New Years Day

We have nothing exciting to report for New Year's Eve. I think we were in bed and sound asleep long before the clock struck midnight. I know, we're no fun! Maybe next year we'll do something exciting, but when you're tired, you're tired. On New Year's Day, we decided to take advantage of the a-little-bit-above-normal temperatures (we jumped 50 degrees coming home from Utah) and spend part of the day in Brazos Bend State Park. It's only a 30-minute drive away and we've talked about going for years and just never have. It was fun day and the weather was pretty perfect - a little windy, but nothing we couldn't handle.

The first place we stopped was the Nature Center. We checked out lots of different reptiles there and the girls messed around with a snake, turtle shells, and snake skin:

The whole reason of stopping at the Nature Center was to check out the baby alligators. When we checked in at the front of the park they said we could hold them. I don't know if this particular ranger was being super protective, but we didn't get a chance to hold them. But we did check them out and feel one:

An interesting fact we learned... Baby alligators have all their teeth when they are born, but lack the jaw strength to make any damage. Kind of interesting... In a way it would be nice if we were born with all our teeth and didn't have to go through teething. Anyhow, we asked at the Nature Center what trails were recommended for families and then took off on our hunt for some gators. Andy spotted the first one:

He's quite a ways away from us. There was a little island out on this lake and that's where he is - in between the girls. I was impressed Andy saw him. We walked out on this dock and there he was... And from the picture above it looks like he was wide awake, so I was grateful for the distance.

A picture of Rachel as we continued on our trail:

After the first trail and alligator sighting we ate some lunch and the girls played at a playground for a little bit. It had a very big slide that the girls loved! You can also camp at Brazos Bend, which the girls would probably enjoy. So, one of these weekends we'll have to get our act together. If any locals are interested in going together, let us know! We'll also have to bring Rachel's bike next time. She was a bit disappointed when she saw other kids on their bikes. After some chill time we then went on another trail. The first thing we spotted was this snake....

And then this alligator who probably would have walked right across the trail if he hadn't been asleep...we still kept our distance. I was surprised at how willing others were to get close to him. We probably stayed a good 2 yards away and I thought that was close enough! :)

On top of a tower seeing what we can see - it sure was windy up there!

One section of the trail was like this for a good 1/2 mile. I'm sure tons of alligators just hang out in the water. We did learn that alligators metabolism drops quite a bit in the cooler months and so they often stay under water for 10-12 consecutive hours. That is probably the reason why we only saw two, but hey, at least we saw two! It's a balancing act. We'll have to go back when it's a bit warmer but not too much warmer, otherwise we'll be miserable!

A picture of the girls and I along the trail:

We definitely enjoyed our little adventure in Brazos Bend State Park. If anyone ever wants to come visit, we'll make sure we take you to see some alligators!