Tofu travels to Wichita Falls

We got out of Tucumcari early in the morning. Before long we had left New Mexico and entered Texas. The sky was overcast with intermittent rain showers. The scenery was redundant. Crossing into Texas and headed toward Amarillo there were miles of wind turbine towers. After some crazy traffic in Amarillo, there were more wind towers. Looks like north Texas is pretty committed to wind power potential.

Continuing east, the flat countryside became a little more rolling. Grass was making an appearance. As we entered Clarendon, there was a college on a hill next to the highway that had lots of grass. I decided it was time for Tofu to have her postponed morning walk. We usually walk a mile or two every morning before Tofu’s breakfast. But those nasty goat heads have been everywhere we have been. So I’ve been looking for grassy parks (which are not too plentiful). So we visited Clarendon College.

Hardly anyone was on campus. There were some big guys wandering toward the gym. They didn’t understand my questions about their school… private or public? Where’s the Administration building? I found a couple food service workers taking a smoke break behind the dining hall. They said it is a community college and they offer programs in cosmetology and auto mechanics. They said they didn’t know how big the school was but they had 287 students that were paying for meals. Other than these vital pieces of information, Tofu and I figured out the have a football team and they are called the Bulldogs. Tofu had a productive walk. The grass was great!

These are the only photos I took until arriving at Wichita Falls. I would have liked a photo of the wind turbines, but the moment never happened. Also, I started seeing cotton fields with ripe cotton on them. If there had been a good place I would have taken the picture.

Arriving in Wichita Falls there was really only one thing I wanted to see… Wichita Falls. The guy at Motel 6 told me to go down the freeway to the Visitor Center. He said they would know where the Falls were. So I did go to the Visitor’s center. It was a nice building. There were 6 employees standing in a prayer circle, praying that someone would come in the door so they could keep their jobs. One of them saw me come in, and the others stopped praying long enough to marvel at my arrival. I presented them with my request: where are the Falls. They seemed a little embarrassed, “Oh, they’re just down the road a bit, but I think they’re turned off. Because of the rain.” “Say what?”. I was escorted to a mural.

“So can I see where the Falls is when it is running?” “Yes, just down the road 1/2 mile there is an abandoned hotel. Park in the lot, and the falls will be a hundred yards from the hotel” So here’s the abandoned hotel.

Because of all the rain the Wichita River has flooded. Note the man who has three fishing poles in the water: cat fishing.

There is a lake above the Wichita River. The Falls move from the Lake and empty into the river. But when the River is flooded they turn off the Falls. Ladies and gentlemen I now present to you The Falls of Wichita Falls… dry from the rain.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got tonight. My Lord, there’s a lot of roaring truck noise in the parking lot.

Love.