Sunny Saturday At Lucy Park With Jungle Sunflowers

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on the third Saturday of June. With the temperature in the low 80s, with a strong wind blowing, conditions were excellent for a mighty pleasant communing with nature in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle.

That sunny flower you see here is known as a sunflower. Growing in the wild. A wild sunflower.

We had a little storm action, two early evenings ago. A little rain, some hail and a few thunder booms. But not enough precipitation precipitated to turn the Lucy Park backwoods jungle trail into a muddy mess. 

Currently the Lucy Park backwoods jungle trail is as dry as a desert.

Storm action is on the weather menu for later today. Rain, thunderstorms, hail, along with conditions that can create a tornado...

In Leavenworth Tumwater Twisting On Washington's First Alpine Coaster

 A year ago, this month, my nephew, Jason and his eldest, Spencer Jack, visited Leavenworth where they learned of a new addition to the Leavenworth landscape, under construction.

I blogged about this in Leavenworth Adventure Park Tumwater Twister.

Well, the Leavenworth Adventure Park is now open. And it looks fun. The above is a screen cap from a Seattle TV news story about Washington's First Alpine Coaster.

For some reason this Google Blogger app is not working in its usual way of allowing the embedding of a video. You can click Washington's First Alpine Coaster and that will take you directly to the YouTube video that I can not embed.

Leavenworth is my favorite of Washington's themed tourist towns. Leavenworth is Bavarian themed.

This came about way back in the 1960s when Leavenworth became a dying town due to a slowdown of the logging industry. So, the town decided something major had to be done, or the town would become a ghost town. 

It was decided to turn Leavenworth into an Alpine Bavarian themed town. The main street was converted to a new Bavarian look. Soon that look spread all over town. And Leavenworth became a boom town, a HUGE tourist attraction, year round. 

You can go to the Leavenworth Adventure Park website for a good look at this new Leavenworth attraction.

Leavenworth is a year round attraction. In summer it can be quite crowded.

I recollect being in Leavenworth in winter and having a mighty fine time cross country skiing trails in the town's park alongside the Wenatchee River.

I have not been to Leavenworth in over 20 years. The last time was in August of 2001. At that point in time Leavenworth was the staging area for fire fighters fighting big wildfires in the Cascade Mountains. I recollect the air was quite smoky.

The Texas town I am currently sitting in, Wichita Falls, should look into building an Alpine Coaster on Mount Wichita.

But, I do not think this town could possibly pull off becoming Bavarian themed. The lack of real mountains would be problematic.

When I was first in Texas, before the new century arrived, we learned of a nearby Texas town that sold itself as a German themed town, due to the fact most of the town's residents were of German descent.

I do not know why we thought Muenster might be a Leavenworth caliber tourist town, but that is what we thought. We were barely past the Muenster city limits sign when we realized Muenster was not anything like Leavenworth. 

When next I am in Washington maybe I'll make it to Leavenworth. I am surprised Jason and Spencer Jack have not yet made it there to ride the Tumwater Twister...

High Humidity Wednesday Lucy Park Jungle Walk

With the temperature in the mid 80s, on this second Wednesday of June, it was to Lucy Park I once again ventured to commune with nature whilst acquiring endorphins via aerobic stimulation.

Due to predicted precipitation not precipitating, thus no muddy conditions, I walked the Lucy Park backwoods jungle today, keeping a close lookout for snakes in the grass.

The only reptile I saw was a cute lizard, looking like a mini-alligator.

We are heading into a period where the day after day after day temperature prediction is above 100.

Eventually those 100 degree days dry the moisture from the air, in other words, way less humidity, thus way less miserable to be outside in the HEAT.

Chilly Walk With The Sikes Lake Coyote

Early this morning of the second Tuesday of June I found myself driving north, heading towards Oklahoma, having a long talk with my favorite sister Jackie during part of the drive. 

I was back in my home zone by 10 this morning. Which had me at Sikes Lake an hour later for a salubrious walk around the lake.

A chilly salubrious walk around the lake. Only 68 degrees, with no wind blowing. Total cloud cover, with rain and thunderstorms on the weather menu.

So far, just a little drippage.

That coyote statue you see above was back guarding Priddy Pavilion, a sort of scare crow wannabe keeping the geese out of the Pavilion area, where soon once a week music concerts will be happening.

The above look at Sikes Lake looks like a dead of winter view, not a nearing the end of spring view. The lake looks frozen over, with no wind making ripples and waves.

There were more people than the norm enjoying walking and running around Sikes Lake, due, I suppose, to the break from the HOT humidity. 

The HOT humidity is scheduled to return tomorrow, with the first 100 degree day of the year predicted to arrive on Thursday.

Chilly Wind Takes Me Back To Lucy Park

The past several days the outer world has been so HOT and humid that I did not feel like venturing out in the elements for some much needed endorphin acquisition via aerobic stimulation.

But, today, on this second Monday of June, the outer world was way cooler than it has been of late. Only 76 when I made my way to Lucy Park, which is what you are seeing in the accompanying photo documentation, looking across the Lucy Park suspension bridge at a pair of bridge crossers midway across the Wichita River.

Those 76 degrees felt mighty chilly due to the strong wind blowing. That strong wind blowing is supposedly blowing in a thunderstorm, with torrential rain, large hail and tornado conditions, due to arrive around 3 this afternoon.

Currently we are an hour ahead of three o'clock, and the outer world is not looking too stormy. Cloudy, but not looking like anything dire is eminent...

Do You Live In One Of America's Miserable States?

I have been finding myself amused a time or two or three by lists I find on the Edge Browser opening page. Items like each state's boomtown. Or each state's best Mexican restaurant. Or ranking states from least scenic to most scenic.

The list we are looking at here purports to rank the states from most miserably unhappy to happiest.

Before getting to the list the explanatory text is as follows...

If You’re Happy and You Know It

There are plenty of factors that play into overall happiness, and the past few years have been a challenge for some. COVID-19 impacted travel, businesses, and incidentally, happiness. But how are things looking now? WalletHub conducted a study to evaluate happiness in each state, comparing them among three primary dimensions: emotional and physical well-being, community and environment, and work environment. The dimensions were further broken down into 31 different metrics and graded on a 100-point scale. Cheapism compiled the results, ranked from the least happy to the happiest, and included explanations of why each state is so unhappy or happy. 

The link to The Most Miserable States in America might not work, due to it possibly being unique to my computer.

Of the Most Miserable Unhappy States all but New Mexico are southern states.

Coming in at #50, West Virginia is the most miserably unhappy state.

Of the unhappy miserable southern states, the state I am currently in, Texas, is the least miserable.

That photo of oil getting pump is the image that illustrated Texas. Here is the text which explains why Texas is so miserably unhappy...

#36 Texas is the second-largest state both in terms of land mass and population. It’s also one of the more unhappy states. Texas ranks at the very bottom for community and environment and also ranks low for work environment. Workers in the state work longer hours than average, and Texas is also one of the most unsafe places to live.

The state I lived in before moving to Texas, Washington, apparently is less miserable and way happier than Texas

#22 Washington is known for a lot of things: lush green landscapes, incredible hiking trails, fresh seafood, and apparently, happiness. Washington is the 22nd happiest state with high sports participation and high income growth levels acting as key players in that score.

Marijuana is legal in Washington, which I'm sure helps add to the happiness. Along with how easy it is to get yourself fresh fruit, like picking blackberries, which grow wild and free in Washington.

Now, what is the happiest, least miserable state in the United States? 

Well, that is sort of an easy one to guess. 

Hawaii is #1.

Texas Tarantula Mating Season Invasion

I saw that which you see there, this morning, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, informing me of a new thing to keep an eye out for when out and about outside in Texas. 

My previous years in Texas I do not recollect ever reading about tarantulas being out by the thousands.

I have only seen one tarantula since I have been in Texas. Years ago, in South Dallas, in Cedar Hills State Park.

According to the Star-Telegram, during summer, thousands of tarantulas, of the male tarantula sort, go on a massive migration in search of an unattached female to mate with and make oodles of baby tarantulas.

Female tarantulas live way longer than the males, even as old as 25 years. The female can lay between 100 to 1,000 eggs in a web, where the babies are born, taking up to 60 days to hatch.

Two slightly disturbing paragraphs from the Star-Telegram article...

ARE TEXAS TARANTULAS DANGEROUS?

“One of the most spectacular spider events in Texas occurs for a few weeks each summer when male tarantulas actively wander apparently seeking females,” says the TAMU field guide. “This phenomenon is not well understood and may be related to migration more than mating.” 

Seeing the spider in Texas during the summer may be alarming because of its large size and hairiness. While tarantula bites are painful because they have sharp fangs, they are not harmful to humans and the venom injected is not dangerous. Tarantulas also defend themselves through urticating hairs on the abdomen, which can cause eye or skin irritation.

_______________________

I do not like the idea of thousands of tarantula males wandering the land looking for a girlfriend. I did not know that tarantulas can bite. I thought they were harmless. 

Well, I think I am safe from marauding tarantulas at my current Texas location. I rarely ever even see regular sized spiders here...

Cooling Tuesday Breeze With Flies & Snakes At Lake Wichita Dam

 

Today's weather forecast is once again rain and thunderstorms. The current condition, sporting a mostly clear blue sky, makes such seem a tad unlikely.

On this first Tuesday of June it was to the Lake Wichita Dam I ventured for some nature communing with no shade from trees, but with a nice cooling breeze blowing in from across the lake.

In the above photo documentation we are on the Lake Wichita Boardwalk, looking northwest across the lake, with Mount Wichita being that little pimple you see slightly rising above the horizon.

It does not look like the water level of Lake Wichita has gained any depth from the downpour two night's ago.

When I looked down on the murky lake water from the end of the Boardwalk I saw something in the water I'd never seen before in Lake Wichita.

A snake.

Was it a Water Moccasin? I don't know. I was not successful at getting a photo of the water slitherer.

I think it has been well over a year since any water has spilled over Lake Wichita dam's spillway. 

In the above view we are at the end of the boardwalk, looking at the lake side view of the dam's spillway. It has been so long since water has reached the dam's spillway that green foliage has sprouted up.

The floating fishing dock is no longer floating. It is resting on the lake bed.

When I walked out on the dock I was attacked by a nasty swarm of small flies. This was unpleasant. I hightailed it out of there, back to the top of the dam, which was fly-free...

Sikes Lake Water Falling After Last Night's Wet Thunderstorm

Yesterday I lamented that day after day after day the weather forecast's prediction of rain and thunderstorms never happens, not a drip, not a boom.

And then last night, around 3 in the morning, rain began dripping in copious amounts, so copious that the downpour created a roaring sound effect. 

About a half hour into the downpour there was a super bright white flash, and instaneous explosive, concussive boom, followed soon thereafter by another super bright white flash, and instaneous explosive concussive boom.

By dawn's early light no evidence was found that the close encounters with lightning strikes did any damage.

By dawn's early light it was quickly seen the last night's downpour had created a deep moat at my usual abode exit location. This neccessitated taking a detour to get to my vehicle do drive to Sikes Lake to walk with the geese and goslings.

As you can see via the photo documention, today water is roaring over the Sikes Lake dam's spillway.

The forecast for today's daylight hours is again for rain and thunderstorms. Once again that does not seem to be happening, what with a mostly clear blue sky.

I hear the tornado sirens going off right now. This test of the tornado warning system happens every Monday at noon.

Hot Humid First June Sunday In Lucy Park

On this balmy, hot, humid first Sunday of June it was back to Lucy Park I trekked to join the throngs of fellow sun worshippers.

Day after day after day rain and thunderstorms are in the weather forecast. But, the weather predictor's predictions have not been delivering.

The above photo documentation of the Lucy Park shade shows a clear blue sky peeking through the leaves, no rain or thunder threatening clouds.

Lucy Park has had some more musical instruments added to the line of musical instruments that showed up a year, or two, ago.

The new musical instruments make a variety of noises, including the ladybug looking musical instrument which made a percussive drum-like sound when struck...