Exploring Rural America - 2: Bonham State Park

Green Spaces for Public Good

America is responsible for a whole lot of pollution including and not limited to consuming over 40% of the world's gasoline, emitting over 30% of the world's greenhouse gases, etc. I would add a positive statistic to this country i.e. this is one country where local environment is preserved very well. Most of the natural creeks, rivers, and culverts have been preserved, even though these come alive only during the rains. Then there are vast open spaces that have been designated as National and State Parks, Wildlife refuges, and other types of protected areas that are basically green spaces open to public and that also help enhance the environment.

I have been exploring America since the time I landed here, not just the glitz and glamor of cities and popular tourist destinations, but the interior lesser known rural and local attractions. My reaction to this is mostly that of surprise and admiration to the sustainable planning and development of communities. Recently I visited one of the state parks of Texas - Bonham State Park. Located close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area this is a vast green space with a 261 acre lake. The park is full of trees and the lake adds a beauty to the entire setting. Rustic old-style buildings house the administrative offices in the park that provides facilities for walking, hiking, mountain biking, swimming and aqua sports such as sailing, canoeing, kayaking, etc.

During summer months this park is usually full of visitors but now being winter and biting cold I was the only visitor in the park. Here are some pictures of the park for your viewing pleasure.

The Main entrance to Bonham State Park

Water Fowl enjoying their day at the lake without any visitors disturbance...

The deserted swimming area of the park - summer brings crowds of families to the park

The fishing pier which can also be a scenic look out...

380-Green Belt Park, Denton

I have to commute about 55 minutes one way to work everyday. It is a long and boring drive during which I just put the car on cruise control and let it run at 60-70 mph depending on where I am on the road. There are couple of places which do offer some relief from the otherwise boring scenery. The first place is where Lewisville Lake intersects the highway and the second is where the 380-Green Belt is located. Wide, long bridges have been built at both the places so that only those who are really interested in getting into either area will pull over and the rest will just drive on. I stop by sometimes at the 380-Green Belt Park to spend a few minutes amidst old trees and nature.

If you are wondering what 380 stands for, it is the highway that I travel on and on which the park is located. It is also known as the University drive because the Texas Woman's University is located on this thoroughfare in the city of Denton. Of course this park is part of the Texas State Park System and as such it requires entry fees, which I don't have to pay because I bought a State Park Pass way back in May 2011. I am glad I did, now I can get into any state park by just waving my card and not bother about having to pay entry fees.

What I like about this green belt area is that the trees here are really old and tall. The place does look like a true green belt, unlike some others I have been to which looks more like a manicured golf course with grass all over and not a single tree. Here there are several thousand trees, and I'd not be surprised if I were to sight any wildlife. Here are some pictures for you to know what the park looks like.

DFW edition of Tour De Cure

Despite the heavy downpour bicycle enthusiasts across the DFW area participated in the four bicycle rides organized in various parts of the metro area. I volunteered for Tour de Cure organized by the American Diabetes Association, I was at the very first rest stop which was visited by all the riders except those who did the 5 mile route. I guess because of the many rides in the area riders were split between the events and there were only about 500-odd riders participating in the Tour de Cure. Organized to raise funds for diabetes research this ride has special meaning to me personally because both my parents are diabetic and I hope a cure is discovered soon so they can get off the pill and lead normal lives.
What I saw at the ride was even more surprising. There were several young children riding and volunteering for this ride who were diagnosed diabetic. But they were spirited and wanted to do something about it and hence they were there braving thunder storms and the sudden cold to cheer riders or to ride themselves.
I managed to capture some good images of the riders from my vantage point at rest stop 1. It was bad lighting and incessant drizzle so the pictures have not come out all that good, but here is perhaps the best of a bad lot. Do let me know what you feel about it.

Collin Classic 2009

Over the weekend I participated in the Collin Classic 2009, a bicycling event which took me along with about 2,000 other riders through the rolling hills of Collin County. One thing I have realized after participating in couple of bike events is that country roads in Texas are not as big or good as the highways. Country roads are narrow and often potholed. The villages are quite similar to Indian villages barring couple of differences, which are actually quite significant.

The first and primary difference between an American village and Indian village is the road infrastructure. Many Indian villages don't have proper roads, and often times the roads are just mud tracks. Another difference is the housing, here the houses are built of wood and some are mobiles homes and trailers. Barring difference in material the quality of homes seem quite the same as in most prosperous villages in India. The biggie in terms of difference is the fact that every home has couple of cars/ trucks. A fact which is impossible to see in India.

Anyway I didn't carry a camera to the ride and hence I have had to depend on the internet to scout for pictures of Collin Classic. I found a trove of pictures shot by Ateupamateur on Flickr and thought I'd post them in here.

Blue Bonnet Trail, Plano

Yesterday I went cycling on the Blue Bonnet Trail in Plano, Tx. The trail is within a mile from our apartment and hence very easily accessible. Before I go on to describe the 5-mile paved bicycle trail I'd like to say something about the planning that has gone behind creation of this trail. Blue Bonnet trail is the by-product of electricity. Yes the entire trail runs along high-voltage cables and electrical transformers. Town planning engineers/ architects have utilized this trail so efficiently made use of this trail to create a green space for the entertainment of all city folk.

Thinking back about my home town (Bangalore) in India I have seen similar large electrical cabling and transformers back home in India and these are usually converted into medians of main roads. Lack of space coupled with insensitive planning has led to these grotesque steel monsters being installed on roads close to homes. This is not only unsafe but also makes it very difficult to service in case of problems.

But I certainly am impressed by the thoughtfulness exhibited by the town planners of Plano who have created this unique space for sports, leisure and entertainment of the tax paying public.

Starting point/ trail head

Efficient land management between the electrical pillars

Wild flowers make the trail appear beautiful

Anyway coming to the train per se, Blue Bonnet Trail is 5-miles in length and starts at a stadium on Alma Road and ends rather abruptly at Preston Road. In my eye estimate the average width of the trail would range from 75 meters to 500 meters. The grass along the trail is neatly manicured and at places there are mounds of earth to give a landscaped effect. There are quaint bridges when a creek intersects the trail. The best part of the trail is the wild flowers, every season has its own variety of blooms giving an aesthetic feel to the trail. The trail is good for both the individual like myself who cycles for pleasure and love of bicycling and for the serious cyclist who trains for races.

Bridges across creeks make the trail more interesting

Creeks with water support aquatic life forms

PS. Lance Armstrong the 7-time Tour De France winner is a Texas Boy.

Unique bicycles at MS-150

One thing that never ceases to astound me is the innovation that people do to get their custom set of wheels. Be it motorized or human powered, people imagine, think and work hard to create what they want. During the MS-150 I noticed that there were several participants who rode bicycles that looked different. Their vehicles actually set them apart and made them the center of attraction (at least for me). Since I didn't carry a camera during the ride I googled and found couple of pictures on Flickr. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.
Pictures from the photostream of cotmweasel on flickr

Texas Sculpture Garden - IV

You all must be wondering how much I am going to blog about Texas Sculpture Garden... well this may be the final blog for this time... whenever I get a chance to revisit the place I will post more pictures of those artworks which I couldn't get to this time. This post will have more pictures of the beautiful landscaping of the place than the actual sculptures, so enjoy the views...

Texas Sculpture Garden - III

Texas Sculpture Garden is a huge space and sprawls several square miles. There are over 100 beautiful works of modern art, several water bodies, lakes, fountains, water falls, landscaped gardens, walking trails, etc. I visited only a part of the entire space and I plan to go there again... possible this weekend and bicycle across the trails. This way I will be able get some training for the 160-mile bicycle ride from Frisco, Tx to Fort Worth, Tx to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis.

Here are some more pictures of the Texas Sculpture Garden...

Some artistic expressions are strange

Another Sculpture - I don't know the meaning

Like a Metal Tree

Bright and Intriguing

A metal wreath???

Another Bright one

An entrance arch possibly...

Cycling in Castle Hills

Well, it has been quite some time since I sat down and blogged about what's happening in my life. Things are pretty routine, I go to school... or rather should I say "College" in the morning and return back in time for lunch. Then go back to school and finish evening classes and return late in the night. This is the routine for the first four days of the week. Then the weekend starts with Friday for me and it is busy time because there is loads of homework to catch up on, go for roller skating classes, house cleaning, grocery shopping and all kinds of mundane stuff. Last week I fixed the bicycle which we brought from Padma's niece in California and decided to take it out for a spin in the neighborhood. Inflated the tires, tightened the brakes and then wiped the bike clean and took it downstairs to get ready to ride. I had barely ridden half a mile when one of the gear cables snapped. I thought that was the end of cycling but luckily the bike didn't get crippled. We could ride lot more with just five gears instead of 15.

It has been years since I rode a bicycle and this was definitely a welcome change. For I have always loved bicycling and but since I didn't have any recent pictures of riding bicycles I decided to get some shot and here they are. Do let me know what you think... do I look like Lord Ganesha on little rat or normal?

Cycling along the side walk (foot path) in the neighborhood

Another view of cycling, closer this time

Getting closer to the camera

Goofing around on the bicycle

More fun and games