Above you are looking at a lone pine tree, loaded with big pine cones, sitting on a bluff above Lake Grapevine, in Southlake, with the tree shadowing Army Corps of Engineer's trails that you access from Bob Jones Park.
The Army Corps of Engineer's trails that you access from Bob Jones Park are the site of my second worst (and funnest) case of getting lost in Texas, with the best (and not fun) case of getting lost happening on Christmas day of 2002 at Dinosaur Valley State Park.
Yesterday it was in the 80s when I went hiking the Tandy Hills, thus requiring no additional warmth producing clothing beyond the minimum needed. Less than 24 hours later I needed two layers of long sleeved shirts, a windbreaker with a hoodie and a wool cap. And long pants.
Pine trees grow in Texas, naturally, mainly in the Piney Woods Region of East Texas. This solo pine tree seems a bit out of place, all alone with no relatives. I don't recollect ever seeing a pine tree so overloaded with pine cones.
If I had something along with me to carry them I would have picked some pine cones. They smell good. Sort of like getting the aromatic benefit of a Christmas tree without all those nasty needles drying out and falling to the floor.
Above you are looking at an inlet on the vast inland sea known as Lake Grapevine. I don't remember if I have been on these trails in winter before. I do remember I have never been on these trails when it is cold. My first experience on these trails occurred approximately a decade ago, in summer. It was a combo mountain bike/horse ride exploration.
I suppose you are thinking that is me, back in the saddle, using 4 horseshoed hooves to explore the Lake Grapevine trails.
You would be wrong.
The kid on the horse stopped to tell me of late he'd been seeing a lot of people on the trails. He wondered where I was from and how I knew about this place. This was an interesting question for him to ask, due to the fact that I'd come upon 4 separate groups of humans hiking today. And was wondering the same thing. I don't recollect ever seeing any humans, besides the ones I was with, in this location, previously.
Tomorrow is going to be cold, too. No pool for me. That is for sure.
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