With Linda Lou Going Back To Arizona & South Mountain

What a coincidence. This Thursday morning the Skagit Valley's Linda Lou called me for our semi-weekly discussion about the current sad state of affairs in this world we live in.

Whilst talking to Linda Lou I saw an incoming email from Microsoft. 

The daily OneDrive Memories from this Day.

Today's Memories have several photos of Linda Lou. Photos taken way back in October of 2018, in Arizona. Today's Thursday is a day in July, not October. Microsoft's Memory is faulty.

In the above photo Linda Lou is befriending a little dog on the summit of South Mountain, in Phoenix.

Before petting the puppy Linda Lou bought some jewelry type trinkets from Native Americans who had their wares laid out for perusal on blankets.

Above Linda Lou is staring at me at the dining room table of the Airbnb we were staying in, in Sun Lakes, a Phoenix suburb, where my mom's house was located.

Apparently, I was sitting in front of my laptop, a now dead Dell product, with a touch screen which I liked, whilst taking photos. There were seven photos of this scene in today's Memories. I do not know why I took multiple photos of this one scene.

I have known Linda Lou since we were little kids, starting in first grade, through high school, and the first two years of college.

There is a reunion next month of my high school class. It is highly unlikely that I will be in attendance...

Getting Hot Endorphins At The Lucy Park Natural Sauna

It was back to the Lucy Park natural sauna, to get me some endorphins, I ventured on this second Wednesday of July. As you can see via the photo documentation, the Wichita River is running slightly higher than its norm, due to the recent precipitation we have had precipitating. 

Last week the weather forecast for this week predicted several days of clouds, rain and thunderstorms.

Well.

Now that that week has arrived none of that weather relief happened. Instead, the sky is a clear bright blue, the temperature has risen into the 90s.

Humidity is high, hence Lucy Park being a natural sauna today.

My old home zone of Western Washington is having what they think is a heatwave, with the high being in the 80s.

At my current Texas location, at this time of the year, if the temperature is in the 80s during the day, that feels like a refreshing chill after day after day after over 100.

Microsoft OneDrive Takes Me Back To An Arizona Desert With David, Theo & Ruby On Horses

 A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, today, that I do remember.

Although it was in March, not July. The year was 2019, the next to last time I was to fly to Arizona to see my mom.

That would be mom, on the right, in her transit chair. Next to mom are my sister-in-law, Kristin's, mom and dad. And on the horses that would be nephew David on the left, nephew Theo in the middle, and my one and only niece, Ruby, on the right.

That was a fun day in March. After the horse ride in the desert, we went to a nearby McDonald's where Uncle Jack had arranged a behind the counter tour for David, Theo and Ruby, along with multiple Happy Meal toys.

After McDonald's we drove to two parks in Mesa. Both the best city parks I have ever seen. With the best playground attractions I have ever seen in a park.

I do not remember what we did after we were done playing in the Mesa parks.

Hard to fathom that in March of this year, it has been five years since I had fun playing in those Mesa parks, with David, Theo and Ruby.

A lot has happened in those five years, some of it good, most of it not so good...

Tourists Looking For Washington's Mount Rainier & Mount Wichita In Texas

Saw the photo you see here, this Monday morning, on Facebook. The mountain hovering over the scene is the volcano known as Mount Rainier. Or just, The Mountain, if you live in Western Washington.

Used in a sentence, "The Mountain is out today".  Meaning the sky is clear of clouds and you can see Mount Rainier.

The ferry, with ferry floaters crowded on the outdoor viewing deck, is in Elliot Bay, heading to dock at Seattle's Coleman Ferry Dock.

When I see photos of Mount Rainier, like this one, a telephoto zoomed in look at The Mountain, I always think it a tad unfair to those who do not live in Western Washington, who come to visit, expecting The Mountain to look like it looks in this photo.

Even when not telephotoed and zoomed in, The Mountain is still a spectacular site.

Seeing The Mountain when you are in Tacoma you are way closer to the volcano and it looks way bigger than it looks from Seattle.

Way back in the last decade of the previous century, I was with nephews Jason and Joey on a cloudy, rainy day, on a ferry heading from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

A couple tourists asked us if we were locals. Yes, we replied. 

Could you point out to us where we would see Mount Rainier if the sky was clear? All three of us, me, Jason and Joey, pointed in the same direction, knowing intuitively where The Mountain was.

At my current Wichita Falls, Texas location it would be a bit of a surprise for a tourist to ask me if I was a local and which direction the mountain was.

Since there is only one mountain within many many miles, I guess I would point in the direction of Mount Wichita, and hope the tourists are not too disappointed if they make their way to the base of Mount Wichita and make the climb to the summit for the not too scenic look at the surrounding landscape....

Sunday Walk Around The Sikes Lake Mirror

With the temperature in the upper 80s, with absolutely no wind blowing, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured this first Sunday morning of July, to commune with nature, and get overheated in the natural sauna.

I do not recollect previously seeing Sikes Lake so dead calm, acting as a reflective mirror.

The current HOT calm is, apparently, the calm before a storm, arriving later today, with the prediction including severe thunderstorms.

Hurricane Beryl is scheduled to hit the Texas Gulf Coast tomorrow, with several coastal counties in voluntary evacuation mode.

My location is not likely to see any remnants of the hurricane after it makes landfall and begins to weaken.

The only time I remember experiencing the remnants of a hurricane was earlier this century, with Hurricane Ike. That remains of that hurricane blew into the D/FW zone with strong winds and a lot of rain.

The coming week is predicted to be cool, as in not over 100 degrees...

Remembering Buffalo Butt Beer At Booger Red's Saloon With Gar The Texan & His German Wife

The photo you see here showed up this first Sunday of July morning, in my email from Microsoft's OneDrive Memories of this Day.

It took me a second or two to remember what I am seeing here. One thing for certain, this memory did not happen on a Sunday.

The entity on the left is known, by some, as Gar the Texan, a west Texas boy who became some sort of computer whiz kid fixing computer stuff all over the world. Well, in Europe, at least. And Germany, specifically, where he met one of his wives.

I believe that is the German wife on the bar stool next to Gar the Texan. I remember going to the Fort Worth Stockyards with Gar and the German. I think her name was Madchen, or Madlen, something like that.

The location of the bar stools is Booger Red's Saloon, in the Stockyards.

Booger Red's is connected to the H3 Ranch restaurant. Or was. I think H3 Ranch may have closed. Just a sec, I shall go check.

Well, I am happy to report H3 Ranch is still in business. I don't know why I thought it closed. Maybe it did so temporarily during COVID.

Booger Red's Saloon is known for its Buffalo Butt Beer. So named because a couple of Buffalo Butts are on the wall above the bar. If you go into H3 Ranch you will see the front end of the Buffalos.

I seem to recollect we had ourselves a pitcher of Buffalo Butt Beer whilst at Booger Red's Saloon, whilst Gar the Texan's German wife chain smoked...

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...