Sunday At Sikes Lake Not Boating, Canoeing Or Kayaking Without Approval

On this 4th Sunday of the new year of 2022, with the outer world heated in the 50s, and with little wind blowing, I drove to Sikes Lake this morning to commune with nature and the geese flocks.

I have never seen anyone boating, canoeing or kayaking on Sikes Lake.

Or swimming.

I assume the swimming ban must have something to do with the possible toxicity of the possibly polluted water. That and the lake is so shallow in some spots that swimming might not be doable.

But why no boating, canoeing or kayaking?

Have people asked for university approval of boating, canoeing or kayaking and been denied?

It would seem like turning Sikes Lake into more of a recreational asset would be a good thing for the university, and the town.

I have read previously that Sikes Lake needs to be dredged again. The last time Sikes Lake was dredged, that which was dredged, was hauled to Lake Wichita Park where the mud was turned into what some call Mount Wichita, but which is also known as Murphy's Hill.

Methinks it would be a real good thing to dredge Sikes Lake again, and make another mountain in Lake Wichita , creating a mini-mountaiin range. 

Back To Lucy Park After 14 Degrees This Morning

The temperature got way down to 14 degrees above zero last night.

By the time I exited my abode to head to Lucy Park, an hour before noon, it was nearly 18 degrees warmer, hovering near the freeze point.

I did not go out in it yesterday. Too overcast, windy and cold. 

Today blue sky has returned, the air is barely moving, so there was only that freezing temperature to deal with. 

In a rare circumstance I layered on the right amount of layers today to stay warm. It was so pleasant my cheeks are back hurting again from too much smiling, which you see photo documented here, standing on the Lucy Park suspension bridge over the wild waters of the Wichita River.

Disc golfing must be fun. Even on an icy day like today there was disc golfing happening at Lucy Park.

The above is one of my favorite Lucy Park scenes. All the naked trees. Twisted into weird shapes.

Reminds me of when I do yoga...

Linda Lou's Successful Shipment Of Cougar Gold Cheese

For over a month Linda Lou has been trying to send me three pounds of Cougar Gold Cheese.

Delivery was finally successful yesterday. Which you see photo documented above.

And the long wait was well worth it.

Best cheese ever.

As long as we can remember, Linda Lou and I have been extra sharp cheese aficionados. By the time we were 16, with cars and driver's licenses, we would drive north to the nearest Hickory Farms, in Bellingham, to shamelessly indulge in the Hickory Farms extra sharp cheese samples.

Cougar Gold is a product of Washington State University. WSU is known for its agricultural and research programs, producing well educated farmers, which may explain why Washington is the source of so much of the farm and orchard products, feeding America and the world.

I am almost 100% certain Cougar Gold Cheese is not so named due to being a product of one of those WSU research programs, somehow milking actual Cougars on some sort of Cougar farm.

The WSU mascot is a Cougar.

Of the feline cat sort...

Look At My Google Memories From January 18

Again Google perplexes me with an email with a look back at my memories from a specific day. As in today, January 18.

Today I made sure I remembered one of the memories. On the right, in the middle, that would be the Shadow of the Sikes Lake Thin Man, today, walking around Sikes Lake. 

I deleted Google's memory from today, at that location, and added the memory I actually remember. As you can see, the Sikes Lake Thin Man is in shorts today and a t-shirt.

Warm.

A bit breezy, but warm.

In those other memories I think the top two are from Tyler Lake State Park, in East Texas. I was out there to ride that park's well regarded mountain bike trails.

Those top two photos are not phone selfies. Such had not yet been invented by that point in time. Those two photos would have been taken with my Casio digital camera with its swivel lens feature which let you swivel the lens to aim it at ones face to take what is now known as a selfie.

I do not remember if the Casio had a video screen. It must have, or how would one have managed to so accurately aimed the camera?

I think the lower left photo was also taken in Tyler Lake State Park, with that water being Tyler Lake.

On the lower right, that is Grandma Jones. I do not know why I would be having a memory of Grandma Jones on January 18.

Changing the subject to another of today's memories.

UPS delivered a big box of WSU Cougar Cheese a few minutes ago. I have yet to open the box. I will let you know what I find in the box tomorrow.

I didn't know anyone made cheese from cougar milk...

Back To Lucy Park For Peaceful Retreat From Certified Harpie

Yes, it was back to Lucy Park today for another pleasantly temperatured windless walk amongst the trees. Looking at this photo documentation one would think no one but me was in Lucy Park. That impression would be wrong. Lots of disc golfers today. And pecan pickers.

I took the paved trail you see above to once again walk through the isolated, undeveloped back 40 of Lucy Park.

I like the peaceful solitude, particularly after this morning's bout with a certified harpie.

There are some big trees in Lucy Park. They look so stark, naked, without their leaf covering.

 Above we have now reached the aforementioned Lucy Park back 40. This part of the park totally floods when the Wichita River decides to flow an excessive amount of water.

Changing the subject to something completely different. When I got back to my home zone and woke up my computer I saw Facebook was open, with a notification telling me a date has been set for next summer's class reunion. 

July 23, 2022.

I was hoping this might happen in August. I don't know if I'm going to make it up north in July...

Warm Enough Sunday For Lucy Park With No Snakes

Yesterday, the third Saturday of the new year of 2022, the outer world was barely above freezing, with wind gusts as fast as 50mph, during the time frame when I do my regularly scheduled outdoor activity.

And so I opted to stay indoors yesterday, til I could take being housebound not longer, so in the early evening I braved the blustery wind to go to Walmart.

Today, the third Sunday of the new year of 2022 the air was heated to above freezing, with nary a breeze of wind blowing, so I layered on some outerwear to make my way to Lucy Park to do some fast walking.

As you can see via the photo of my happy face I was quite pleased to be outside under the bright blue sky. After about a mile of fast walking I was getting too warm, and so the hood came off, the jacket was unzipped and the gloves were stuck in a pocket.

Today I walked the undeveloped back 40 of Lucy Park. Come Spring all those trees turn green, as does the ground, turning the view you see below into more of a lush jungle than its current state.

This area of Lucy Park is where I saw the biggest snake I have seen since being in Wichita Falls. It was at least five feet long. I don't know where the snakes go when the air turns frigid. I do know the cold-blooded monsters can not resume slithering until the temperature gets much warmer.

A fellow Washingtonian who moved to Oklahoma about the same time I moved to Texas learned first hand where some snakes go when it gets cold outside. Their first winter in Oklahoma they were shocked to find they had snakes living in their attic. This was learned when they saw a large snake slithering up a drainpipe to enter a hole into the attic.

Some green remains in some of the trees in Lucy Park. I thought this tall bald tree paired with a tree still green was interestingly unique.

The weather tomorrow should be as conducive as today's for outdoor activity. I need to amp up my aerobic activity in order to lose 20 pounds by the time I run the Amazing Race and fly up to Washington for a reunion...

Friday Balmy Nature Communing In Lucy Park Giving Waterfall Directions

Even though my cheeks are still hurting from doing too much smiling, I found the energy to make my way to Lucy Park on this second Friday of the new 2022 year.

The Google Fit app on my phone calculated I only walked 3.45 miles today. In what Google Fit's time keeping calls Move Minutes, I moved for 57 minutes. I think that works out to being almost 3.45 miles per hour.

That is the beautiful, majestic Wichita River behind me. This location is a couple miles from the location where the actual falls once existed which gave Wichita Falls its name. The artificial Wichita Falls, which was built because locals tired of visitors asking where Wichita Falls was located, is located about a half mile from where I am at the above location.

Today I was asked if I could point out how to get to the falls. This has happened before, more than once.

I can see where locals tired of having to explain there was no waterfall in Wichita Falls, and so a fake waterfall was made.

There is plenty of signage in Lucy Park pointing the direction to the falls, but I guess it is easier to ask someone who looks like a local. And my friendly smiley countenance renders me harmlessly approachable.

The air was heated to somewhere in the 70s again, for today's nature communing. I managed to be dressed properly for the weather condition. Cargo shorts and a t-shirt. In January....

Multiple New Sikes Lake Hoodoos With McNutty Video Calls

With the temperature a balmy 70 some degrees, with zero wind blowing, I was back in shorts and t-shirt for a walk around Sikes Lake.

And I stupidly wore that hat you see me smiling  below in the photo documentation.

My cheeks are still hurting from smiling so much. 

Multiple new Hoodoo Cairns have sprouted in the Sikes Lake zone, including the three causing me to smile, behind me.

Soon after taking the Hoodoo picture I removed the hat, before it totally overheated me.

A better look at those three Hoodoos without me blocking the view.

And then there were the above two Hoodoos. These sprouted up behind a cyclone fence near the dam which blocks the creek which provides the water which makes Sikes Lake a lake.

Total change of subject.

Anyone else have anyone you know who frequently causes your Facebook to light up with a video chat request? I have this happen fairly regularly. It is always the same perpetrator. And she always claims it to be an accident.

When it happens I have no clue how to answer the call, even if I wanted to. I see the cameral light turn on on the laptop. And then, just as quickly as the call pops up, it goes away.

For identification purposes we will call the perpetrator of these multiple video chat instances McNutty. Because such seems a fitting name for someone who does the same thing over and over and over again, and then claims it was an accident.

I think McNutty just wants to hear my sweet voice and see my sweet smiling face.

And she always seems to make these video chat calls when I am in my yoga attire doing my morning yoga routine...

Cheeks Hurt From Too Much Lucy Park Smiling

It was back to Lucy Park, on this second Wednesday of the new year, for a strong dose of endorphin happiness causing a bout of smiling like a loony gigglemugger, as you can clearly see photo documented.

In the photo I am swaying and smiling on the suspension bridge on which one can exit Lucy Park by crossing over the Wichita River.

The river water was clear enough today that I could see the river bottom.

But, I saw no fish. Or Water Moccasins.

There must be fish in this river, because I have seen fishermen fishing for fish at this location.
 
I was once again over dressed for today's mega-walk. Little wind was blowing and the temperature was in the high 50s. So, I soon lost the hooded sweatshirt you see overheating me above.

A couple months ago I mentioned to someone, was it nephew Jason? I don't remember. Anyway, I mentioned that I did not think I would have the stamina to endure a day at Disneyland or four days in Las Vegas, two locations where one finds oneself doing an exhausting amount of walking.

But now, after ramping up the walking for a couple months, I think I am now in training for going to Disneyland, or a long weekend in Vegas. Give it a couple more months of this heavy duty hiking and Disneyland and Vegas will be a breeze.

I do not know how well I would handle the buffets of Vegas. I am out of training for buffets. I can not remember when last I over ate at a buffet...

Wichita Bluffs Nature Area Naturally Communing With Nature

Today, with the temperature well above freezing, and little wind blowing, I took myself to the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area to do some nature communing via fast hiking on semi-steep bluffs.

It has been awhile since I have hiked the bluffs, what with Lucy Park becoming my preferred walking venue. The Wichita Bluffs Nature Area is the first location in Wichita Falls where I found a Hoodoo Cairn rock formation had formed.

Since then I have seen Hoodoo Cairns appear at other locations. Such as Sikes Lake.

And today I found Hoohoo Cairns at several locations as I hiked the Circle Trail through the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area.

The most unusual being the pair of Hoodoo Cairns you see above, with the one on the left looking like a balancing rock one might find in a Utah national park.

Yesterday I took photos with my digital camera for the first time in a long time. I'd taken to only using my phone to take photos. I said, if I remembered, that today I would take photos from the same location using both devices, to see if one or the other took better pictures.

Below are the results...

The photo on the left is from the Canon digital camera. On the right was taken with the phone.

The first composite picture was taken standing at the highest point on the Wichita Bluffs, looking east, across the Wichita River, at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Wichita Falls.

The digital camera's colors are more saturated, whilst the phone's color of the sky looks more realistically blue. 

In the next composite the cameras were aimed at one of those aforementioned Hoodoo Cairns.

Again, the digital camera's colors look more saturated, with the phone camera, on the right, again making the sky look more accurately the color it actually was.

So, in conclusion, I think I have concluded that it doesn't really matter. Both take perfectly okay photos. I think I will stick with the phone. It is less bulky and is vastly more multi-purposeful...