Storm Free Visit To Dead Calm Lake Wichita Before Stealing Taco Bell Taco

In the first photo you see here it almost looks like I am at an ocean beach with waves crashing to shore behind me.

Sadly, such was not the case.

I do not know why this looks so stormy, because it was not. Total cloud cover, yes, but zero wind, dead calm, Lake Wichita turned into a motionless mirror.

As you can see I am making a lot of progress with the selfie taking under the kind tutelage of Janatee Largo, also known as Thelma McNutty. 

Janatee is a master at offering constructive criticism, which she offers without hesitation, not caring if the constrictive criticism was solicited, or not.

Today's chilly endorphin inducing aerobic activity took place at the Lake Wichita Dam location.

Usually a strong wind blows here, necessitating signage warning to beware of such. But, as you can clearly see, dead calm was what was happening today.

In the above photo documentation we are on the Lake Wichita Boardwalk, looking west across the lake to Mount Wichita looming tall on the distant horizon.

Off the boardwalk now, heading to the Lake Wichita Floating Dock. When a strong wind blows, making waves, this floating dock can feel like being on a carnival ride.

Now we are on the floating dock, looking south at that boardwalk we were on moments ago. 

And now we are back on the Circle Trail, on top of Lake Wichita Dam, heading north.

It was nice today, being outside without being buffeted by strong wind gusts.

Completing today's nature commune it was a short drive to Taco Bell to pick up lunch. Today was Taco Bell's "Steal a Taco Day". Apparently if anyone stole a base during the recently completed World Series, today, nationwide, Taco Bell was giving away a free Dorito taco. 

I also got a Supreme Burrito. My dad learned to like Taco Bell after mom and dad moved to Arizona. But, me? I do not understand how Taco Bell, or any of the taco fast food joints, stay in business...

Was That A Seattle Seahawk Today At Chilly Sikes Lake?

Coldest day today since last winter's dip below zero. Or so it seems. 

46 degrees.

Cloudy.

With a slow drizzle drizzling down from the sky, making my current location's outer world seem like a stereotypical winter day in my old home zone of Western Washington.

And so I layered on the layers of outerwear and drove to Sikes Lake for a fast walk with the Sikes Lakes geese, ducks and hawk.

As you can see from the photo evidence above, my selfie photo taking is improving. I have been getting selfie instructional input from Thelma McNutty, also known by her stage name of Janatee Largo. Why would you take a stage name when your real name is already memorable? I do not know the answer to that question.

Behind me, besides part of Sikes Lake, you are seeing one of the sculptural works of art stuck on the ground by the Wichita Falls Museum of Art. 

Above we are standing on the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake, looking east. If I were on my bike this is a location where I stop for a hydration break. No need for hydrating today. Mother Nature was providing a steady stream of hydration.

And now we are on the bridge at the north end of Sikes Lake, looking at the aforementioned hawk, perched on the bridge's railing. The hawk did not seem to mind a human passing by. Having recently watched Hitchcock's The Birds, I was wary of getting too close to the hawk. Even though the attack birds in The Birds were not hawks. 

Was this hawk a seahawk? I don't know if there actually is a bird known as a seahawk, or just a made up name in order to be alliterative with Seattle. I suppose I could Google to find out the answer to this serious question. But I've got other stuff to do right now that is more interesting than investigating seahawks.

Chilly Fall Walk To Wichita Falls Waterfall

The outer world was chilled to 50 degrees when I left my abode this morning. With the windchill factor making those 50 degrees feel somewhere in the 40s. 

I left my abode to drive an elderly gentlemen to his pharmacist to pick up some prescriptions. 

After that I asked the elderly gentlemen if there was anything else he would like to do. It's been awhile since I've walked to the Wichita Falls waterfall, said he. But, that's a bit of an incline to get to the falls, no matter which access point you use, are you sure you are up to such a challenge, asked I?

Yes, was the reply.

And that is why you are seeing a photo of the Wichita Falls waterfall on this second day of the 2021 version of November.

From the Circle Trail a serpentine brick paved trail takes you to the top of the falls. 

The steepness of the trail to the the top of the falls was too much for the elderly gentleman, so he opted out and just meandered slow motion down the Circle Trail, whilst I went to the top of the falls.

Above I am at the top of the waterfall. That person you see below the waterfall is not the aforementioned elderly gentleman.

So that has been my thrilling excitement for today. Doing something I've done many times previous...

UPDATE: Day After Halloween Trying To Find David, Theo & Ruby

 

I was hiking the backwoods area of Lucy Park when my phone made its incoming text message noise. Checking the message I saw a photo with text asking "Can you find your niece and nephews?"

When I got back to my home zone and my computer, I plugged in the phone to extract the photo and check email. In the incoming email was the same photo that was on my phone, with the same text, but with the addition of "Happy Halloween".

Is Ruby holding the green light saber? Is that Theo the green light saber is pointing at? Or is that Theo being Einstein? Is that David behind Ruby, with the red eyes?

And on the ground that looks like a poodle in a Halloween costume looking like my poodle nephew, Blue, who is currently residing in Doggy Heaven with his brother Max.

Late this afternoon of the first day of November another photo arrived in the email, asking if I guessed right. Below is that photo and below that we will see if I guessed which ones were David, Theo and Ruby...

Well, I got Zero right. When I replied to the email I had not looked at the original again and quickly assumed I guessed correctly with Ruby. But, Ruby is not holding the green light saber. Ruby is the one in blue to the left of the light saber. David is way in the back, the redhead. And Theo is in red, behind the green light saber.

No Halloween Bread For The Lucy Park Ducks

With the outer world chilled to 61 degrees, with the air moving at about a 10 mph pace, thus creating a wind chill factor making the outer world feel like it's chilled to somewhere in the 50s, I again opted out of rolling my bike wheels anywhere on this last day of the 2021 version of October.

Instead I drove to Lucy Park for some nature communing and duck walking. On this day of Halloween we shall take a look at the Lucy Park Duck Pond. Where a lot of geese co-habitate with the ducks. 

At the west entry to the Duck Pond signage warns against feeding the birds bread. MSU needs to put up similar signage at Sikes Lake.

The photo does not make it clear, but above the Duck Pond was dominated by big water lilies. 

The ducks see a human and gravitate, I mean, float, towards the human, in this case, me, hoping I am going to toss some Halloween treat at them.

A pagoda style bridge across the Duck Pond. I have yet to learn what's up with all the Japanese type structures in Lucy Park.

The trails around the Duck Pond have multiple sitting opportunities, on swing benches. Which is the Wichita Falls norm.

And that concludes our tour of the Lucy Park Duck Pond...

Hank Frank & The Great Halloween Pumpkin

Earlier this 2021 Halloween, in a blogging about a Super Slug Halloween I wondered if I would be seeing Trick or Treat costume pictures today of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

About an hour later the photo you see above showed up on my phone.

Hank Frank with a great giant pumpkin.

That is the Mount Baker volcano hovering above the foothills you see in the background behind Hank Frank.

Happy Super Slug Halloween

 

Most people who have spent any time at all in the Pacific Northwest will know what the above Halloween costume is costuming.

Known by most as slugs. By some as snails. They come in several sizes and colors, including the version known as a banana slug, due to being yellow.

Slugs are sort of the PNW pest equivalent of cockroaches. I never saw a cockroach til I moved to Texas. I don't think they exist in the Pacific Northwest. 

A couple years ago a friend of mine here, a lifelong Texan, flew up to Washington for the first time. Being surrounded by mountains for the first time in her life impressed her the most. She said she found the mountains mesmerizing.

And then there was this other thing she'd never seen before that she found disturbing.

Slugs.

On her first morning in Seattle she went out to the backyard of the friend's house in which she was staying and saw dozens of giant worm-like things leaving a trail of slime in their wake. She quickly retreated back into the house and alarmingly reported some sort of invasion was taking place in the backyard. The friends rushed outside, saw the invaders, and simultaneously said "slugs".

Slugs can be a big nuisance. I had a rooftop garden at my house in Mount Vernon. I grew strawberries, basil, spinach, blueberries and I forget what else. Somehow slugs managed to get up the stairs and into the various food growing containers.

You can buy slug bait which attracts and kills them, leaving a trail of slime and a slug corpse in its wake. Or you can put beer in a saucer. The beer attracts the slug, which then drowns, happily drunk.

I wonder if I will be getting Halloween costume pictures of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank today?

Spencer Jack may have reached that age where he thinks he is too old to go trick or treating...

Looking At Memories I Don't Remember

Google continues its sporadic sending of email with the subject line of "Look back at your memories from this day". This last Saturday morning of the 2021 version of October Google sent two memory looks. The one you see above and another made up of photos of Aunt Alice, and one of me.

In the look at memories above I only remember two of the memories. In the lower left that is me, at Dinosaur Valley State Park. There is a swimming zone there, with no life guard, but does provide Life Jugs to throw at a drowning person. The only other memory I remember from above is that is Reunion Tower in Dallas at the lower right.

Above all but the lower right are Aunt Alice in her various Halloween costumes. In the upper left and right Aunt Alice is Mary Todd Lincoln. Lower left Aunt Alice is Marilyn Monroe. Next to Marilyn, Aunt Alice is Gloria Swanson. And then on the lower right, that is me and Wanda on a houseboat on Lake Powell.

What fond memories to not remember...

Another Windy Texas Day Grounds Me

Another extremely windy day at my location on the planet. With gusts gusting to around 40 mph riding my bike had zero appeal. So, it was to nearby Sikes Lake my motorized motion device took me for a walk around Sikes Lake.

Above you are standing in the middle of the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake, looking west at what looks like a lagoon, but is, in reality, the creek which delivers the water which makes Sikes Lake. 

The high wind had the Sikes Lake Geese Fleet grounded today. Out of the water, out of the air. Above you are seeing only a small portion of the Sikes Lake goose population. There is also a flock of ducks in residence, some of whom mingle with the geese.

Soon after getting past the flock of grounded geese we come upon the scene above. I have blogged about this previously, but never got an answer to the question I asked. Soon after the plaque you see in the foreground was installed the information on the plaque became wrong. Mention is made of the small horse you see above the plaque, indicating the small horse's name is "Painters Parade". And then mention is made of a large horse named "Apple-oosa".

Well, Apple-oosa disappeared soon after this plaque was installed. Was Apple-oosa stolen? Or moved to a new location by the Wichita Falls Museum of Art? If it was stolen it was a rather brazen act of thievery. As in there is no easy access via vehicle to this location. And there are a lot of eyes at this location.

New Problems With Fort Worth's Three Bridges To An Imaginary Island

Apparently the Contractor, Panther Island partners at odds on final cost of three bridges.

We learn of this latest chapter in the multi-year Fort Worth bridge building boondoggle via an article in the Fort Worth Business Press.

Below are four paragraphs from this article. Below these four paragraphs we are going to talk about the second paragraph...

TxDOT officials also identified a “malfunction of design” as the cause of delays as far back as 2016.

Built over dry land to save money, the three bridges will eventually span a Trinity River channel to connect with the $1.17 billion Panther Island development north of downtown Fort Worth.

Prior to start of construction, there were suggestions that the design of the 7th Street bridge could be replicated and constructed quicker and less expensively than the V-pier design of Freese and Nichols.

But J.D. Granger, who oversees the Panther Island project and is the son of project champion U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, argued that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer had signed off on the V-pier design and a change would delay and possibly increase the cost of the bridges as well as possibly jeopardize the $526 million the project is expected to receive for channelizing the Trinity River to improve flood control.

____________________

For longer than seven years we have been told, over and over and over again, that these three bridges were being built over dry land to save money. This article's mention of this is the first time I've seen it not mentioned that the bridges were also being built over dry land to save time.

The being built over dry land to save time claim becomes obviously ridiculous when it took an astonishing seven years to build three simple freeway overpass type bridges over dry land. Longer than it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge, over actual deep, fast moving water.

With the final price tag being way higher than originally projected, the saving money claim is also rendered bogus.

But, what is most annoying about this built over dry land to save time and money claim is that to suggest such is totally idiotic. 

I mean, how hard is it to see why claiming the bridges were purposefully being built over dry land to save time and money is totally idiotic?

There never was any other option but to build the three bridges over dry land.

That this must even be pointed out is like a metaphor for the entire Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

If that cement lined ditch were built first, before the bridges, how would drivers drive to the other side of the channel? How could it ever have been an option to dig the ditch first, and add the bridges later?

I have read so many supposedly responsible adults repeat the bogus, ridiculous "built over dry land to save time and money" claim.

Congresswoman Kay Granger has repeated this nonsense. As has her son, J.D. Granger, currently paid $242,000 a year, to do what? No one seems to know what J.D. does to warrant being paid so much. Former Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price has spewed the "built over dry land to save time and money" nonsense. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has repeatedly repeated the "built over dry land to save time and money" nonsense. As have other supposed news sources, including, now, the Fort Worth Business Press.

When will this absurdly ridiculous nonsense end?