Wichita Bluffs

The last mild weather was today, but it was still chilly when I took the dogs to the last section of the Circle Trail I will be finishing while in town, the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area off Loop 11.  This is a totally exposed section along the Wichita River and the Bluffs .  Parking area is right off the road.  This is the most recently-finished section of the Circle Trail.  Homes near the bluff reveal that this is the upscale part of town.

Minnie was feeling stiff this morning, so we took it slowly.  The 10-foot wide concrete path follows the Wichita River for the first half mile, before the trail ascends up the bluffs, with various spurs on the mesa where one can rest on a bench and enjoy the view.  Most of the trees are now naked, but I'm sure in the spring and early fall, views from the top are lovely.  It was too cold today to stop and rest on the benches.

I made sure I stopped at the river to throw a stick for her.  Despite the cold water, she dove right in, totally unphased.  This is what she wanted to do: swim!   The river here is clean and silty, with no visible trash below the water line.

It took us 1:50 hours to walk this section totalling 3.5 miles.  I'm glad I got to do this section of the Circle Trail.  Once the trail here is landscaped with grass along the concrete path, this will be perhaps the nicest section for birding. I'm sure the area pops with wildflowers in the spring, too.  Today the vistas were shades of brown and grey.

Eric and I had a lunch date at 11am and I was only 20 minutes late. It warmed up to 48F by mid day and the dogs were comfortable in the car.  We had a filling lunch at Luigi's right outside the base, where we were waited on by a server-in-training, a nervous young blond named Austin whom I reassured was "doing just fine." We then watched the newest Tom Hanks movie "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."   We both thought the movie was just OK.  Hanks plays the iconic children's show host Mr. Fred Rogers, whose kids' show ran from 1968-2001.  (Rogers died of cancer in 2003 at age 74.) The movie is more about the investigative reporter Tom Junod who interviews Rogers in 1998 and how meeting Rogers helped Junod make amends with his difficult father (played by Chris Cooper) who had left the family when the mother was dying of cancer.

I was a little disappointed that Eric didn't want to do anything with the dogs along the river afterwards.  We were both feeling full from the lunch hours ago, so we didn't go out anywhere else for a snack. Granted, it was cold and windy, but even just a few minutes of tossing a stick for Minnie would have made that old dog's day.  He showed no interest in wanting to spend any more time with me, so  I ended up dropping him off back at his guest quarters, then let the dogs out by the Pet Area near the fitness trail and base lodging I was on Monday night.  The sky was now getting overcast and windy, and even I didn't want to do anything else on base.  There is too much construction on base with the main entrance getting modernized and traffic detoured.  Everything I had planned on doing while in town, I managed to do now.  I stopped by Sam's Club to stock up on various Texas beers (I really like the seasonal Shiner "Holiday Cheer," a brown ale blended with nuances of peach and pecans). It was now time to relax in my hotel room while the storm approached northern Texas, and get ready for the holiday and the long drive back to Arizona.  I'm going to miss the warmth and comfort of the hotel room!