After the usual protracted negotiations, the family finally agreed to gather at The LovedOne’s brother’s home in Dallas, Texas for the traditional long weekend of gluttony and excess known as Thanksgiving. “Gather” is a bit euphemistic here since my brother-in-law saw it more like the Sack of Rome by the Gauls. Ah, perceptions. But the get-together was great as were the meals. Of course, after gluttony comes the necessary hike of redemption.
So, we went to the REI in Dallas, found the cheapest local hiking guide, and headed for what the guide described as a “moderate” hike at Lake Grapevine (that’s Texan for “reservoir” – but a big one, this being Texas and all) on the outskirts of Dallas.
So while folks back home {Portland, Oregon in those days} were enjoying ice in the Columbia River Gorge and elsewhere, we, along with select family members, were completing an arduous 4 mile long, dead flat out-and-back hike along part of the lake.
For being essentially in downtown Dallas, the area around the lake was surprisingly “remote” and featured oak woodlands,
and open meadows.
The “lake” is so large it almost felt like a beach hike in places.
The hike was made ever more arduous by the sunshine, 55º F air temperature, and light wind. But we all struggled on and made it back to the trailhead in time for a beer (actually a pretty decent local microbrew) at Uncle Buck’s Sports World – the biggest (it’s in Texas after all), most comprehensive, sporting goods emporium any of us had ever seen – and certainly one where “bass” DOES NOT refer to a beer.
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