Strange Park Sign

This is a somewhat scary sign with the "Beware of Wild Animals"added to the sign.

 

 

The White Rock Trail is a pretty amazing trail in the heart of an urban setting. From this very point you can travel to White Rock Lake which is a distance of some 9 miles. It is approximately 9 miles around the lake itself. That mileage total is now up to 18 miles and of course another 9 miles back to this point  and you have 27 miles walking, running biking. The amazing part,still, is that from White Rock, you can take an offshoot to Fair Park, through downtown and pick up the Trinity Trail on the other side of downtown. And, if that isn't enough, you can travel back to the lake via the Katy Trail beginning at the American Airline Center and cutting through the heart of Uptown, Highland Park,University Park and into Lakewood where you will pick up the White Rock Trail again  Dallas does not fully appreciate the trail system that they have, even though it is very popular by so many already. Atlanta has a new trail on old railroad right aways and they are going nuts. Dallas has had this for sometime and its never been unpopular. Dallas does have some advantage over Atlanta too. In the article about Atlanta's new tail, it shows a beautiful view of downtown Atlanta in the distance. The article talks about that view very much. In the next paragraph, the author talks about the hundreds and hundreds of trees being planted, which in 40 years will block the beautiful view of downtown!  Dallas is a bit more advanced than that, folks but we do have at least one strange and worry some wild animal sign.

 

 

Several times I have wanted to take this 3/4 mile off shoot tail to Hillcrest Park. There is a Greek Orthodox Cathedral that is absolutely in the worst location to shoot. From the angle of Hillcrest park, I am thinking that it would be possible to get a spectacular view of the Cathedral. But, in a city park, I have never seen a beware of wild animals warning on a sign. Wild animals covers a lot of territory. I need to call the Parks and Recreation for a meaning of "wild animals" since I have seen wild animals in the city and in local  nature areas. Those wild animals (raccoons,coyote) are not that scary. To me, wild animals would be bear,moose type and oh,my, bob cats and cougars would be in that wild animal book,too. Bob cats are stealthy and hard to spot. It is a bit strange, don't you agree? I think I will call Parks and Recreation. I'll get back witch ya.

 

Calling all Rock Climbers

The outside set-up for training

Until yesterday, I didn't know such a place existed in the Metroplex. It was a discovery that I had not expected or anticipated finding. After talking with the owner for a bit, he gave me a tour inside the facility.

In the foothills outside Denver, there is a concert venue named Red Rocks. It got its name from the two towering rock formations at the entrance of the facility. Recalling my first experience watching rock climbers enjoying their hobby/sport was a mine burn. Since then, everytime the combination of those two words appearing together or is heard together, the mental picture of that day at Red Rocks pops into view. It is  as clear today in my mind as it was those many years ago.

Looking upward inside that 110 foot silo yesterday  also reminded me of something I said in a post several months ago  that: " one thing I would not do is climb out on an I-beam several hundred feet above grade to get a image of an ironworker sitting on that beam eating his lunch sandwich" as my old AP friend,Steve Dodrill did.. Never-the-less the facility has six such "rooms" plus the outside scaling wall set-up. The owner is a wilderness adventures outrigger in Frisco,Texas and uses the training facility  to teach leadership,team building and personal adventure skills. The North Texas Outdoor Pursuit Center is the official name of the facility in the old Blanton Grain Towers in downtown Carrollton,Texas. The Green Line's Carrollton Station is a football field North of the facility. Here are a couple of shots of the facility.

Entrance on the West Side of the Blanton Towers
 

This is the West Side view of the Blanton Grain Towers. They rise 110 feet. Each silo is a training center. The microwave repeaters are just a value added service of the facility