Saturday In Semi- Chilly Muddy Lucy Park

Yesterday's attempt to acquire endorphins at Lucy Park was aborted upon arrival due to rain beginning to pour down.

Today, the first Saturday of July, it was back to Lucy Park I drove again, this time under a clear sky, with the temperature a relatively chilly 81.

Yesterday's rain rendered the Lucy Park backwoods jungle too muddy to walk in, which you can sort of see via the above photo documentation.

The current cold front is supposed to be lasting several days.

It was so cold last night I resorted to getting under a blanket, for the first time in well over a month, sometime after three in the morning.

Hurricane Beryl is currently predicted to hit South Texas on Monday. Remnants of the hurricane may make it as far as Wichita Falls.

Near as I can currently tell, the chronic condition of getting bug bites over and over again, seems to possibly be over.

We shall see, I suppose, if I got any new bites from being outdoors at Lucy Park...

Last Night 4th Of July Fireworks Followed By Friday's 5h Of July Lightning Downpour Fireworks

The 4th of July at my old home zone of Mount Vernon, in the Skagit Valley of Washington, was like being in a war zone. I would sit out on my deck, ready to put out anything burning, landing on my building. The East Thunderbird neighborhood is hilly, hence fireworks going skyward from various elevations. 

Such was kind of fun, but also a bit tiresome.

It is easy to buy all sorts of explosive fireworks in Washington, due to there being so many Indian Reservations, where selling such it totally legal.

When I moved to Texas, what with it being known as such a free-spirited gun toting cowboy themed part of America I assumed the 4th of July would be way noisier than I was used to in Washington.

Well, I was wrong. My first 4th in Texas I heard nary a boom from my location in the far north Fort Worth suburb of Haslet. I did see fireworks way in the distance, but so distant I heard no booming.

Each 4th of July since then has been similar. An occasional firecracker, but no actual fireworks of the light up the sky sort, except at official fireworks shows.

Such must be the case because Texas has only a couple Indian Reservations. I do not know if those are allowed to sell fireworks.

Oklahoma has multiple Indian Reservations. Being just a few miles south of Oklahoma may explain why I hear more 4th of July noise in Wichita Falls than I used to in the Fort Worth zone.

And then last night, it was like I was back in Mount Vernon. Someone nearby, as in real close, was launching the type fireworks that light up the sky. With a lot of booming.

That photo at the top is my only attempt which sort of caught the fireworks, as viewed from my bedroom window.

And now the day after the 4th of July.

Overnight the temperature plummeted.

Friday morning of the day after the 4th, I headed to Lucy Park, intending to commune with nature before going to a nearby pharmacy for an inoculation and to pick up a prescription.

But, as I arrived at the Lucy Park entry, rain began to drip. I'd been seeing lightning strikes in the southwest direction. The sky looked threatening.

So, I aborted going to Lucy Park, drove on to the pharmacy, completed that task and then continued on to the nearest Walmart to do my nature communing.

On the way to Walmart the rain switched to downpour mode, then added hail to the mix. The photo documentation you see above is the wet view from my vehicle's window as I sat pondering if I really wanted to make a run for it through the downpour.

I opted to go for it. Running as fast as I can run, the water puddled several inches deep. By the time I got the short distance to entering Walmart I was soaking wet.

But, not too cold. I was glad Walmart had turned off the air conditioning.

Hours later rain continues to drip. Such a nice change from the recent multi-day heat wave. My A/C has not cycled on today, not once....

2024 Wichita Falls 4th Of July Parade

Woke up early this 4th of July morning and decided, even though the outer world is being a tad warm, the shade of downtown Wichita Falls would be pleasant enough for parade viewing. That and a steady cooling wind was blowing.

Arrived at the parade location about 10 minutes prior to the start of the parade, to see the parade viewing crowd was way smaller than previous years.

The parade came into view right on time, at 9 o'clock.

The airmen carrying the flags of the NATO countries training at Sheppard Air Force base were at the head of the parade, followed by troops not carrying flags, but chanting some sort of marching rhythm. 

The driver of the pickup on which this young lady sat on the tailgate, shouted to the crowd, "She is in the Olympics!".

I do not know this young lady's Olympics story, but, she was followed by the float you see with gold lettering spelling out, "GO FOR GOLD".

It would seem this Sasquatch waving a flag would overheat by the end of the parade.

This was the most motorized of the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parades I have experienced. So many vintage firetrucks, vintage cars, futuristic cars and motorcycle gangs, part of which you see above.

One of many floats being trucked through the parade. 

As was the case with previous Wichita Falls 4th of July Parades, candy in copious amounts was tossed to the parade viewers. But, due to the number of viewers being smaller than previous years, a surplus of candy soon built up on the street.

Here we are near the end of the parade. Those spots you see on the pavement are some of the aforementioned candy tossed in copious amounts.

All things considered, another enjoyable Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade.

I do not understand why more people do not show up to enjoy it. It is so easy to park in downtown Wichita Falls. Not a congested nightmare such as was the case when finding a place to park to view the excellent 4th of July Parade in Arlington, Texas.

Next year's 4th of July Parade may, hopefully, draw a big crowd, celebrating the successful salvation of America's democracy...

Hot Wichita Falls 4th Of July Tomorrow Followed By Big Chill

104 on the day before the 4th.

104 on the 4th.

And then a cold front arrives the day after the 4th, with the Big Chill shivering us down into the 80s.
 
I am looking forward to this break from the extreme HEAT.

I think my air conditioner would like a break, as well.

I have not been to the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade since before COVID.

It is a fun parade, starting tomorrow at 9 in the morning. 

One can find shade along the parade route, courtesy of tall buildings blocking the sun.

But.

Currently I do not much feel like being patriotic at a 4th of July Parade, all things considered.

The local military, from Shepperd Air Force Base, takes part in this parade, in the form of a marching band and marching airmen representing each of the Nato nations training at Shepperd, carrying the flags of the various nations.

Driving to ALDI this morning I saw the red, white and blue is already out in large numbers, in front of many houses. 

I'll be making the traditional 4th of July feast of spaghetti...

First Day Of July Hot Walk In Lucy Park Humid Jungle

With humidity making the temperature of a degree under 100 feel like several degrees above 100, on this first day of July I made my way to Lucy Park jungle for the first time in about a week.

I was beginning to feel the detrimental effects of the lack of endorphins due to cutting back my outdoor activities due to my semi aversion to extreme heat.

As you can see, via the look at the Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River, the river is running inexplicably high. Why? I do not know.

Rain has not fallen in several days.

Unlike what I was used to in Washington, high temperatures in Texas do not melt any mountain snowpacks due to the fact there are no mountains in Texas with snowpacks.

I'd read a couple days ago that the Wichita River was running high, flooding parts of the Wee-Chi-Tah mountain bike trail which runs alongside the river. That information about the flooded trail, documented with a photo, made no mention of what was causing the river to be in flood mode.

I read today that the 4th of July is predicted to get heated to 105 degrees. I was thinking going to the 4th of July Parade, downtown, would be fun, since I have not done so since pre-COVID. The Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade is a fun one.

I have not yet decided if I enjoyed being out in the steamy sauna today. I do feel a bit more upbeat, due to, I assume, the endorphins acquired. 

Later in this first week of the 2024 version of July the temperature is predicted to be well under 100 degrees for several days. I look forward to being chilled....

My July Calendar Takes Me To Guadalupe Mountains National Park In Texas & Yosemite

This year's wall calendar's theme is America's National Parks. I have been to many of America's National Parks, but not to the one for July, which I first saw this morning after flipping the calendar to the new month.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

I have driven by this National Park a time or two, but have never entered the park.

Texas only has two National Parks, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park.

I have visited neither. Would like to experience Big Bend National Park. Guadalupe Mountains, not so much.

June's National Park was Yosemite National Park, in California. Seeing Yosemite on my wall every day last month had me regularly lamenting whether or not I would ever see Yosemite again during the years I have remaining on the planet.

My first time to Yosemite National Park was an October day way back in the 1970s. I was not impressed. The foliage had all gone brown. The waterfalls all dried up. The visit only lasted a couple hours.

And then, back in May of 1993, myself and three friends rented a Cadillac to drive on a long road trip, the highlight of which was staying a few days at Camp Curry in Yosemite National Park.

The second day in Yosemite was May 20, 1993. How do I know the date so precisely? Well, on that second day in Yosemite we went to the restaurant/bar/outdoor patio area of Camp Curry. The bar zone was packed full, due to people watching the series finale of the Cheers sit-com on that date in May of 1993.

We arrived at Yosemite, the night before, after dark. Got checked in, warned about bears, given wool blankets due to the cold temperature. All night long I heard a strange roaring noise. In the morning I opened the tent cabin door to see a big waterfall a short distance away, falling water in copious amounts.

That was to be the first of many waterfalls falling a lot of water, including the iconic Yosemite Falls. Some of the waterfalls you could not get too close to due to the volume of water creating such a thick spray of water.

We did a lot of hiking those few days in Yosemite. I would love to go back there, one more time. Also, to Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks...

Looking At The Twin Tacoma Narrows Bridges & Mount Rainier

What you see here is known as the Tacoma Narrows Bridges. Twin suspension bridges connecting Tacoma to the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington.

That mountain in the background is the volcano named Mount Rainier.

I was in Tacoma several times earlier this century, during the construction of the new bridge, that being the one on the right.

That bridge was clearly built over water, really deep, fast moving water, when the tide changes.

I was seeing this bridge get built over water at the same time I was seeing the Texas town called Fort Worth struggle to try and build three simple little freeway overpass type bridges, over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Those responsible for building those Fort Worth bridges repeatedly told the gullible Fort Worth public that these three bridges were being built over dry land, to save money, when there was no other option than to build the bridges over dry land, with one day, hopefully, a cement-lined ditch to be dug under the bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, thus creating the imaginary island.

Apparently, Fort Worth's plan to create that imaginary island has run into an engineering snafu regarding the design of the mechanism which would divert river water into that cement-lined ditch.

Back to the Tacoma Narrows bridges. Aesthetically speaking, methinks it would have been visually more appealing if the new bridge looked exactly like the older bridge. But, it is wider. And the towers that support the suspension cables were made to somewhat look like the other bridge's towers, but, for some reason they were not painted green, which would have been so much more aesthetically pleasing.

It has been a few years since I have been in Tacoma and seen the Tacoma Narrows bridges. Maybe those gray towers of the new bridge have now been colored to match the original bridge...

Way Too Much Excessive Heat For The Texoma Zone

From the Texhoma homepage you can see it is currently a tad warm at my location.

This morning, with the outer world still chilled to below 100, at 99 degrees, with the humidity making it really feel like 103, I opted not to go on an outdoor walk to get my much-needed endorphins.

Instead, I ventured the short distance to my preferred air-conditioned walking and shopping venue.

Walmart.

Mornings at Walmart one sees way more of us old folks than one sees after the five in the afternoon time frame. 

Most Walmart visits I find myself in the minority, as in the majority sport a thick layer of insulative adipose tissue, which I imagine makes those sorts super appreciative of cool air-conditioning.

Mornings at Walmart the number of those sporting a thick layer of insulative adipose tissue is much higher than later in the day. 

When I knew I was going to move from chilly Washington to not so chilly Texas, I decided I needed to reduce my own semi-thick layer of insulative adipose tissue.

I did so, dropping around 20 pounds before making the move.

And then, as I became acclimated to the Texas climate, I gradually grew back my semi-thick layer of insulative adipose tissue.

This super HOT summer is likely going to cause me to melt away the extra adipose tissue I have accumulated over the years...

Looking At Deception Pass Bridge Takes Me Back To Fort Worth Again

Saw this that you see here, this Thursday morning, on Facebook. A look at a location I frequented frequently when I lived nearby.

Deception Pass State Park.

In this view we are looking east at the Deception Pass Bridge from the Rosario side of the state park. My favorite hiking venues were the Rosario trails, and the Goose Rock trails. Goose Rock is that which you see rising from the right side of the bridge.

Deception Pass Bridge was built in less than one year in the early 1930s. The bridge connects two islands, Fidalgo and Whidbey, crossing over another island between the two bigger islands, as in passing over Pass Island.

Whenever I see a photo of Deception Pass Bridge it puts me in mind of goofy Fort Worth, Texas. A town which has spent most of this century trying to see something called the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

A vision which took seven years to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Apparently, Fort Worth schools do not teach students what an island actually is.

One day it is hoped a cement lined ditch will be added under Fort Worth's infamous bridges to nowhere, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, thus creating the imaginary island, which would never be called an island, in locations in the world grounded in sanity...

105 Degrees HOT On This Final Wednesday Of 2024's June

The sun has only been doing its daily heating duty for a couple hours and already the air conditioning seems to be running almost non-stop on this final Wednesday of 2024's month of June

Apparently, today, according to the screen cap evidence you see above, we are heading to the hottest HOT day, so far, this HOT time of the year.

105.

I will not be getting myself any endorphins via outdoor aerobic stimulation today. Any such activity will take place in Walmart or the slowly dying Sikes Senter Mall.

Possible rain and thunderstorming is also on the weather menu for today. Currently there is nary a cloud in the clear blue sky. And no cooling wind blowing.

I am hoping the high heat is killing off the biting bugs...