Remembering Ocean Shores & A 50th Wedding Anniversary Party

 Another rare instance where I remember all the memories Microsoft OneDrive is suggesting I should remember.

Trouble with this memory is I remember none of these memories occurred in September.

The photo at the upper left was taken July 27, 2002, at a Jones Family reunion at the fairgrounds in Lynden, Washington.

The other photographic memories happened in August of 2001. I had driven solo from Texas to Washington for mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary party.

On that visit to Washington dad drove mom and me to Ocean Shores, on the Washington Pacific coast, which would make that mom and dad at the upper right, at the beach at the south end of Ocean Shores.

Below mom and dad is my Grandma Vera, mom's mom, at that aforementioned 50th Wedding Anniversary party, which took place in the Seattle suburb of Kent.

Below Grandma Vera that would be mom and dad opening Happy Anniversary presents. I do not recollect myself bringing a present. I guess my unexpected presence was my Happy Anniversary present.

At the lower left we are back at Ocean Shores, a short distance from the memory of mom and dad on the beach. 

In that lower left photo we are looking at the breakwater of erosion preventing giant boulders at the north side of the entry to Grays Harbor. There was a large group of us, that day, at Ocean Shores. Two of whom are who are being photographed on the boulders getting wet from the spray of crashing waves.

Flock Of Seagulls At Sikes Lake Low Tide With Tacoma's Mount Rainier

Though the high today is predicted to be a whoppingly HOT 106, I thought the clouds I was seeing from my window view, and with a strong wind blowing, that a walk around Sikes Lake would be pleasantly temperatured.

I was wrong.

Way too HOT.

Rain and thunderstorms are on the weather menu for later this 5th day of September.

As you can see, via today's photo documentation of Sikes Lake, the lake is in dire need of some water. If this were a saltwater scene I would think the tide is out. Those spots of white you see at the lake's edge are a flock of seagulls. 

No idea why seagulls are at this lake instead of a saltwater sea.

Speaking of seagulls on an actual sea of saltwater, I saw the below scenic view this morning on Facebook.

That is the Tacoma waterfront you are seeing, with Mount Rainier hovering in the distance. When you drive around Tacoma the Mountain is always seeming to move. It can be a bit disorienting. 

My nephews, David and Theo, and niece, Ruby, live a short distance from the above view.

The Tacoma waterfront has a lot of restaurants, one of which is what you see at the bottom of the photo.

It has been six years since I have seen a real mountain. Or a saltwater beach.

Time flies by way too fast...

Lucy Park September Saturday Pseudo Snake Encounter

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this first Saturday, second day, of September. With the temperature barely 90, heading to a high today of 101. 

The outer world nature communing was pleasant today. A good breeze provided some cooling.

I was walking quickly when I suddenly came to a halt, stopping when I saw what looked to be a big snake slithering from behind a rock.

A few seconds later my moment of being startled was replaced by realizing this was a scary curvy stick, not a scary curvy snake.

Had this been an actual snake it would have been my first snake encounter this year. I have not gone a year in Texas without multiple snake encounters, til this year.

I wondered if the snake population was hit hard by COVID?

Likely not....

Geese Flocking Back To Sikes Lake On First Day Of September

A couple days ago I was at Sikes Lake and made mention of the fact that I saw not a single goose.

I speculated that the survivors of the mass execution of Sikes Lake geese had decided to relocate to a safter location.

Well, I was back at Sikes Lake on this first day of September. And geese were also back, which is what you see floating on the lake.

Is this a migrating flock who dropped in for a rest on their way somewhere else, not realizing the danger they were in by floating in Sikes Lake, the site of the recent mass execution of 343 geese.

The temperature is scheduled to be back over 100 for this first day of the new month, with multiple following days also over 100.

But, the temperature was barely 90 when I walked around the lake, which felt relatively chilly, what with a refreshing breeze blowing...

Microsoft Memories Of Oklahoma's Turner Falls

It has been a while since I have remembered all the memories in a Microsoft OneDrive look back at my memories for a particular day.

I do not remember if it was exactly on August 31, but do remember it was on an extremely HOT day in August that I visited Turner Falls Park for the first time.

I'd been in Texas a little over a year when we drove north to Oklahoma, to Turner Falls and the Arbuckle Mountains. At that point in time I had seen nothing remotely scenic in Texas, of the beautiful scenery sort, which I was used to seeing living in the Pacific Northwest.

A couple years after that first visit to Turner Falls I visited the Texas Hill Country for the first time and was pleased to see beautiful scenery of multiple types, such as Enchanted Rock.

Years ago I made a webpage about Turner Falls, and then later made a second Turner Falls webpage after a January visit which found Turner Falls in flood mode. 

In addition to the waterfall, Turner Falls Park also has caves to explore, trails to hike, swimming holes and a castle to explore.

Currently I think I may be living closer to Turner Falls than when I lived in the D/FW zone. I would be on board for a return visit to Turner Falls...

Dodging Windfalls In Lucy Park Jungle With No Snakes

With the temperature in the almost chilly upper 80s, on this next to last day of August, it was back to Lucy Park I trekked, to commune with nature via the Lucy Park backwoods jungle.

As you can see, all the windfalls that fell during that extreme windstorm a couple weeks ago have not stopped blocking the trail.

I was somewhat easy to get around, or under, the windfalls.

Once again I saw nothing slithering in the grass today in the Lucy Park jungle.

We are currently scheduled to go above 100 degrees for the first days of September.

Soon the temperature will cool enough that it no longer will be necessary to keep an eye out for cold-blooded reptiles.

If we make it to the cool temperatures without seeing a single snake during the HOT time of the year, it will make the first HOT season in Texas that I have not had any snake encounters...

Almost Chilly Barely 80 Degree Return To Sikes Lake

With the outer world chilled to barely being in the 80s, it was to nearby Sikes Lake I ventured on this final Monday of August, for some nature communing with ducks and multiple humans.

That would be the Blue Bayou of Sikes Lake, located at the west side of the lake, which you see photo documented.

Before the Sikes Lake mass geese extermination, last month, one would see some geese at this location. Today I saw no geese, not a single goose, nowhere on or off the lake. It is as if the few surviving geese decided to relocate before the exterminators came for them.

The duck population at Sikes Lake seems to be flourishing. I came upon a flock of dozens of ducks soon after crossing the bridge over the Blue Bayou.

Currently the temperature prediction is for a return to being heated over 100 degrees when September arrives in a few days.

I think I am going to enjoy wearing sweatpants in a month or two, way more than I have ever enjoyed wearing sweatpants in years previous. That, and long pants. I am looking forward to being back in long pants...

Relatively Chilly Sunday Lucy Park Visit With An Armadillo

With the temperature well below 100, in the low 90s, it was to Lucy Park I ventured on this final Sunday of August for some breezy communing with nature, which would make that the Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River you are seeing here.

Most of the wind damaged trees have been removed since last I was at the Lucy Park location. 

Possible thunderstorms are on the weather menu for today, but, looking at the mostly blue sky it does not seem likely any thunder booming is going to be heard at my location.

I hiked the Lucy Park backwoods jungle today. The windfalls across the trail have not been removed, but multiple trails have been worn into the grass making for an easy walk around the windfalls.

Walking in any tall grass sets me a bit on edge, on the lookout for anything slithering in the grass.

So far, this summer, I have seen zero snakes.

Today I saw a dead armadillo, on the trail, that I almost stepped on. Which startled me a little. I do not recollect seeing in armadillos at my current Texas location. When I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone I would see dozens of those cute hard-shelled mammals, the cutest being baby armadillos.

I wonder what an armadillo was doing in Lucy Park. And what killed it.

Armadillos are one of the State Mammals of Texas. I believe the law protects armadillos from being murdered.

But, the law does not protect armadillos from being roadkill, something frequently seen in the D/FW zone.

108 For Hotter 'N Hell 100 With Below 100 Arriving Tomorrow

Look at what is on the weather menu for tomorrow!

Under 100 degrees for the first time in what seems a long time. With some possible thunderstorming.

Today, Saturday, August 26, the temperature is scheduled to reach 108 degrees.

Today, in Wichita Falls, we have thousands of bikers in town for the Hotter 'N Hell 100 race. Thousands of bikers roll their wheels for 100 miles under the scorching sun predicted to heat to 108 degrees today.

If it was not so HOT I would venture to the MPEC (Multi-Purpose Event Center) downtown to watch the racers cross the finish line. I have only done that once, on a cloudy day, not heated above 100 degrees, and I recollect that day as being miserably HOT.

There are many things to see at ground zero of the Hotter 'N Hell 100 location. Food trucks, vendors vending various bike-related products, a big tent covered beer garden, live music, an art garden of various works of art featuring bikes. 

I do not know if the bike art garden is a regular feature, or just was part of my one and only time attending.

An interesting tent near the finish line is the Triage Tent, where those wounded by a bike wreck get their wounds attended to. This was one of the bloodiest things I have ever seen in person.

I have never had the slightest inkling of a desire to ride my bike in the Hotter 'N Hell 100.

Maybe if it was the Hotter 'N Hell 10.

Actually, there are several other races of shorter duration for those for whom pedaling 100 miles is not even remotely feasible...

Hotter 'N Hell 113 Sunday Degrees

Today is scheduled to be the HOTTEST day so far this HOT time of the year. What with it being very HOT dangerous HEAT, I won't be doing any salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic activity in the outer world today.

My air conditioning system failed, over night, a couple nights ago. This had the interior space being 87 degrees. The air conditioning system was quickly fixed soon after the sun arrived to begin super heating us again. A heat pump part called a capacitor had died.

Today is the next to last Sunday of August. A day or two over a month to go til the end of this super HOT summer.

The Hotter 'N Hell 100 bike race is next weekend. Unlike last year's Hotter 'N Hell, this year's temperature is currently predicted to be over 100 degrees.