Brazos Bend

Today we were joined by Granny and Gramps as we traveled south west of Houston to Brazos Bend State Park, which boasts a thriving population of alligators.  The excursion kicked off a whole new round of our now infamous "Crocodiles vs Alligators" debates.  We're pretty sure the kids call everything crocodiles just to draw us offsides and amuse each other at our expense.

The kids were overjoyed at the opportunity to play on the playground as we waited for Granny and Gramps to arrive.  They monkeyed around for quite some time, regularly posing and yelling at us, "Take my PICTURE!" which is quite a switch from the normal routine of doggedly determined camera dodging. 

We followed a looping trail around one of the lakes, counting alligators as we went.  The kids obediently held hands as we walked, and needed no coaxing to remain tethered after the sight of the first live alligator in habitat.  They quickly decided to climb onto our shoulders to distance themselves and get a better vantage point.  Gramps lagged slightly behind as he lugged the "Hubble telescope" on a tripod and engaged in some heavy duty nature photography.  He regularly drew questions from onlookers who he happily enlightened with the complete unabridged history of earth's flora and fauna, nature photography, camera equipment, and techniques.

The kids were very well behaved and looked on in awe of the reptiles lurking in the shallows and sunning themselves on the banks.  Of the 20 or so we saw, most specimens were probably 3 to 4 feet long and only a few years old, but we did see a 10 footer from a distance before we left.  The kids proved to be better listeners than many of the adults as we saw grown men, descend the banks and sit within 10 feet of 6 to 8 foot long alligators that were actively hunting prey.  We watched for a long time from an observation tower, quietly betting over which photographer would be eaten first.  Eventually we moved along, but Gramps stayed behind and was rewarded by witnessing an alligator catch a quick lunch (a bird, not the photographer).

We stopped for a healthy lunch, topped off by massive, sinfully sweet cinnamon rolls that Gramps brought as treats.  We relocated to the nature center where the kids got to touch a live baby alligator, and got stickers for their wilderness passports.  They thoroughly enjoyed learning about all kinds of fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants.  Another highlight of the day?  Getting to splash in the puddles in the parking lot. 

The skies began to look ominous as we checked the radar by phone.  It appeared that we had a couple of hours to hike around another lake where most of the big gators live, but the heavens burst open about 10 minutes into the walk, completely drenching us from head to toe.  Lightning coerced Heather and I to carry the kids and make a half mile sprint to the car as Granny and Gramps hurried behind.  It was an unexpectedly short and water logged end to the trip, but it was very memorable.