Brazos Bend State Park

Okay, I’ll admit it; I’m not a “real” outdoors person.  It’s not that I don’t like it, I just never really got into it like some of my friends.  Today however I decided that it was too pretty outside to pass it up so off to Brazos Bend State Park I went.  I’m by myself as my wife had all kinds of things planned, most of which I didn’t want any part of including house cleaning, shopping and just being generally productive.

That didn’t sound like me!

It’s fairly quiet here today. I thought there’d be more families out having that last “hoo-rah” before school starts.  There are a few families fishing in the lake which is rather low, while others are out riding their bikes.  Temperatures today are actually in the low 90’s believe it or not and under this tree where I’ve planted myself, I can actually feel bursts of cool air whip through.  Certainly not fall weather, but better than most days of August.

I believe this is the first place I have ever seen alligators other than the zoo.  The first time was a few years ago when we came here with our church Awana program and camped overnight.

Oops.  As I write this, one of those creatures popped up in front of me.

Earlier today I saw one in action as he chomped down on a bird right in front of me.  Hungry I suppose.  I also thought they took their prey and ate it on land and that they couldn’t eat it in the water but he seemed to devour his prize right there.

It is peaceful here and I’m sorry I haven’t made better use of the park.  It’s also much bigger than I remembered .  Located 28 miles southwest of Houston, it covers 5,000 acres.  A day pass is $5.00

In addition, the park contains the The George Observatory, a satellite facility of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  The Observatory houses a Challenger Learning Center for Space Science Education, which takes participants on simulated space missions, complete with a mission control center and a spacecraft simulator.  They start taking guests at 5pm in the evening and close at 10:00.   Tickets are $5.00.

From Friendswood where I live, it’s less than an hour to the park.  I will definately come again, maybe when it’s cooler next month.   This time though, I’ll bring a camera to bring you close ups of my little friends.