Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Cable Gate & The Tandy Hills Blue Flags Mystery

I had not been back to the Tandy Hills Natural Area since our recent bout of rain here in Fort Worth. I figured we'd been dry long enough that the Tandy Hills would be dried out.

I was wrong. They were muddy spots. But, not too bad, so I was able to go up and down 2 hill climbs over and over again til the endorphins kicked in.

I was in desperate need of an endorphin fix. Being an endorphin addict and in dire need of a fix is not a good thing. I don't get an endorphin fix from swimming in the morning. That's more some form of aversion or shock therapy.

A couple weeks ago I was perplexed whilst hiking the Tandy Hills when I saw a couple small blue plastic flags on a spike stuck in the ground. Today I saw another pair.

What is the purpose of the unnatural plastic flags being stuck on the Natural Tandy Hills?

My way to the Tandy Hills today was from the playground main trail entry that goes by Fort Worth's most recent exhibit of stunning public art. As I left the grass/lawn zone, on to the trail, I was puzzled by big lumps of mud, some basketball size. What could have left those, I walked and wondered? There were a dozen, maybe 2 dozen, of these big lumps. From where were these lumps extracted?

And then as I neared the first trail junction, off the main trail, I started seeing tire ruts. Who is driving a 4 Wheeler on the Tandy Hills Natural Area? And leaving ruts? The ruts went no further than you see in the picture. You are looking south, back towards the playground/public art zone.

Are the ruts and the blue flags another Billy Hill antic?

And why is there no Cable Gate across the main entry trail to the Tandy Hills, blocking vehicles? Up by the tower, known as the Fort Worth Needle, there is a Cable Gate. This in a location that sees few vehicles. And then you start down the trail from the Needle and come to an intersection that has another Cable Gate across the trail that goes down the hill to the north. If you go down the trail to the south you will find another Cable Gate blocking the trail at the junction that goes north. Why these Cable Gates and none at the main entry where the rutting took place?

It's all very perplexing.

2 comments:

ChipSeal said...

Someone is marking the presence of a buried water pipe. Every utility type has their own color.

http://www.illinois1call.com/utility_response/marking_colors.htm

More ominously, it indicates someone is planning to dig holes in the area.

Durango said...

Marking a water pipeline? That does not sound like a good thing. What if it is Chesapeake Energy's new gas pipeline route to replace the Carter Avenue route? That would be a really bad thing.

Thanks for the info, Chip Seal.