Brazos Bend

I try to get us outside and appreciating the weather as much as possible before it turns into a humid swamp for most of the year. Speaking of swamps, I've been meaning to make it to Brazos Bend SP since we moved here, so this year I made it happen. It's only about an hour from our house and you're nearly guaranteed to see some alligators in their natural habitat.

It was an overcast day, and we got sprinkled on just a little bit, but it was also much cooler than we anticipated. Perfect for walking around and taking in the scenery, like lots of Spanish moss, cypress trees, and boggy ecosystems.

We saw lots of nutria, turtles, ducks, and songbirds, but the main attraction was the alligators! This big guy was right off the path! We heard another group refer to him as "Jeff", which we thought was funny. It seemed Jeff couldn't care less about the crowds walking by or stopping to take his picture. Amazingly, the park ranger told us that they've never had an alligator-human incident at the park! Surprising, as I recalled the annual reports of human-bison and human-bear incidents we used to hear about from Yellowstone-Grand Teton.

We had fun on our walk trying to spot alligators. Some were fully submerged, some were blending in, some, like Jeff, didn't even try. See if you can spot the baby alligator in the second picture. We managed to get there just in time for a ranger talk about alligators, which was very informative. Did you know that a mom alligator lays 30-40 eggs at a time, and only 1-2 of those will make it to adulthood? Baby alligators get eaten by birds, turtles, and even other alligators.

This observation tower was pretty neat, although we could feel it swaying in the breeze at the top! From it, we could see wetlands stretching for miles, an alligator swimming across a pond in the distance, and a stork eating a large black snake nearby!

April in Texas is prime Bluebonnet time. They are hard to come by in the city, but we found a patch on the way home. So pretty!

Spring weather also means patio meals! I can't tell you how delicious a margarita with chips and salsa is when served to you outside in perfect weather! It's been so long since we had Mexican food AT the restaurant. Yum!

And in other news, Owen is getting ready for middle school! Can't believe it! Looks like he'll be learning to play the cello (yes, I know this is a bass, but I didn't get a pic of him with the cello) next year. :)