An Invincible Summer

Mallard Cove Park

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Debora

I was out running errands yesterday and pulled over to snap a pic of the Mallard Cove Park sign for my “collection.” This is the park I posted pics of near the end of this spring’s rains, when its two ponds were flooded and a third pond had appeared. I haven’t been there since those pics were taken, so I don’t know if the new pond is still there.

The official address is on Shadow Grass Ave, but it’s easier to access the park from Randol Mill Rd via Trinity Ct. To get to it from Shadow Grass Ave you have to drive into a little housing tract and then park in front of someone’s house. If you take Trinity Ct, there’s a little parking area and a gazebo near the park’s alternate entrance.

It’s not the prettiest park in the Metroplex, but it’s a great place to jog, walk your dog, teach your kid to ride a bike or just get out in the fresh air and frolic. I like to ride Mahogany down there sometimes.

A big flat-topped rock sits near one of the ponds, with smaller flat-topped rocks placed around it to create a table-and-chairs effect that I like a lot.

I introduced my friend Mendy and her daughter Lawren to the park last winter. Here they are standing on the table-rock.

In summary: Mallard Cove Park is unexceptional as far as looks and facilities go, but it’s got two (maybe three) ponds, plenty of wide-open spaces to wander around in, a nice gazebo near the parking area and a pretty stone “table” down under the trees. It would be a great place for a serious game of frisbee.

Categories: A Plethora of Parks, environment, Friends, Horses, Life, trail rides, trees | Tags: Mallard Cove Park | Leave a comment

A Plethora of Parks: Summit Park and McPherson Park

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Debora

I was chatting recently with one of my SoCal friends who, like me, loves to explore new places and loves public parks. I told her that the kids and I could go to a different DFW park every week and not run out of new ones for literally years. It’s one of my favorite things about the Metroplex.

That conversation got me thinking that maybe other people would enjoy reading about the parks here and what each of them has to offer. Some of them are big, sprawling places perfect for long, scenic walks, while others are more like little picnic spots. I was inspired to start a “collection” of local parks, with pics and descriptions of each one.

We can’t actually visit a different park each week. There’s no shortage of parks, just a shortage of time. But every time we do get to a new one, I’ll add it to my collection.

So yesterday the kids and I were at the Trader Joe’s in Southlake. There are two parks within easy walking distance of the store: Summit Park and McPherson Park.

Summit Park sits on a little hill surrounded by businesses:

The area is a lot prettier in person than it looks on Google Maps. Here’s a view of the park from the top level of the parking garage behind Trader Joe’s:

And here it is as seen from Cafe Express, where the kids and I had lunch:

There’s a little gazebo near the center of the park.

I would classify Summit Park as a picnic spot, because it only takes a few minutes to walk from one end to the other, but it’s a really lovely walk.

Here is the sign, to make Summit Park an official entry in my collection:

If you’re walking from Summit Park to McPherson Park, I would recommend going by way of Southlake Town Square. There is a pretty pond and a gazebo and a fountain…

Plus this guy.

There’s a directory next to the Town Square. Use it to make sure you walk through the courtyard behind Brio Tuscan Grille on your way to McPherson Park, because that’s worth seeing too.

McPherson Park:

There’s not much to say about McPherson Park; it’s basically a pond with a trail around it. It looked so uninspiring that we didn’t even walk around the pond, we just followed the trail far enough to snap a pic of the sign to make it official…

…and then looped back into the shopping district, which is gorgeous and a nice place to spend a lot of money if that’s your thing.

To summarize, Summit Park is a lovely little picnic spot. McPherson Park is nothing special, but I’m glad we went because we saw a lot of cool stuff during the walk there and back.

Hopefully I’ll be adding new parks to my collection at least once a month. If you live in the Metroplex and you have a favorite park that you’d like to see recognized here, feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Happy trails!

Categories: A Plethora of Parks, Family, food, Friends, kids, Life, maps | Tags: McPherson Park, Southlake Town Square, Summit Park | Leave a comment

New Name, New Domain

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Debora

The old title didn’t really seem to fit the spirit of this blog anymore, so I have renamed it once again.

Up until pretty recently, I was never sure whether the blog was going to be a forever thing or just a passing interest. It started out in 2007 as a way to document my road trip, and then it seemed like a good forum for sharing a few tips about gardening and homesteading, and then it was a sanity-saving emotional outlet when my marriage ended and I was figuring out where to go from there, and then it turned out to be a great way to describe our adventures in DFW. And then at some point I realized that the blog was probably going to be a part of my life for as long as I enjoy writing and taking pictures, so I went ahead and bought the web domain. You can update your bookmarks to dsilkotch.com, or the old links should redirect here indefinitely.

I hope you’re all enjoying the journey as much as I am!

Categories: Life | Tags: Blogging, writing | Leave a comment

Escapism

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Debora

The kids and I recently discovered The Escape Room. For a recovering rpg junkie like me, this may turn out to be my new drug of choice.

The basic premise is that you and your group are locked in a room, and you have one hour to figure out how to get out. There are puzzles to solve and clues to follow, and the room is actually a series of rooms and you’re never sure whether that next door is going to lead you out of the game or just into the next set of puzzles.

I first learned about The Escape Room on a Fort Worth subreddit. I did some research and found nothing but glowing reviews, so I posted a link to it on Facebook and my friend Mendy got as excited about it as I was. We decided to give it a shot.

You start by choosing your “episode.” Currently there are four scenarios to choose from, all set in the same world with certain interconnecting story elements. We chose Prison Break for our first adventure. In this episode you are a group of tourists in Asia who get captured and imprisoned by a terrorist group. You have one hour to make your escape.

Five of us played officially, plus a friend of Mendy’s who was doing a story about it. We each made our different contributions to the game: Elizabeth was super sharp at solving word-related clues, I did pretty well coming up with mechanical solutions to physical problems, and so on.

Here is a three-minute podcast from Mendy’s friend’s series, “Texas Road Trippin’.” You can hear me for about two seconds in the middle. (Warning: mild spoilers for one of the first puzzles.) And here is the shorter, spoiler-free “Around Town” version.

We had a blast. Next month we want to do the spookier “Confinement” scenario for Halloween. When we run out of episodes at the Southlake location, Google tells me that there are similar adventures to be had all over DFW, including one where you are trapped in a room with a zombie that is chained to a wall, and every few minutes the chains are let out a few inches, and if the zombie touches you the game is over.

Bring. It. On.

Categories: Family, Friends, Gaming, kids, Life | Tags: The Escape Room | Leave a comment

Summertime Fun

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Debora

The rain eventually stopped, and the Texas summer arrived in all its sweltering glory. Luke flew off to California for his four-week visit with his dad. We had all learned our lesson last year about not moping around during these apart times, so Elizabeth and I kept ourselves entertained in his absence.

We discovered Founders’ Plaza, which is a really pleasant little park with a good view of DFW Airport and the adjacent UPS Hub. It’s a nice place to relax, watch planes land and listen to the piped-in live dialog from the airport’s radio control tower. We bring lunch or ice cream and make it a picnic.

Then Luke came back, and Elizabeth went to California. Other than going to see Inside Out, I don’t remember Luke and I doing a whole lot while she was gone. We did get our first sight of Texas fireflies, while we were walking in a park at dusk near a lake. I didn’t have my camera with me though, just my iPad, and that doesn’t take great pics in low light. I did manage to get one halfway decent shot – can you see the firefly?

I have been promising Luke for ages that I would take him to see the Dallas Heritage Village, so we finally made plans to go about a week after Elizabeth got back from California. Unfortunately, when we got there we found a locked gate and a sign saying that the Village was closed for maintenence and would reopen in September. Guess I should have taken a closer look at that website.

Anyway, there we were in Dallas, so we decided to check out the Botanical Gardens instead. That turned out to be a solid choice. The place is gorgeous, and during the month of August the ticket price is only a dollar per person, probably because it’s not the flashiest time of year and it’s like 150º outside. Some of the plants did seem to be struggling in the heat. But there is plently of shade, and lots of water.

There is a LOT of water. Streams and fountains and waterfalls everywhere.

This was my favorite:

There’s lots of statuary too, and most of it seems to involve nudity or sensual themes.

There’s just something about a garden that makes you want to run around naked, I guess.

After we left the Botanical Gardens, we investigated a little spot called Dragon Park that I’d seen mentioned on a website. It really is a tiny little place, but pretty and interesting.

And Monday we took Luke to see Founders’ Plaza for the first time.

And that’s about it for the summer fun. School starts back up in a couple of weeks. As for my job-related adventures…that’s probably a subject for its own post. Which I will write soon. Probably.

Categories: Animals, Artwork, Dragons, environment, Family, Horses, kids, Life, Love, trees, Weather | Tags: Dallas Botanical Garden, Dallas Heritage Village, Dragon Park, Founders' Plaza | Leave a comment