We’ve been in Houston, TX for a month now and everything is still very new. The one thing that we brought with us is our eagerness to explore. So we have been out and about as much as possible trying to get a hang of what there is to do, see, and adventure into around us. Instagram location tags also helps us find new places and one of those was Brazos Bend State Park. So we headed south!

It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get to the state park and it is literally in the middle of NOWHERE. Which we thought was also really cool along with the lone gas station we stopped at right before we arrived.

Pulling into Brazos State Park and we were instantly excited. There was an alligator on the sign and we started wiggin’ out! Are we gonna see large lizards? Are there gators in these parts? While I was paying for park entry, the very friendly park ranger told me that if I had kids with me we definitely wanted to check out the visitor center before they closed soon.

Inside the visitor center was a plethora of the coolest things four boys could touch, push, examine, and learn including snake sheddings and turtle shells. The worker there brought out an alligator hatchling that we were able to pet, SO CUTE! She told us how they hatch them there in the building and house them for a year where they then release them outside near a female gator and she in turn takes care of them for another year longer. Wild! She informed us that the big gators hung out on the shores of the lakes just outside.

We found the lakes and decided to take the just over 2 mile hike around them in our hunt for the big gators! Now, let me tell you, this place (to me) was magical. It had stuff (because I honestly don’t know what it is) hanging from the trees that just reminded me of the deep south and it was just beautiful. Pair that with the gorgeous 76 degree day and clear skies, magnifique!

After what seemed like forever of walking (and to be honest, probably not very good looking) we FINALLY saw the eyes and snout of a gator. Then another one. Mind=BLOWN. Some people on bikes passed us and said that there were 3 really big ones around the corner. And boy was he right! They were HUUUUGE. It was a very cool moment. Once we spotted those ones we were pro gator-spotters and saw about ten more on our way back around Elm Lake. There towards the end of our walk we even saw the cutest little turtles sitting on a log.

It was a great outdoor field trip and we cannot wait to go back with daddy and show him the gators!

The world is big, and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark. – John Muir

Raisin’ hell and gentlemen,
xoxo Wild Mama