Alright, so, my parents came to town a few weeks ago, and they wanted to do EVERYTHING that this great city had to offer. I tried telling them that we couldn’t quite fit EVERYTHING into a small two-week window, I would, however, give it my best shot.
This has inevitably resulted in me putting together a series of blog posts about various things to do here in Houston. Some I’ve done before (and perhaps just not blogged about), and some that are new for me to share with y’all.
I made a very specific itinerary, each day was packed full of something to do, and we even managed to try a few ‘new places’, that neither Col, nor I, had ever been to before. One such place, was the state park, Brazos Bend.
Having heard good things about this place, most notably from my bird watching friend Adrienne, I was excited to take my parents to the ‘alligator park’.
After a false-start in one of the smaller loop trails, we came back to the entrance of the park and went to the 40 acre lake – read the information sheet that you get when you arrive, we didn’t, the best place to see gators, is right here, at one of the first trails you pass when you come in – and we were not disappointed.
We saw close to a dozen or more alligators, ranging from about a foot long itty bitty little gators, to some pretty large, fully grown gators. Passing a couple, within only a few feet. It was simply amazing.
The loop around the lake isn’t all that long, but there is enough to keep you busy and interested, from fish and ducks, to the most beautiful selection of birds. We spent our afternoon watching cardinals, and, what I was told at the park, a rare American Bitten (or three) catching their lunch.
As this is a park, you can always bring your bikes along with you. We brought a picnic of sandwiches, drinks and snacks to enjoy under the shade of the trees. If the weather is right, this place is a glorious spot to spend a day. If the weather is ‘Texas summer’, then you can easily get cooked to a crisp, eaten by mosquitoes and dehydrated.
Bring water (lots if its a hot day), sun cream, bug spray, a hat, comfortable shoes, your favorite camera (you will see a LOT that you want to shoot).
The park is open daily (gates lock at 10pm) the office is open Sunday – Thursday 8am – 4.30pm and Fri/Sat 8am – 9.30pm. Entry fees are (as of April 2015) $7 Adult, children under 12 are free.
My brother arrives in just over six weeks, Brazos Bend state park has been put on his itinerary too, as long as it’s not too hot. But it’s definitely an amazing place, even for someone (like me!) who isn’t a big outdoors-y person, who hates the sunshine and heat, and isn’t very active. If I can go, walk and enjoy it – anyone can!