Brazos Bend State Park - Texas
This Southern Texas State Park was a regular haunt for us when living in Houston, a short 30 mile journey took us to an incredible oasis of woodland and a huge spectrum of wildlife and really helped us escape the city.
Pathways were well made and circled 7 different lakes covering a total of almost 5,000 acres.
ultimately the park was a wildlife sanctuary and as such you did need to keep your eye out, even on the paths
In January 2009 I did have an incredible encounter with a huge alligator that lay beside the path, I sat close to it taking photos and as it came toward me I backed away a little and sat again. This continued for about 30 minutes and was an incredible experience; the photos below are just some of the many I took during that meeting.
We loved Brazos, it was such a fantastic escape at any time of year and provided wildlife, landscapes and stunning backdrops every time
There was so much bird life it was difficult to know where to point the lens next
There are a host of other critters too, this armadillo actually walked right up to us because they don't have great vision we stood very still and just waited for it to come close.
If you do fancy a visit to Brazos Bend, remember to keep a sharp eye out for the 'ninjagators' that also frequent the park.
and no matter what else you do, keep an eye on the kids at all times.......