunt Jackie and Uncle Jack have left Arizona and are currently having fun with the Tacoma Trio, and their parental units, along with seeing some less fun relatives.

With COVID spiking again I hope a new lockdown doesn't leave Jackie and Jack stranded in Washington...

Firing Walmart Hiring Kyle To Change My Oil

 

The above was the view through my windshield for about 10 minutes this first Wednesday morning of the 2021 version of August.

I was getting my oil rapidly changed.

For several years now, well, since I moved to this town, I have been getting the oil changed at my nearby Walmart.

But, the last couple attempts at doing so, being told it would taken an hour, and that they were under staffed, and the final straw, standing for 10 minutes waiting for the guy who told me it'd be a minute before it checked me in, I decided I was being dumb getting an oil change at Walmart.

So, the local radio station I listen to most is known as BOB. On BOB I frequently hear an advertisement for Kyle's Quick Change. The ad makes a good case for getting ones oil changed at a locally owned enterprise.

Kyle is the voice speaking on this ad. Kyle has a classic Texas accent. Not quite as strong as Elsie Hotpepper's when she is in sailor on shore leave mode, but close.

Kyle does not pronounce oil the way I am used to. As in oil rhyming with boil. Kyle pronounces oil as rhyming with bawl.

"Get yer next awl change at Kyle's Quick Change and I guarantee your satisfaction." Or words similar to that.

The team changing my oil chattered the entire time, like some sort of rapid sitcom dialogue, that was funny to listen to because it was all about how many whether or not my vehicle had 6 or 8 cylinders.

I recognized the voice of the person dealing directly with me, and when he handed me back my credit card I asked if his was the voice on the radio ad. He confirmed that it was he and thanked me for noticing.

Well, I won't be going back to Walmart again for an oil change. I arrived at Kyle's around 9 this morning. I was back on the road, heading to the library, by about 9:10.

I got back to my abode by 10 and was able to get in a long bike ride before noon...

Two New Sikes Lake Hoodoo Cairns Sprout Up Overnight

Two new Hoodoo-like cairns, or cairn-like Hoodoos showed up today on the east shore of Sikes Lake.

Those are some big boulders someone is lifting to build these works of art.

As you can see via the absence of any wave action today at my location we are currently in dead calm mode. 

The temperature the past couple days has gotten nowhere near 100. Yesterday when I rolled my bike's wheels the temperature wasn't even in the 80s. Same today, but slightly warmer at 79 when I left my abode.

These chilly temperatures are feeling like an early harbinger of winter, well, fall, not winter.

I'm really not in the mood for winter. So far we have not had a super HEAT wave hit, with the temperature well above 100.

So, so far the Texas electricity grid has not been strained like last winter's sub-zero disaster...

McNutty Strikes Again From Tacoma This Time

Little Miss McNutt's latest homesick inducing image, posted on Facebook, is not the usual view of Mount Rainier, which is usually from the Seattle perspective, if not an up close look at the Mountain.

Tacoma is closer to the Mountain than Seattle is. At times when driving around Tacoma it seems like the Mountain is somehow following you, at times seeing to loom larger and closer than other times.

The view above is a tad exaggerated. I think David, Theo and Ruby's Tacoma abode is hidden somewhere in the tall evergreen trees.

The Washington Native American's name for Mount Rainier is Tahoma, which means "snowy mountain peak".

I do not know why David, Theo and Ruby's town replaced the 'h' in Tahoma with a 'c'. There likely is an explanation for this.

What Is Elsie Hotpepper Doing In Yellowstone With Kevin Costner?

A time or two or three I have been asked if I have photo documentation documenting the actual existence of Elsie Hotpepper.

Well.

Yellowstone, the TV drama, is one of the most popular shows on cable.

Season 4 has begun filming.

With much of Yellowstone's Season 4 taking place in Fort Worth.

This is a TV drama where a 6th generation homesteader owns the largest ranch in America. The homesteader is named Dutton and is played by Kevin Costner.

Dutton deals in a corrupt world where politicians are dirty dealing with oil and timber barons and land grab developers making billions of bucks. 

Dutton's HUGE ranch is in constant conflict with that which it borders, a growing town, an Indian reservation and America's first national park.

I can sort of understand why Fort Worth would be picked to be the corrupt growing town conflicting with the biggest ranch in America.

Anyway, what you see here is a publicity still from the upcoming 4th Season of Yellowstone. Fort Worth suburb native, Elsie Hotpepper, has a part to play in Season 4.

Which would make that photo documentation of Elsie Hotpepper you are looking at above.

No details are yet known regarding the role Elsie Hotpepper is playing in Yellowstone. Romance with Kevin Costner? Rival ranch owner running cattle across Costner's territory? Or a dirty dealing politician?

We can hardly wait to find out...

115 Degrees With Soaring COVID Cases In Wichita County

Yesterday, Saturday, the last day of the month of July in the year 2021, around 6pm I exited air conditioned coolness to drive to Walmart.

The outer world was HOT.

I got in my vehicle and saw the vehicle's temperature monitor was indicating it was 115 degrees HOT.  I attempted to take a photo documenting the temperature, which you will see, above, if you look closely at the right side of the rear view mirror.

Entering Walmart something happened which has never happened previously during the era of COVID. A Walmart employee was handing out masks. Since being vaccinated I have not been doing the masking thing. I asked the person handing out the masks if Walmart was reversing their masking policy due to the new CDC recommendations. Yes was her reply.

The CDC is recommending that even those who have been vaccinated mask up when out and about where humans congregate. So, I put on my new Walmart mask and proceeded into the store, to find myself freshly appalled to see way too many refusing to be masked, even with Walmart giving you a mask upon entry.

 

And then this morning, the first day of the 2021 version of August I read, via the Wichita Falls Times Record News, that COVID cases are soaring again at this relatively isolated area of Texas.
 

I read elsewhere this morning that Walmart has reversed its masking policy, and I'm thinking, due to what I experienced last night, maybe Walmart will maybe perhaps be more assertive with the mask requirement.

For weeks now upon entering Walmart you see a big sign telling you that you can get vaccinated, for free, at the Walmart pharmacy.