Two Generations of Kayakers

On this late winter afternoon,the low gray clouds that hung over the lake this morning and cast that gloomy winter's look, lifted. The sun was warm. There was a North wind that had a bit to it at times but outdoors was the place to be.

Now, this is what I had in mind.



Where's Forward?

 There were two kayakers that I had seen on the lake earlier when I came across a guy putting in a paddle board and a father and son team getting ready to launch their trip on the lake. This team  represented two generations of the sport and for that reason, that is somewhat unusual, brings them to the blog today.

Aargh! Portage!

Missed the Demonstration but Caught the Event

In solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, the General Assembly of Occupy Dallas staged a demonstration today. The Death of the American Dream was a mock funeral and complete with a casket. I would have liked to have been there.  But, I did happen upon the No War on Iran event.

The System was Never Broken. It was Built This Way

No War on Iran

I'm a product of the 60's. My first demonstration to attend was right in the middle of Court Street and Union under the center hung stoplight. Antioch College,the birthplace of protest, was about 80 miles North  and West of the stop light. That movement,while birthed at Antioch,  moved West to San Francisco and  became the Haight-Ashbury cradle of the demonstrations and protest of the Viet Nam War. The rest--as they say--is history. So, I remember intersections and their potential. When I saw the crowds on all four corners of Royal Lane and Greenville Avenue today, I had to stop and get some pictures of the No War on Iran event.

White Rock and a Record Rainfall

Most rain ever in the month of January 4.27 inches officially at DFW International Airport.

The roar was amazing

The noise of heavy rain after it falls was a crowd  draw today at the spillway of White Rock Lake. Several mentioned that this was the highest that they had ever seen the water. I can't recall a time when it was more. Love Field,which is closer to White Rock, had 4.46 inches, but the official record keeper is DFW, some 20 miles to the West.

The Old Katy Railroad Bed

Straight out of a James Bond movie, men were down in the drain pipe as it was covered over and new sections were added in the front. But, the history here lies in the railroad bed that the drain pipes are now below.
The Katy or the Missouri,Kansas,Texas Railroad (M-K-T) was the first railroad to enter Texas from a Northerly point. It was chartered on  May 23,1870. The railroad's stock symbol was K-T and soon, the railroad was know as the K-T. Later it was changed to Katy. Today the 3.5 mile long section of the Katy Trail has been  converted to a trail from the Park Cities area to the American Airlines Center downtown. There is a Katy Trail extension that runs through the M-Streets and connects with White Rock Lake. This new section is just North of Mockingbird Lane and runs South/Southwest to the Katy Trail Extension just before T and P hill. Following the railroad bed that has been removed, the former track parallels the water filtration building, is now an active finished trail that crosses Grand Avenue at Gaston and continues up the hill behind the golf course off Samuel Blvd., where it once tied into the Union Pacific track section that is live rail today. At this point, the trail turns and heads to Fair Park.
Going North from this point  the former rail bed travels along its present course crossing Greenville Avenue just North of Meadow Road, traveling along what is presently used by DART on the Red Line adjacent to the Royal Oaks Golf Course .

Looking North toward the Meadow/Greenville Crossing

A symphony of equipment working in unison to travel forward with drainage culverts buried under the old Katy Railroad tracks.

A Sneak Preview of the March Celebration

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

There were people on the bridge today en mass. The excitement for the first weekend in March celebration  grows as people check out the newest landmark on the Dallas skyline. Here are a couple of images from  today.

The Santiago Calatrava portion of the bridge begins where the cable stays begin, 600 feet eitherside of the signature portion  that stands 400 feet. So, 1,200 feet in the center is cablle stayed, holding the bridge deck up.

Follow Up to Jan.13 Exxon Mobile Headquarters, As the Crow Flies.

Since I was in the neighborhood visiting my bank branch, it was not out of the way to get some images and provide some added strength to the previous article. And, with the Carpenter Freeway being the main route, to and fro, it was also a bonus to stop and get some images of the Abbey that sits on a hilltop. The abbey was constructed from thick blocks of Texas Limestone and the rough-cut appearance makes added beauty to the architecture in general. The Cistercian Abbey of Las Colinas is another treasure for Texas diversity, Dallas Metroplex specifically. Here are the images.




Cistercian Abbey in Las Colinas.The order has been around for years.

 Years ago, Exxon Mobile did something for my family that I can never forget. It is something that will always glow a warm spot in my heart. So when I mentioned them in the post of January 13th, it was not in a negative way. But, hidden behind hack berry and mesquite trees, the Exxon Mobile compound does position itself in a clandestine-kind of operation. Anyone with any corporate experience from inside looking out knows that a certain degree of clandestine operating is totally necessary.And.....the bigger you are......the more you need.

Looking North across the John Carpenter Freeway for which Las Colinas was named, lies the world headquarters for Exxon Mobile Corporation.



Surrounded by acres of hack berry and mesquite trees, the compound is fenced and monitored.



Two Words Cut in Stone

Going up the steps up to the plaza area in front of the Hall of State, two words are cut in stone. Adventure on the right. Fortune on the left.