I Have Nothing Better To Do Than Trash An Awesome Industry That Employs Millions

It seems like only yesterday, but it was way back on November 7, 2010 that I blogged about a bizarrely blue Chesapeake Energy frac pond with a sign bragging that "This fresh-water frac pond is operated by Chesapeake Operating, Inc.

Today that long ago blogging got two comments from someone named Anonymous.

There are so many people with that Anonymous name.

I love it when I learn something new.

In the today's second comment about this long ago blogging I learned that the oil companies employ millions of Americans. And that fresh water frac ponds are filled with fresh water from water wells, disabusing me of my erroneous notion that the Barnett Shale gas drillers were sucking water out of the Trinity River.

Below is the comment from Anonymous that really wised me up to the facts and below that the other comments that have been made to this particular blog post....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Fort Worth Chesapeake Fresh-Water Frac Pond's Unnatural Shade Of Blue": 

Fresh water frac ponds are filled with fresh water from water wells, the same water you drink. The oil companies are running a clean operation because they have too much to lose. Unlike the people who have nothing more to do than trash a awesome industry that employs millions of Americans! 

JD said...
Seems to be the same shade of blue as the Trinity River, in all the Trinity River brochures...and in the new frac pond in North Richland Hills. Maybe the Trinity River Vision Authority turned the fresh water blue.

CHK Sucks said...
"Fresh water", huh? Sounds very refreshing. Have you thought about bottling some for your Tandy Hill hikes? Seriously, this "fracked" or "produced" water which is more toxic than the original water and cocktail of chemicals that were hot into the ground because when that liquid comes back up it brings along some naturally occuring but dangerous chemicals as well. A bunch of healthy cows keeled over shortly after sipping on a leaking pond in Louisiana last year. Yep, the culprit was fracking CHK Energy, Operating, or whatever myriads of aliases they use.

Anonymous said...
It looks like a dye used in stock ponds to make them more attractive and supposedly reduce algae growth, but it is really just for looks.

Anonymous said...
A Frac Pond is used to store the "fresh" water for fracking the well or wells on a pad site. There are no state regulations for how long they can remain in place. They can hardly be truly "fresh" when the pumps are pumping the water to mixing areas for the fracking formula. There is bound to be some flowback from those areas back to the "FRAC Pond." Even a little of that concoction can poison the water.

A Sludge Pit is where the "produced" water ends up AFTER the well has been FRACKED. Sludge Pits and Frac Ponds are two different parts of the shale gas drilling process. When they say, "oh, our city doesn't have sludge pits." What they mean is they have what is called "closed loop" so that when all that produced water comes back up (probably 1/2 of the water that goes down into the wellbore will come back up) then they store it in "tanks or tank batteries," on the site. 

Trucks will come later to pick it up and throw it away (that's also highly unregulated) or inject it into an injection well somewhere nearby or out in the country. 

The problem with the Frac Ponds is the potential for flowback from the wellbore as the "fresh water" is mixed with chemicals and sand that is pumped into the Earth.

Also, any "FRAC Pond" the size these are that are so close to residential neighborhoods have the potential for mosquito outbreaks, etc. Lots of ridiculous stuff that this industry has convinced everyone is A-OK.

Westchester Neighbor said...
Oh, and here's our monstrous FRAC Pond. It was placed 10 feet from residents in the Westchester neighborhoods in Grand Prairie, TX.

It forced our community to become knowlegeable about shale gas drilling. Our education has made us very skeptical of this shale gas industry. They are bound and determined to turn their targeted areas into industrial zones. 

Anonymous said...
the fact is there are new means and methods to treat the frac water. Our company for example has a product used to treat all soil, hydrocarbons, metals etc. We have the ability to remove 90% of the contaminates from the water as it is produced. Sitedewatering.com is the link, so there is no reason for things like this to occur in our country of great technology. This process is cheaper than ponds, tanks and other devices used today. So if the companies research solutions, they would find us and have more money to maintain compliance with and create more jobs etc, etc.

Anonymous said...
...Or it could just be calcium carbonate and water colorant... granted I wouldn't drink the colorant but go look at any dolomitic limestone quarry and you'll see the same hue.

Blazing A New American Trail With CatsPaw At Cowtown Wakepark

CatsPaw and I have as Number One on our to-do list to go play bingo at Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo.

Further down the to-do list is going wakeboarding at the Cowtown Wakepark, it being one of J.D. Granger's many wonderful gifts to Fort Worth, providing all the citizens of Fort Worth the long desired opportunity to partake in the extreme sport of wakeboarding in the world's premiere urban wakeboarding lake.

Well.

Just minutes ago CatsPaw emailed me a deal we really can not refuse.

That deal being a Groupon coupon with up to 54% off Wakeboarding at Cowtown Wakepark. What a deal.

The text accompanying the Groupon coupon really seals the deal quite persuasively...

Americans have always been determined to blaze new trails, whether wading through the waist-deep layer of tumbleweed covering Arizona or hacking through the petrified forest of national flags on the moon. Conquer the final frontier, the water, with this Groupon.... 

Downpouring Rain Aborts A Fosdic Lake Walk

Heading East On Wet Randol Mill Road

On my way to walk around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park I called one of my few relatives who remain in Washington to suggest this relative make a surprise appearance at next week's BBQ in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler.

Before I got as far as Fosdic Lake, downpouring rain caused me to abort the walking plan and head to Town Talk instead.

I did not get too wet walking into a very busy Town Talk.

Exiting Town Talk I got wetter than entering. And thunder had been added to the weather mix.

As you can see, in the above picture, the noontime weather conditions had turned dark and dire enough to require headlights in the on position and windshield wipers set to wipe at their highest speed.

By the time I made it back inside my abode I was not completely saturated with water. Almost, but not completely.

Have those who determine such things determined yet that the Great North Texas Drought is over?

Daylight Saving Time Will Soon Be Saving Us Time

Daylight Saving Time starts up tomorrow, Sunday, March 11.

I can not remember if this is the annual time switch I don't like or if it is the switch back to Standard Time that vexes me.

What I do know is Tootsie Tonasket of the Tonasket Tribe, in Eastern Washington, had this amusing message, you see here, about Daylight Saving Time, on Facebook this morning.

I did not realize til reading the Daylight Saving Time article in Wikipedia, this morning, that this was such a controversial issue.

I also, prior til this morning, thought the correct term was Daylight "Savings" Time. Apparently the correct term removes the "s" from Savings.

These type revelations always have me wondering what a myriad mess of other important things there are out there that I am being totally ignorant about.

I suspect, with the time switch, it will be dark tomorrow morning when I don't go swimming because of a serious chill in the air.

The 2nd Saturday Of March Dawns Cold Thinking About Rounding Up Rattlesnakes

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this 2nd Saturday of the 3rd month of 2012 you can not see that the outer world at my location is chilled to 49 degrees with clouds continuing to threaten the drippage of water.

49 degrees is the weather predictor's predicted high for today. So, apparently, it is already as hot as it is going to get today. The weather predictor's predicted low for today is 42.

A few days ago I was tempted to turn on the air conditioner for the first time this year. I thought I was done turning on the furnace, but I've got that device back providing artificial heat this morning.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup starting rounding up rattlesnakes on Thursday. This always causes me to get interesting questions I can not answer, such as this question from Kenz40...

How do I contact someone about getting a cured/tanned rattlesnake hide?

I added the question mark. I have no answer to the question except to suggest attending this weekend's roundup of rattlesnakes in Sweetwater.

I will not be attending this weekend's Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. Seeing the rattlesnakes rounded up once was enough for me.

I will also not be going swimming this morning, due to temperature issues.

Today's Walk With The Keechi Creek Ghosts Of Indians & John B. Denton

Keechi Creek

Today I took a short walk with the Keechi Creek Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington.

The Keechi Creek walk was cut short by downfalling rain.

Keechi was the Indian name for what is now called Village Creek. Apparently I have blogged about this before, repetitive bore that I be. I was Googling for info about John Bernard Denton and found a previous blogging of mine near the top of the list.

Today I read an article about John B. Denton on a dentonwiki website.

That dentonwiki article took a more revisionist modern view of John B. Denton than some of the articles whose point of view is more rooted in the way the Anglo world viewed the Indian world a couple centuries ago.

Here's a blurb from the dentonwiki article...

The Death Of John B. Denton

John Barnard Denton (July 28, 1806 – May 22, 1841,  was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister, lawyer, soldier, and political candidate for whom both Denton County, Texas and the city of Denton, Texas were named. He converted to Methodism soon after meeting his future wife, Mary Greenlee Stewart, who also taught him how to read and write. He later became a captain and was known for his battles against Native Americans. He died in 1841 after an attack on a Keechi village in adjacent Tarrant County. Though once described as a "brave hero", he would now probably be known as a confused racist.

There were a lot of confused racists back in the days of Denton. His death is depicted in the picture. This took place a short distance north of the Village Creek Natural Historical Area. A Texas State Historical Marker marks the spot.

Denton sort of brought it on himself, getting killed by the natives. He joined General Edward H. Tarrant's Fourth Brigade. In April of 1841 the Ripley family was killed by some horse rustling Indians, likely Comanche, near what is present day Denton.

Tarrant's Texas militia took off to find some Indians to punish. Eventually they found the string of villages of peaceful agrarian Indians who lived along Keechi Creek, in current day Arlington. The militia destroyed two nearly empty villages, mostly deserted because the braves were gone hunting. The third village attacked was not undefended, which now had Denton in a real fight.

Soon Indians from other villages joined the fight and had Tarrant and Denton in full retreat. With Denton soon killed.

It is not known how many Indians were killed that day. But, this was the start of the final solution for this particular group of Native American tribes. Those who were not killed made their escape to Oklahoma, where there descendants live to this day. And operate a casino or two.

And have a Facebook page.

The 2nd Friday Of March Dawns Cold In Texas With Thoughts Of Bingo & BBQ

The temperature differential between the inner and outer world at my location on the planet is causing the view from my primary viewing portal on the world to be a bit steamy on this 2nd Friday of the 3rd month of 2012.

It is currently only 39 degrees with the sun only a few minutes into its daily heating duty.

39 degrees is 30 degrees colder than yester morning.

I do not believe I will attempt swimming this morning.

The weather predictors are predicting that precipitation is going to precipitate on North Texas again today. I prefer it when the weather predictors predict no precipitation precipitating.

Tonight is a Paradise Center Camp Bowie Bingo Night. I may be confusing reality with a dream, but I think Riscky's BBQ is somehow involved with the Bingoing.

I have not had a Riscky's BBQ rib since my mom and dad were here the first week of 2009.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now, but I strongly feel I can't.

The Stormy Second Thursday Of March View From Miss Puerto Rico's Balcony

Stormy View North From Miss Puerto Rico's Balcony

Rain today made going on a walk today only doable under a bumbershoot, if staying dry was desired.

So, I opted out of any outdoor salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic activity and went walking at Super Target instead.

On the way to Super Target Miss Puerto Rico called me. She was located at a Jack in the Box somewhere south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Miss Puerto Rico told me a big storm was heading my way. She wanted me to unplug her three TVs so they would not get zapped by incoming lightning bolts.

So, after I was done walking around Super Target I drove to Miss Puerto Rico's and unplugged her TVs. So far, coming  up on 5 in the afternoon, no lightning has flashed in my location.

I had myself a very fine swim in the rain this morning. I do not know if a repeat will be able to occur tomorrow morning. It was 69 degrees when I went swimming this morning. The rainstorm that has blown in throughout the day had also blown in colder temperatures, as in it is currently only 44.

Regarding the photo above of the view looking north from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at the stormy, dark sky.

A few months ago I took a picture of the late afternoon, dark, shadowy view from this same location. That photo generated an odd comment from someone named Anonymous who was so perplexed by what was being depicted in the photo that s/he used Photoshop to lighten the image in the important quest to figure out what was being depicted, even though the text clearly explained it was the shadowy view looking north from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

Well, today's picture is even darker than the one that so perplexed Anonymous, I hope I have made it really clear what the picture is depicting, this time, so as to avoid any anonymous time wastage.

Day 8 Of March In Texas Is Beginning Warm With Incoming Solar Flares

The solar flaring sun had already arrived, this morning, by the time I opened my primary viewing portal on the outer world.

I am almost 100% certain I am currently too deep in the South to see any Northern Lights.

I have only seen the Aurora Borealis once. It was a some point during the 1990s, in Mount Vernon, in Washington. The Northern Lights were far more spectacular than any fireworks display I have ever witnessed.

But, minus any loud booms.

Speaking of loud booms.

In addition to the sun's electric storm the weather predictors are predicting an electric storm of the thunder and lightning variety, for today, at my location on the planet.

Currently, at this early morning point in the day, that aforementioned nuclear sky orb is heating the outer world to one degree shy of 70 degrees this 8th day of the 3rd month of 2012. Already over a third of March has passed into history.*

I think I will go swimming now and obsess over how quickly the days of my life are passing.

*UPDATE: Oops. I should have said already a quarter of March has passed into history. Thank you for anonymously correcting me, Anonymous.

I Almost Got Wet From Rain On The Tandy Hills Today

On my way to an appointment at a location on Beach Street I stopped on View Street to attempt getting some salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation via some fast bi-pedal motion on the Tandy Hills.

Soon upon exiting my vehicle I felt the telltale pinpoints of coldness that indicate precipitation is starting to precipitate.

Thinking a downpour might be imminent I got out my camera to take a picture.

As you can see we are being a bit stormy at this location on the planet today.

The precipitation did not go into downpour mode, but I altered my usual hiking pattern so as not to be too far from shelter if sudden precipitating precipitated a fast escape.

I had my longest swim of the new year this morning. Unless we get a sudden cold snap I'm thinking swimming is here to stay for quite some time.

I must go brave the elements again and drive up to Hurst. That is a town. One of what are known in these parts as the Mid-Cities.

The First Wednesday Of March Dawns Dry & Warm So I Am Going Swimming

On this first Wednesday of the third month of 2012 I stepped outside to my secondary viewing portal on the outer world to look through the bars of my patio prison cell at the very dark pre-dawn darkness.

I expected wetness to be covering the outer world, this morning, because that was what had been predicted to occur by the weather predictors.

The wind howled most of the night, but I don't think it blew in anything wet.

Currently the outer world, soon after the arrival of the nuclear sky orb has begun its daily heating duty, is headed to 62 degrees.

I will be going swimming this morning.

Speaking of swimming, last night I got an email from my mom and dad that said, "Remember to pack your swim suit. 84 here today."

As you can intuit from the above, my temperature fixation is genetic.

I'm going swimming now before it gets any hotter.

Hiking The Tandy Hills With A Howling Wind & Yellow Wildflowers

As you can see via today's noontime view from atop Mount Tandy, looking west over the wagon train trail that leads towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, storm clouds have blown in to North Texas.

Blown in by a very strong wind.

I can not remember the last really bad storm to rattle my location. Stormy weather with bolts of lightning, downpours and tornado sirens blaring used to happen fairly frequently

I can not remember the last time I heard a tornado siren. Or Pete Delkus interrupting prime time TV with one of his breathless weather warning reports about a circulating cell somewhere within a couple hundred mile range.

The wind has turned up its volume and is now doing some howling and whistling.

An Early March Tandy Hills Wildflower Bloom

The best howling wind I've ever heard was during a blizzard whilst in a log cabin at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. That happened in late October, if I remember right.

Today on the Tandy Hills I saw several instances of a freshly bloomed yellow wildflower. I don't recollect seeing this particular wildflower before, but I'm sure I have.

I am fairly certain I will be missing Prairie Fest One that I believe happens later this month.

The Tandy Hills' wildflowers need to start waking up and coloring the hills for all the incoming Prairie Festers.

Day 6 Of March Is Being A Super Tuesday In Texas

This morning I am not as tired as yester morning.

So I mustered the energy to open the blinds on my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this first Tuesday of the third month of 2012.

Apparently this particular Tuesday is Super. Due to a lot of Republican primary elections taking place.

None of which I will be voting in.

The air in the outer world at my location has been heated to a much warmer temperature than yester morning. Currently, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device it is 55 degrees.

With it being a semi warm 55, and Sunday getting into the 70s, I am heading for the pool for what I am hoping will be a very pleasant Super Tuesday swim.

Soon I Will Be Leaving Texas & Greeting You From Phoenix

Starting Thursday, March 15, I will be sending blog greetings from the Phoenix, Arizona zone.

I called my mom and dad a few minutes ago to tell them I'd soon be incoming.

Apparently there will be a BBQ the day after I arrive. Spencer Jack will be there. I have not seen Spencer Jack since August of 2008.

I did not use the Southwest Airlines gift card I got at a Christmas party to book the flight. Flying Southwest to get to Phoenix is just way too much bother, what with that annoying Wright Amendment ridiculousness. I would have had to fly to Denver, Albuquerque or Las Vegas, before continuing on to Phoenix.

US Airways will be taking me directly to Phoenix, with no visit to Las Vegas, Denver or Albuquerque.

Now that I finally got around to booking a flight to see my mom and dad, sister, brother, brother-in-law, nephews, sister-in-law and Spencer Jack, I'm sort of looking forward to it.

Apparently I get to go to an olive grove, among other things. I don't recollect ever going to an olive grove before.

Today's Tired Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Worrying About Texas Sharon's Freedom Of Speech Assault From Range Resources

The Tired Shadow Of The Tandy Hills
Thin Man

By the time the noon time frame came I'd grown tired of feeling tired so I took my tired self to the Tandy Hills Natural Area to do some tired natural hill hiking in the hope this might avail me of an energy boost.

It sort of did.

But now something in the air is irritating my eyes real bad, with itching, burning and eye precipitation.

In the picture you are looking at the Tired Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man standing on the escarpment above the roar of Tandy Falls.

Why is so much crystal clear water currently roaring over Tandy Falls, I found myself wondering? We have not had any rain in weeks. Where is the Tandy Creek water coming from?

It is currently 76 degrees in the outer world at my location on the planet.

Currently on my mind, in addition to being tired, is the bizarre assault on Texas Sharon by one of the gas drillers called Range Resources. I must further ponder this latest outrage, but, I have currently pondered enough to suggest to Texas Sharon that she high tail it back to the United States of America where her right to free speech is constitutionally guaranteed.

Being Real Tired Of The First Monday Of March

Sunday night I went to bed tired. This morning I woke up tired.

I am tired of being tired.

I'm tired of my morning blogging ritual of looking at the outer world via my primary or secondary viewing portals.

As you can see, this morning I am too tired to even bother opening the blinds.

I was too tired this Monday morning to give any thought to going swimming.

I have a long list of things I need to do today, that I will likely procrastinate doing due to feeling too tired to bother.

I wonder if I accidentally bought de-caf coffee. I'll go check. No, it does not say it is de-caf. Maybe the label is wrong.

Sunday In The Pink With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts While Not Being Mean Because I Just Don't Like You

Village Creek Pink Blossoms 

Pink became the theme for this week's regularly scheduled Village Creek Natural Historical Area walk with the Indian Ghosts.

There were only a couple open spaces left in the parking lot. I've never seen so many vehicles parked at this parking lot before.

Methinks people are discovering this hidden gem of a park and are learning to enjoy walking with the Indian Ghosts.

There were a lot of colorful characters walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts today. 

The first character I came upon today was standing still looking up at a tree, holding three fishing poles and a big tackle box. I asked him if he was looking for fish in the tree. He seemed to take some umbrage over my question and expressed his umbrage with a good Texas twang.

A short while after walking past the guy with three fishing poles, two well-seasoned wiry dames on bikes came to a halt to ask me if I'd seen a pink cell phone. I said no, I had not, and asked if I should. Wiry dame #2 told me that a lady had stopped them to ask if they'd seen a pink cell phone that she'd somehow lost.

Soon I was crossing the dam/bridge across Village Creek. After I crossed the creek a lady came towards me looking happy. She was holding something pink. I asked her if she was the lady who lost her pink cell phone.

She confirmed it was she, and that she'd found it where she'd carelessly left it, sitting on top of one of the picnic tables that overlook the Village Creek Blue Bayou.

A short while after leaving the pink cell phone lady I came upon the pink tree blooms you see in the picture above.

Spring is springing out all over North Texas. This is my favorite time of the year.

On my way back towards my vehicle I came upon two young ladies with three dogs. Young lady #2 had a t-shirt with one of my favorite sentiments on her chest.

"I AM NOT MEAN. I JUST DO NOT LIKE YOU."

The First Sunday Of March Thinking About Fort Worth Confidential

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world at the early morning of the first Sunday of the third month of 2012 it appears today is starting with a clear blue sky at my location on the planet.

A clear blue sky with air chilled to 40 degrees. That is not too many degrees above freezing. Will this have rendered swimming to be unpleasant? I think I shall soon find out.

I was not too shocked when Mitt Romney won Washington's Republican caucus. Ron Paul came in second.

I watched L.A. Confidential last night. I am fairly certain I'd previously watched this movie, but I had no solid memory of having done so. This is a really good film noir about Los Angeles corruption back in the 1950s.

Watching this movie about L.A. corruption had me thinking a screenwriter could use Fort Worth's current corruption as grist for a FW Confidential movie.

There is so much good comic fodder.

A corrupt congresswoman installing her unqualified son to run a HUGE public works project, that son being a boozing playboy, a mayor shooting pistols in his town's downtown, bragging about the world's premiere urban wakeboard lake wiped out by a flood, a flood control project building a drive-in theater, a sporting goods store being the state's top tourist attraction, the world's most gas drilling operations in an urban setting.

I think I'll go swimming now and think about writing a screenplay.

Chesapeake Energy & Aubrey McClendon Are Tweeting Mad About Rolling Stone

A couple minutes ago I Twittered or Tweeted, or whatever the verb is, about Cowtown Wakepark and saw that Chesapeake Energy is having a Twitter hissy fit over Rolling Stone's article titled "The Big Fracking Bubble: The Scam Behind the Gas Boom."

Judging by the Chesapeake reaction, Rolling Stone must have hit an Oklahoma nail right on its head.

By Oklahoma nail I mean Aubrey McClendon, he being the con artist who stole the Seattle Supersonics with his nefarious subterfuging ways.

The Chesapeake Energy article attempting to rebut Rolling Stone is so overwrought it exploded the normal webpage size and forced scroll bars to enable reading.

Methinks Chesapeake Energy doth protest too much.

Like I said, Rolling Stone must have hit an Oklahoma nail right on its, I mean, his head.

Cowtown Wakepark's March 3 Grand Re-Opening With Hotdogs & Other Mysteries

We need to talk about the Cowtown Wakepark.

I was surprised to learn this afternoon, via the Cowtown Wakepark's website, that today, if you are ready, the world's premiere urban wakeboarding venue is open for business. With free hotdogs.

Seems like only yesterday the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's first up and running vision was damaged by a flood.

Apparently that flood damage has been fixed. And for only $25 you can ride for 5 hours in the crystal clear, fecal bacteria-free, pristine waters of the Cowtown Wakepark Lake.

But, that is not what I wanted to talk about.

I first saw what became the Cowtown Wakepark back in September of 2010. I was pedaling my bike on the Trinity Trail and found myself surprised by the astonishing amount of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle signage, including a couple big signs announcing that the "Trinity River Vision is Underway".

I found the Trinity Trail detoured around what looked like a big pond. Big piles of dirt. Plus new, then un-opened, trail between the pond and the Trinity River.

I took pictures and wondered on my blog as to what the purpose of the pond was.

Either cd0103 (Connie), or CatsPaw, pointed me to a webpage with an article about the Cowtown Wakepark. This was the first I'd heard of this and when I saw the artist's rendering I knew it was the pond I'd seen from the Trinity Trail.

Back in September of 2010 we were all innocent, naive babes in regards to how nefariously corrupt the dealings of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and its chief henchman, J.D. Granger, could be.

And then we learned of the notorious backroom deal that had the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and its cohorts, the Tarrant Regional Water District, giving Tim Love a sweetheart deal for his new Woodshed Smokehouse restaurant.

And then another bizarre deal that gave a Dallas startup business a drive-in concession as part of the ongoing effort to prevent flood damage.

I don't recollect hearing questions raised as to how the Cowtown Wakepark deal was made.

Clearly some special engineering took place to build the pond and to re-route the Trinity Trail. Someone had to have paid for that.

Was the Cowtown Wakepark deal of the same nature as the Tim Love Woodshed Smokehouse sweetheart deal? With the Cowtown Wakepark owners paying the TRV or TRWD a percentage of their gross? With the TRV or TRWD being the owners of the pond and the development?

It seems sort of clear to me that this Cowtown Wakepark enterprise is not going to succeed. I mean, really, how many people do you think live within a 25 mile radius of that pond who are willing to pay $25 to be towed around, by a cable, in a pond filled with dirty river water?

I really doubt Cowtown Wakepark will last the summer.

Then again, I could be wrong. I never dreamed that 100s of people would be willing to float in the Trinity River in Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.

Clearly I underestimate the locals toleration for swimming with the feces.

Saturday On The Tandy Hills With Twins, Gentle Giants, Skateboards & Ratdogs

The Mount Tandy Wagon Trail

Noon Saturday had me back atop Mount Tandy, walking on the Tandy Hills Wagon Trail that heads west towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

As you can see, the 3rd day of March is a dry, blue sky, pre-spring Saturday in North Texas.

The hills were unusually alive with human activity today.

I was barely on Mount Tandy when I saw a pair of what looked to be identical twins, with one of the twins carrying a skateboard. Why would anyone carry a skateboard on the Tandy Hills I could not help but wonder?

The sign prohibiting horses, bikes and motorized vehicles makes no mention of prohibiting skateboards. I think that prohibition will need to be added if this skateboarding the Tandy Hills thing starts to get out of control.

Soon after seeing the twins I came upon a Gentle Giant, in full Alpine style hiking attire, with a pair of little ratdogs (aka chihuahuas). I exchanged pleasantries with the Gentle Giant and his ratdogs, then continued on my way.

A short time after leaving the ratdogs I came upon a male/female human combo. This pair did not seem to be enjoying themselves, did not appear to be dressed for hill hiking and were not very Texas friendly with their howdying.

I like my howdies to be hearty with a good dose of twang.

It is almost 4 in the afternoon, with Saturday currently being heated to only 56 degrees at my location on the planet, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

I had a good long swim this morning. That was colder than the morning before. I suspect Sunday morning's swim, if there is one, will be even colder.

The First Cloudy Saturday Of March

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this third day of the third month of 2012 it appears the morning of the first Saturday of March is dawning with some clouds between me and the sun.

Currently it is only 41 degrees. The 24 hour average has been above 50. I am hoping I am able to go successfully swimming again this morning.

I had intended to go bingoing at the Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo last night. But I forgot.

I read on Facebook that the Camp Bowie Bingo bingo caller got heckled last week for bad bingo calling. I am not sure I know what bad bingo calling is. I've not played bingo very often. The last time was sometime in the last century.

I do not know where I will be getting my salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation today. I suspect it will be the Tandy Hills. I also suspect I will go to Town Talk.

In the meantime I am going swimming.

Going Swimming Then Finding More Tandy Hills Tires While Thinking About Floating Across Pond Granger In The Vancouver Of The South

Tandy Tires

I was surprised today, on a seldom walked side trail near the center of the Tandy Hills, to see a tire laying above a gully. When I walked closer to check out the mysterious tire I saw it was not alone. There were two mysterious tires.

Unlike the previous Tandy tires that appeared on the Tandy Highway, there was no easy way to get these tires to their location.

Methinks the Tandy Hills had a previous life as some sort of garbage dump before it morphed into its current state of being a Natural Area.

Today is not HOT, like yesterday was, but still totally pleasant.

The big happy news for me today is I successfully went swimming, this morning, for the first time in 2012. About a minute into the water I realized I was going to be able to stay in it as long as I wanted to. And so I did.

Vancouver Seabus

My nephew emailed me last night after he read me mentioning on my blog about us taking the Seabus to North Vancouver. Jason included a picture of the Seabus crossing the bay to North Vancouver.

In just a few short years we may be able to be seeing a similar scene in the Vancouver of the South, Fort Worth, when Pond Granger is filled with water.

J.D. Granger brought a streetcar to Fort Worth to show the locals what one of those rare transportation contrivances looks like. I wonder if J.D. will be bringing a Seabus to Fort Worth to show the locals what they might get to ride across Pond Granger on?

In addition to sending me the picture of the Vancouver Seabus, my nephew made a compelling case for me flying to Phoenix in a couple weeks, when he and Spencer Jack are there. I will decide by tomorrow if I will be doing that.

The 2nd Day Of March Dawns Bright In Texas With Real Housewives Of Vancouver

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on the second day of the third month of 2012 it appears to be yet one more blue sky morning in Texas.

Currently heated to almost 60 degrees.

With these balmy temperatures I really have no choice but to go swimming this morning.

Yesterday I blogged about Vancouver. This morning I was surprised to read that BRAVO TV is adding Vancouver to their Real Housewives franchises, as in soon we will be able to watch The Real Housewives of Vancouver.

This will certainly be more scenic than some of the other Real Housewives locations. But, I have such an aversion to hearing every sentence ending with the "eh?" question that I think listening to Vancouver housewives might quickly wear on my nerves. However, watching ultra-polite Canadian women cat fighting, which is a Real Housewives staple, might be amusing.

Speaking of yesterday's blogging about Vancouver, well, actually, it really was not about Vancouver, it was about Fort Worth, a commenter had this to say........

Cowtown Confidential has left a new comment on your post "Top Chef Texas In Vancouver Has Me Pondering The Fort Worth Vision Boondoggles": 

The Woodshed looks like a rousing success for JD Granger and Tim Love and the Trinity River Vision. The Vision includes more than just the Trinity Uptown project. Far as I know. I'm basing my opinion on a super hefty reporter's Facebook page. He is a big fan of The Woodshed in more ways than one. Is the super hefty Star-Telegram reporter auditioning for a job with the Trinity River Vision when the Startled Gram tanks? I can't say. 

Top Chef Texas In Vancouver Has Me Pondering The Fort Worth Vision Boondoggles

In the picture you are looking at part of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Vancouver is on my mind due to watching the finale of Top Chef Texas, which did not take place in Texas, but instead took place in Vancouver, with the first part of the finale taking place north of Vancouver, at the Whistler Ski Resort.

The final two Top Chefs were both Texans. One of the Texans, Paul, remarked, upon seeing the view of Whistler, from a gondola, that the scenery he was looking at was about a total opposite of Texas.

Been there, thought that.

On Wednesday night's Top Chef Texas finale the chefs went to find food at Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market. Vancouver has several of these type markets. Many of them located near Skytrain Stations.

I remember going to a very cool one with my oldest nephew a few months before I moved to Texas. We rode Skytrain to its northern terminus at Canada Place and took the Seabus across the bay to North Vancouver, where it docks at a big public market.

Granville Island is near False Creek. False Creek is where Vancouver's Expo 86 took place. False Creek has since been re-developed into combo residential/commercial type enterprises.

That re-development is part of what helped bring about the bizarre thing in Fort Worth known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I believe the False Creek developer/designers were consulted early on in the Boondoggle.

I remember being barely recovered from the bizarre nonsense spewing from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about a lame little nondescript enterprise called the Santa Fe Rail Market, touted as being modeled after Seattle's Pike Place Market and public markets in Europe, thinking to myself, does it cross the mind of no one at this idiotic newspaper that there might be readers who have actually been to Seattle's Pike Place Market, who know the absurdity level of this propaganda?

And then the Star-Telegram topped itself with more absurd propaganda.

With a headline along the line of "Trinity Uptown Project to Make Fort Worth the Vancouver of the South."

I remember thinking to myself, have none of these morons actually been to Vancouver? How can they insult their readers like this by assuming such a high level of ignorance?

It was very perplexing.

I remember making fun of this "Vancouver of the South" absurdity, sort of around the same time I had fun making fun of the Star-Telegram's tendency to find nondescript things in Fort Worth to be causing spasms of envy across the world.

The "Vancouver of the South" propaganda did not last very long.

Looking at the photo above, of part of Vancouver, I am sure some people can see the resemblance to Fort Worth. Mountains. A lot of natural water features. Marinas. Dozens of tall buildings. Long bridges.

The towns are almost twins.

See that big expanse of green at the north end of downtown Vancouver? That is Stanley Park. Sort of Vancouver's Tandy Hills Natural Area. Only with a world class aquarium, zoo and a cool suspension bridge, called Lion's Gate, across to North Vancouver.

Fort Worth does not have sufficient elevation changes to warrant suspension bridges. We did have some cool signature bridges scheduled to be built across an un-needed flood diversion channel. But, we found out we were too poor to build those in the billion dollar boondoggle vision.

However, we did find enough money to build the world's premiere wakeboard lake, called Cowtown Wakeboard Park.  Cowtown Wakeboard Park was recently damaged by a flood because our Trinity River Vision Boondoggle flood control project isn't finished yet, so we are still vulnerable to flood damage. That or our Cowtown Wakeboard Park was built in a really stupid location, due to bad vision.

Before the Cowtown Wakeboard Park got wiped out by a flood it was one ugly eyesore, I have to say.

I wonder what a Fort Worth native thinks when, or if, they visit something like Vancouver's Granville Island? And see a well designed, well developed, well landscaped development developed with zero nepotism or bad taste?

There are 3 big cities in the world with which I am very familiar.

Fort Worth, Seattle and Vancouver.

Vancouver's population is 603.000 in a metro area of 2.3 million.

Seattle's population is 608,600 in a metro area of 3.4 million

Fort Worth's population is 741,206 in a metro area of 6.15 million.

So, how is it that Vancouver has multiple successful Pike Place Market type enterprises? Has staged a World's Fair. Rail transport in the form of Skytrain. The best Chinatown I've seen other than San Francisco's. Can put on an Olympics.

Seattle has light rail. A massive transit tunnel under its downtown. One of the world's most famous public markets. Has put on a World's Fair. Currently has more than one multi-billion dollar public works project underway.

Meanwhile, Fort Worth, with the biggest population, seems to have no vision, flounders about, falling into bizarre public works projects, like the Santa Fe Rail Market, the Mercado, the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, giving tax breaks to a sporting goods store because the desperate town somehow managed to believe this would be the top tourist attraction in Texas.

This is all just sad. Really sad.

Despite naming a corrupt public works project the Trinity River Vision, there is no vision. Just visit the flood damaged Cowtown Wakeboard Park and you will see a precise metaphor of what this "vision" actually will look like.

I mean, we are dealing with visionaries whose idea of a vision is to go back to the future and open a Drive-In Theater.

If Fort Worth really wants to have a coherent vision for its future the town needs to send a non-nepotistic task force to places like Seattle and Vancouver and Portland  and figure out how it is that these smaller than Fort Worth towns can put on their big boy pants, while Fort Worth can't seem to get out of wearing kneepants.

I am willing to assist with this vision search, but first, J.D. Granger must be fired.

A HOT First Day Of March Hike On The Tandy Hills With Bikes & Horses

A Rare Tandy Hills Bike Rider Sighting

The first day of March arrived with the HOTTEST day of the year, so far, on the Tandy Hills.

It felt like Summer today.

The HEAT had me wondering how it is I manage my outdoor activities when the thermometer goes over 100. I guess by then I am acclimated.

Today, on the Tandy Hils, I had a very rare wildlife sighting. That being a human on a bi-pedal device.

Bikes and Horses are banned on the Tandy Hills.

However, lately I have been seeing a lot of horseshoe prints in the dried mud on the Tandy Hills' Trails.

The Tandy Hills are not really all that conducive to mountain biking. I don't know about horse riding. I've seen horse goes places where a mountain bike can not go.

Like I said, Bikes and Horses, plus Motorized Vehicles, are banned on the Tandy Hills.

But, the semi-regular release of raw sewage is not banned. Nor are the motorized vehicles that trample the hills to deal with the semi-regular releases of raw sewage.

These inconsistencies are very perplexing.

I'd much rather see an occasional bike or horse than a flood of raw sewage.

The First Morning Of March Roars In Like A Meek Lion

Stepping outside to check out the outer world from my secondary viewing portal on this first morning of a new month it appears that March has roared in like a very meek lion.

A very meek lion chilled 5 degrees colder, at 50 degrees, than the last morning of February.

50 degrees has me thinking I may not go swimming this morning. Yesterday's swim was a bit on the bracing side.

In about 3 weeks the Vernal Equinox should arrive. By that point in time I should be back being able to reliably get my early morning swimming aerobic stimulation again. I hope.

Changing the subject once again from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I read this morning that up in my old home state Ron Paul is fussing with the Republican party of King County, that being where Seattle is located, over something to do with Saturday's caucuses.

I'm thinking Ron Paul is likely appealing to a lot of Washington's inordinate number of extremely free-spirited wacky thinkers.

If Ron Paul wins the Washington caucuses is this embarrassing for Washington? I suspect a maybe on that question.

What I do know for sure is if I was currently residing in Washington I'd be going to my Republican caucus on Saturday and voting for Ron Paul. He so reminds me of the crazy uncle I always wish I'd had.

On The Tandy Hills Finding A Football, Underwear & Armadillo While Wondering About Elsie Hotpepper Wanting To Be A Snake Charmer

Mysterious Shorts, Underwear & Football

Today on the Tandy Hills I went where I seldom go. I parked on View Street, which had me heading to the hills via the View Street Trail.

At the first trail junction I headed west instead of my regular east.

The west side of the View Street Trail is more heavily wooded, more primitively trailed, more easy to get a bit lost and way less visited than the not visited all that much east side of the View Street Trail.

At one point the trail I was on pretty much petered out at a creek running crystal clear water. I crossed the creek and came upon an odd scene.

A football and black jockey briefs on the ground, with a pair of shorts hanging above them on a bush.

Why would anyone carry a football to this isolated location, then take off and leave their shorts and underwear?

Is This The Remains Of An Armadillo?

A short distance from the football I came upon another perplexing sight.

A few days ago I mentioned that I had never seen an armadillo on the Tandy Hills and suggested some of that particular State Animal of Texas should be imported to the Tandy Hills.

Well.

Today I came upon what looked to be the remains of the shell of an armadillo. I don't know what else it could have been if it is not an armadillo.

Changing the subject from one of my favorite Texas animals to one of my favorite Texans, Elsie Hotpepper.

Today I had to deliver sad news to Elsie Hotpepper. For who knows what reason Elsie had her heart set on entering the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant in the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.

I did not enjoy delivering to Elsie the heartbreaking news that she did not have time to register as a student at Sweetwater High School in time to qualify for the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant.

Maybe next year.

Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup Weekend Kick Off Is Thursday March 8 With The Rattlesnake Review Parade

Serving Up Deep-Fried Rattlesnake At
The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup

Lately I have noticed an uptick in the number of comments to my YouTube video of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.

This due to the fact that the Roundup takes place, annually, the second weekend of March.

I thought I had just updated the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup info on my Eyes on Texas website.

But I had not.

Yet one more example of how fast a year zips by.

Below is the 2012 Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup info so you can find out when you need to be in Sweetwater for the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant and other Roundup events....

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup weekend will officially kick off on Thursday, March 8, 2012 with the Rattlesnake Review Parade at 4pm through downtown Sweetwater. That evening, you can attend the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant held in the Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. The doors will open at 8:00 a.m. Friday March 9, 2012 for the 54th Annual Sweetwater Jaycees World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up with snakes being weighed in at 7:00 a.m. that morning at the Nolan County Coliseum. Catch one of the snake Safety demonstrations while you are at the Roundup and don't forget to try some deep-fried Western Diamondback Rattlesnake meat.

The Last Day Of February Pondering The Sublime & The Ridiculous

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this last day of the second month of 2012 it does not appear any of the predicted precipitation precipitated overnight.

The landscape at my location is dry.

I also heard none of the predicted lightning strikes last night.

Currently tomorrow's first day of March is predicted to roar in like a semi-HOT lion with the predicted high being 81 degrees.

Changing the subject from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Mitt Romney won both Republican primaries yesterday.

Newt Gingrich tried to explain to the zealot Rick Santorum that he was comprehension challenged when Santorum said a 1960 JFK speech made him want to throw up. Gingrich praised the speech.

Next up for the Republicans is Saturday's Washington caucus. My one and only time of going to a Washington caucus was the year Clinton ended up getting elected. I voted for Paul Tsongas at my caucus.

I hope, on Saturday, the Washington Republican caucus does something interesting, like giving the win to Ron Paul.

Enough of the ridiculous, I'm going swimming now. What with it being a balmy 55 degrees at this point in time this morning.

A Very Particular Texas Lady With A Chunky Monkey Mind

I know a young lady here in Texas, a lifelong Texan, who likes Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.

She claims eating Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream calms her mental chatter one spoonful at a time.

A few weeks ago I took a picture of this very particular Texas lady. When this very particular Texas lady saw this picture she told me to erase it because it made her look fat.

I was shocked.

I told this very particular Texas lady that the picture did not make her look fat, that it was all the Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream she has been eating, a spoonful at a time, that has given her a Rubenesque Kardashianish Bootiliciously Bodacious Bodunkadunk.

I thought this very particular Texas lady would appreciate being told she had developed a very nice Rubenesque Kardashianish Bootiliciously Bodacious Bodunkadunk. Some people pay a lot of money to get those things.

But, I have long learned that some people just can not take a compliment, no matter how nicely it is delivered.

Getting Endorphins With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts While Making Pipeline Inspections

Walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area was my choice today of where to go to get myself some endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

A few drops of precipitation precipitated on me whilst I was getting endorphinized.

The pipeline across Village Creek, that you see in the picture, is a short distance south of the Village Creek Blue Bayou. A side trail, off the soccer field, leads to the pipeline dead end.

I have no idea what flows through this particular pipeline. It looks a bit flimsy, with its span supported by cable attached to its mid-section.

Changing the subject from flimsy pipelines to something else.

I have not heard from my favorite Chunky Monkey today. I do not know if I should be concerned and consider issuing a BOLO. Or not.

Did Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price Shoot Congresswoman Kay Granger At The Party In Fort Worth?

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price's Pirate Entourage

I did not see the scene on the left when I was at Saturday night's The Party In Fort Worth, held in Fort Worth's private party club, the taxpayer paid Fort Worth Convention Center.

The only person I can identify, for certain in the scene, is Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price, who seems to be packing heat, which she appears to be firing in the direction of a pirate who appears to be, possibly, Fort Worth's notorious Congresswoman, Kay Granger, also known as Queen Earmark.

If that is Queen Earmark getting shot on the right, would that make the pirate standing on the left Fort Worth's poster boy for nepotism run amok, Kay's baby boy, J.D.?

All I know for sure is this is the first instance of a Fort Worth mayor engaging in gunplay in downtown Fort Worth since Fort Worth's former mayor, Mike Moncrief, shot up downtown Fort Worth with his fellow gun nut, Texas Governor, Rick Perry, in shots seen around the world.

The Next To Last Day Of February Thinking About Rick Santorum Throwing Up Over JFK

I stepped outside to take a photo from my secondary viewing portal on the outer world on the next to last day of the second month of 2012 to feel a light drizzle descending upon the earth at my location on the planet.

I heard a short rainstorm dripping down in the middle of the night. More of that is scheduled for today, along with some possible electric storm action.

Currently, with the nuclear sky orb having arrived to do its daily heating duties, the outer world is warmed to 60 degrees at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to one of my least favorite subjects, that being the current American presidential election process.

I may be wrong, because I often am, but I think Republican Rick Santorum may have shot himself in the foot by repeatedly saying that a speech made by JFK in the 1960 presidential campaign made him want to throw up.

Opining that an opinion in a speech made over a half century ago makes one want to throw up sounds very un-presidential to me.

JFK was a Catholic addressing the issue of the proper place for religion in the American political system. Rick Santorum, a fellow Catholic, thinking he should be the 2nd Catholic elected president, does not seem to understand the point JFK was making.

If Rick Santorum gets the Republican nomination I suspect it will cause me to do something I did not think I would do again. As in vote for Obama.

The Sun Sets Bright Orange This Monday Night In Texas

I exited my local neighborhood Sam's Club this early evening to see the setting sun casting a bright orange glow. It looked like what photos I've seen of nuclear bomb detonations look like. Which I guess makes sense since the sun is a non-stop nuclear explosion a long ways away.

I don't recollect ever seeing sunsets of this type whilst I watched the sun set in Washington. Does the special mix of air pollutants we are blessed with here in Texas contribute to the colorfulness? I have no way of knowing, but I suspect so.

Balmy temperatures this early evening. 66 degrees. I have my computer room window open.

Was That A Trout Lily I Saw Today On The Tandy Hills Along With A Man In Black?

This May Be A Tandy Hills Trout Lily

I have not gone on any of the annual Botanist led Trout Lily Nature Hikes on the Tandy Hills, so I am not certain I know for sure what a Trout Lily looks like, but I think this wildflower I saw today on the Tandy Hills may be one of the elusive Trout Lilies.

This particular bloom was located beside the trail that leads up the hill to the south of the Tandy Bamboo Teepee Grotto.

Signs of springs are starting to add color to the currently mostly brown Texas prairie.

I think we may be heading to a very good Texas wildflower season. If you have not visited Texas before and you want to see the state when it is being its most colorful, make your way here the coming Spring.

In addition to the alleged Trout Lily I had another unusual siting today on the Tandy Hills.

Tandy Creek Roaring Over Tandy Falls

As I hiked down Mount Tandy I saw on a distant trail another human. A Man in Black. I do not know who the Man in Black managed it, but somehow by the time I got my camera out to take a picture of the surprising amount of water flowing over Tandy Hills, the Man in Black suddenly was on the north side of the falls.

I howdy-ed the Man in Black, which is proper Texas trail etiquette. The Man in Black howdy-ed me back. And continued on his way, surprisingly via the still very muddy, formerly raw sewage flooded, Tandy Highway.

I then climbed the steep trail that leads west to the View Street trail. A short time after that I was surprised to encounter the Man in Black again. That was one fast moving Man in Black.

Changing the subject from the Man in Black to something else.

I think some armadillos should be moved to the Tandy Hills. It does not seem right that I've seen dozens of armadillos over the years at River Legacy Park and the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, but never a single armadillo on the Tandy Hills.

The Final Monday Of February Dawns Cloudy In Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the last blue Monday of the second month of 2012 it appears clouds are currently clouding seeing the sun at my location on the planet.

By tomorrow those clouds are scheduled to thicken and eventually produce rain and lightning, according to the weather predictors.

Currently the outer world at my location is being heated to 55 degrees, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to something else.

I made it through a couple hours of last night's 84th Academy Awards Show. I did not know that Billy Crystal was going to be the host. Having Billy Crystal doing the hosting greatly improved the Oscar Show from last year's terribly bad debacle.

Changing the subject again.

This morning I got an odd email from someone saying that I had called this particular person fat. I am feeling extreme umbrage at this particular accusation. It has been a long time since I have used the word "fat" in regards to any particular individual. I am feeling malignantly maligned due to this umbrage provoking "fat" accusation.

I wish I could say I was going swimming now to take my mind off of being fat. But I can't.

On The Mount Tandy Wagon Trail Looking West At Where The West Began

The Mount Tandy Wagon Trail

In the picture you are on top of Mount Tandy, looking west at the unpaved highway that heads towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, well known as the location "Where the West Begins."

It is entirely fitting that an unpaved road that looks as if it has ruts worn by wagon wheels is heading towards the downtown of where the west begins.

I can't help but wonder if Fort Worth is the biggest town in America with an unpaved road so close to its downtown.

If that is the case, that is sort of impressive and I think totally brag worth, with an historical marker of some sort designating this unpaved road as such.

I do not know if it is still the case, but decades ago, when I was a kid, you could still see the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail in places like Emigrant Springs State Park in Oregon.

Is the rutted wagon road that runs west from the top of Mount Tandy a spur of the old Chisholm Trail? I have no idea.

Changing the subject from wagon trains to rum swilling pirates and wenches.

I have heard from Elsie Hotpepper post her wench performance at The Party in Fort Worth.

Last night's festivities have Elsie still feeling groggy from too much grog.

Elsie Hotpepper does not feel like putting on her Margaret Thatcher costume to go to tonight's Red Carpet Oscar Party at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. I'm not much in the mood, either, to put on my Brad Pitt costume.

Speaking of which, this morning Steve A verbalized confusion as to who it was who was going to be Margaret Thatcher, with Steve A thinking it might be amusing to see me in that costume. That would be amusing. But, methinks Elsie Hotpepper would not make a very good Brad Pitt. Elsie has put on a lot of weight, while Brad Pitt is skinny.

The Wench Elsie Hotpepper With Me The Pirate Blackbeard At The Party In Fort Worth

The Wench Elsie Hotpepper & Blackbeard Durango
At The Party In Fort Worth

Can you find me being Blackbeard the Pirate, in the picture? With Elsie Hotpepper being my wench? At last night's The Party in Fort Worth at Fort Worth's private party club, the Fort Worth Convention Center.

My usual blogging rules forbid me blogging about anything that happens between 9pm and 5am. Those hours are reserved for the Durango After Dark blog, which has limited access.

But, I am making a slight exception to this steadfast rule, due to the fact that I did mention, in this blogging venue, about myself and Elsie Hotpepper going to a party with J.D. Granger, J.D.'s mom and Aubrey McClendon, with me being a pirate and Elsie being my wench.

Suffice to say a semi-good time was had by all.

Especially Elsie Hotpepper, who seemed to take her wench role quite seriously, with great authenticity, which included imbibing in what seemed to me to be an unseemly amount of rum.

I think I will go to the Tandy Hills now and try and work off some of last night's grogginess.

The Last Sunday Of February On The Red Carpet For The Academy Awards Tonight

I was up late Saturday night, which has me up late looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this last Sunday morning of the second month of 2012.

Stepping outside was a bit bracing this morning. According to my computer based temperature monitoring device the outer world at my location is currently being chilled to 40 degrees.

Four mornings from this morning March is scheduled to roar in like a lion. Whatever that means.

Tonight is the Academy Awards Show. I can not remember the last time I made it through an entire Academy Awards Show or found it fun to watch. Last year's show was unbearably bad with unbearably bad hosts. I think I made it through less than an hour. I have no idea who the likely unbearably bad host is this year, which is indicative of how far the Academy Awards have fallen off my radar screen.

I only know of a few of the movies that have gotten award type attention this year. One of them, The Descendants, I only know about because I know one of the actresses in it, an actress I went skinny dipping with a long long time ago. The actress I went skinny dipping with is not up for an Academy Award tonight.

Speaking of the Academy Awards, I do not know if I am up to going to the Red Carpet Oscar Party at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum tonight. Elsie Hotpepper and I are scheduled to go as Margaret Thatcher and Brad Pitt, but after last night's exhausting Party in Fort Worth at Fort Worth's private party club, the Fort Worth Convention Center, where I was the pirate Blackbeard and Elsie Hotpepper was my wench, the idea of going to another party so soon after last night's does not seem appealing to me at this particular point in time.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now, but I can't, it is too cold.