Back to Houston

On our way out of Big Bend we stopped at Del Rio and we got to watch these planes practice landings and take offs for about half an hour.

 

The men doing a little trailer maintenance.

Cardinals become common place, but they're still very difficult to get close to.  Over in Luling the animals were not hard to get close to.  This was the most amazing mauling, I mean petting zoo we've ever seen.

Janna had a knack for holding the little squealers in a way that they would settle down.

James became a safe barn for at least 10 animals, and other kids started bringing more to him.

We stayed at Palmetto State Park which was full of these Dwarf Palmettos.  It was a beautiful place for running and biking trails.

On to Brazos Bend State Park.  We counted 50 alligators during a walk along two little lakes.  There are almost 300 alligators in this park, and they're only counted once they are over 6 ft. because under 6 ft. are still considered prey for other alligators.

 Running around the lake one warm muggy morning, Yvette and I heard two alligators roar.  It was much like hearing thunder in the distance.

This 3 footer was hard to spot.

This 7 footer was easy to spot.  

It's a lot more comfortable to walk by one of these guys in the water than when they are facing you on the path with their jaws open.

What ever kind of ducks these are, they carry on like monkeys and make you feel quite like you're being laughed at.

Back at the campsite we were treated to a little Romeo and Julliet.   Jake was the nurse and had to say, 'Oh lamentable day'.

At the visitors center we got as close as we'll ever get to an alligator and a tarantula.

We were invited to a crawfish boil in Houston.  When Jake saw the pork his appetite failed, so he mostly watched the rest of us pig out.

 

My nephew, Trevor, did the carving.

Jodi, Emily and Jade showed us how to eat crawfish.

It's almost time to move on, but first I must tell you about hunting blinds.

You can buy these at most hardware stores in Texas.  Hunters climb into these to become invisible to the prey they are after.  This raises a few questions for me.  Do blinds have air conditioning?  What are they trying to blend with?  Are deer blind?  Are deer armed?  Why are some blinds bright pink?  Can you  get a blind with indoor plumbing?  If you put in 3 hunters how long will the oxygen last?

At least in Big Bend this has to give the deer a sporting chance.  If the hunter does not die of heat exhaustion and the deer does not recognize the outcropping as something unusual, then the deer deserves to die.

We are all having lots of fun on the road still.  Everyone in missing our friends, but we're looking forward to meeting our folks in the Maritimes.