WF is a town of many road mergings and it all confuses me. Once a railroad town, it's now home to Sheppard Air Force Base. US Highways 277, 281 intersect in town. I-44 ends here. There are many access roads to these main roads. Even though this is my third time in WF, I still get confused without reliable GPS. Driving in and around torn require one's complete attention.
I stopped at a McD's for breakfast. I tried the biscuits and gravy and it was pretty good! Each dog got a sausage biscuit as well to hold them over. I stopped at a Sam's Club briefly, then headed out to Lucy Park, and even that is confusing to get to. I had been here before with Eric and the dogs, just to get some exercise in. It's a spacious 178-acre park with picnic tables, disc golf, and a 10-foot-wide concrete path. http://www.wichitafallstx.gov/69/Lucy-Park
The park is centrally located and borders the Wichita River. It's within walking distance from the historic part of town. A five-mile loop starts and ends here, following the river. The rest of the completed Circle Trail loop around the inner city. Twenty-two of the 24 miles are completed. I hope to do the entire loop while I am here, but will have to break it down into several days for Minnie's sake. Its many oaks and maples provide for shade, at least here in Lucy Park. Many other sections of the Circle Trail are exposed and away from any water. I will skip those parts.
The park was busy for a Monday. I walked the dogs to the falls after which the town was named. The current 54-foot waterfall is man-made.from 1989. The original falls were destroyed in a massive flood in the 19th century and are a half-mile away . The falls look nice when the water is running, but when the water is turned off as it was the last time I was here visiting Eric, it is rater boring as then the water pipes become obvious.
We managed 2.6 miles out and back on the trail, with plenty of stops to throw sticks in the river. This took me two hours and I still had plenty of time before Eric was free to meet up with me. (The class he is attending ends at 4pm) I checked out the Backporch Taphouse (good beer selection, but far too expensive; a pint goes for $7.50!) and my server there recommended the Half Pint Taproom in downtown, and that is where Eric and I had our dinner at 7pm. I only had one beer, but the big disappointment was the brickoven pizza which many reviews raved about. The crust was too thin, soggy and greasy, but the ambiance was nice. The Half Pint Taproom is a nice place to meet up with friends and chat by a fire pit, or inside on couches.
We didn't spend much time together as he has one more early class tomorrow. He seemed preoccupied and wouldn't talk much. All I know is that he has just under two more years left in the Air Force and wants to get out. "Everyone is bitching about it [the duty]" he explained, without further detail.
I dropped him off at his lodging at 8:30pm, then walked the dogs one more time for 2.5 miles on the nearby Wind Creek fitness/disc golf trail on base. There was no moon and thus dark, perhaps the only way I can get away with walking the dogs at night. We finished off with the sounds of Taps playing at 10pm before returning to the hotel.
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