Life Is Looking Up In Texas (Hiking The Cedar Ridge Preserve)

Studying For A Science Test

The Cake Kitchen

It's 7:20 and I am sitting here with Marisa, as she waits for her Dad to take her to school.  I have been to Einstein bagels already, to pick up a half dozen bagels, so Marisa starts her day off right, with a fresh blueberry bagel.  It's chilly 44º, the heat turned on overnight and it looks like the fine weather is about to end for now, as rain is predicted for the next couple of days.

Yesterday was a spectacular day here in Dallas, sunny and warm enough to wear a tee shirt if, like me, you went for a hike.  Evie, unfortunately, was still not feeling well so I drove off to the Cedar Ridge Preserve (600 acres, 9 miles of trails), 22 miles south of Dallas, an easy half hour drive from Highland Park.  I had heard about the trail from Mitch who was thinking of hiking it with a buddy.

Welcoming Sign

When I arrived there were 10 to 15 cars in the parking lot, so it was not a very busy area.  I talked with two hikers who were able to give me some idea of the trails, which to hike, which might be more difficult and saw the sign above.  Yuck.

Beginning Cattail Pond Trail

I started out on Cattail Pond trail, elevation of 633 feet, a mostly flat and easy hike but midway, I veered off on Fossil Valley, which added another mile, down to a valley up some rock hills, much more rigorous.

Hanging A Left

View Of Texas Country From Fossil Trail

Much of the walk was through scrub, the trails rocky, but I had some good views from Fossil Valley, which ended up at Cattail Pond.

Cattail Pond

I sat down at pavilion over looking the pond and struck up a conversation with a woman who lives in Irving but is from Iran.  We had an interesting talk about different cultures, the problems religion often causes.  She seems happy to be living in the United States.

Fellow Hiker, A Native Of Iran

I finished up my hike starting on Cattail trail but veered off again on to Escarpment, which was mostly up hill for a half a mile and the landscape reminded me of being in Greece.  Eventually the trail widened into what looked like a work road.  I ended up walking about three miles and it took me close to an hour and a half, just what I wanted.  And I saw no snakes though I did keep alert when I thought about it.

The Mediterranean Feel Of Escarpment Trail

An Eloquent Reminder To Stay On The Trail

I was home around 12:30, so I was only  gone for a couple of hours.  Evie was  feeling better, was up and about and Tyler was up as well.  For lunch, I heated up the chili from the previous night after taking Cody for a  walk.  When I walked in from my hike, he immediately starting dancing, moving towards the door, so I had to take him out.  I then relaxed, moved some of the photos to my computer and fell asleep on the couch as Trump was droning on about how he has saved American jobs in Indiana, as his crowd chanted, "Lock her up." Trump sure knows how to bring out the ugliness in people and revels in it.

Around 3:00, Evie and Beth went to pick up Marisa and stop at the store to pick up some ingredients Tyler needed for Chocolate Malt Cake he made for tonight' s dinner with Evie's sisters (if everyone feels well).  Both Tyler and Evie mixed all the ingredients for the cake and baked the three layers before dinner.

We then sat around trying to decide what to have for dinner, Chinese, Pizza, or the new hot restaurant in town, Monkey King Noodle Company.  It used to be a popular food truck but now it's not only a take out but also a restaurant.  The Monkey King won out, so we ordered our noodles and soup dishes as well as pot stickers and Rami picked it up on the way home from work.  As usual, we had more than enough, as we were surprised by the portions, the tasty broth and there were even won tons leftover. Clearly, I will not lack for lunch the next couple of days.  After dinner, we watched the Dallas Cowboy game on TV while Evie and Tyler made the frosting for the cake, then frosted it while Marisa sat in the living room and  finished her homework.  We then went upstairs to their TV room, watched the top rated episode of The Office, then the next two episodes of FX's Fargo until 11:00 when we went to bed.

Kitchen Grandchildren

Today, Evie's sisters, Jean and Claire are coming over for dinner.  Jean lives just outside of Dallas, near Denton and Claire, who lives in Scottsdale, is in for a week.  Seeing them is one of the bonuses of visiting Beth and family in Dallas.

Nothing Like A Happy Granddaughter