ALLIGATORS!!

Elated. I had three main concerns: keeping my camera gear dry, making sure Callie didn't get bitten by a venomous snake, and making sure Callie didn't get eaten by an alligator. The order of those concerns depended on what was happening around us. I took a much needed break from life at the end of October and headed out of town with my dog, driving south towards the Gulf Coast as quickly as I could. Our first stop of the day was Brazos Bend State Park, a park known for its alligator population. I've lived in Texas for a year and eight months, and hadn't yet seen one of the famed reptiles, but it wasn't for lack of trying; I'd intentionally canoed several parks in East Texas and along the coast just to look for gators, but had no luck. I knew that if I went to Brazos Bend and still didn't see a gator, I never would.

The first thing I did when reaching the park is drive straight to Elm Lake, which is a hot spot where you're almost guaranteed to see one. Callie and I hopped onto the observation deck, but aside from a beaver and several dozen birds, nothing popped out of the water. We hit the trail that traces the rectangular lake, walking slowly while I scanned the water for anything that might resemble a gator's head. Callie wasn't aware that this was a special walk, other than I wouldn't let her anywhere near the water. I kept her close to my side, unwilling to let her wander too close to the edge of the trail. It wasn't until I'd gone about a quarter of the way around the lake that it finally happened: ALLIGATOR!! A group of other walkers had stopped a little ways ahead of us, pointing at the water. I knew what was happening, and sped up, not wanting to miss it. And there it was! A big one, about ten feet from the shore and about twenty feet from where we stood, watching us with its eyes and snout sticking out of the water in the classic gator pose. I quickly pulled Callie behind me and even closer, so that she was practically sitting on my heels as I faced the gator. I snapped more photos than I'd like to admit before finally moving on.

The trail we were on kept Elm Lake on the left, while on the right and slightly lower than trail level the marshes of the park sprawled beyond sight. We hadn't gone more than thirty feet when a small family passed us, telling me to keep my eyes on the right as there were several small gators right near the bank. Sure enough, there were! Much smaller than the first guy we saw, there were three gators about a foot off the bank and a fourth one in a tangle of tree roots on the bank itself. Keeping Callie close again, though she was probably bigger than these gators, I snapped my photos, did an internal dance of excitement, and went on. Then, of course, it started to rain. The shower didn't last long, but it lasted long enough and came down hard enough to force me to find shelter under overhanging trees in an attempt to keep my camera equipment dry. While I was trying to shield my electronics, the sun shown under the cloudburst briefly, lighting the raindrops into brilliant, fiery jewels against the backdrop of the lake and forest, turning the whole trail into a sparkling wonderland. Then the sun was gone, the rain stopped, and we finished our circuit without any more excitement.

From Elm Lake we hiked a double loop encompassing Horseshoe Lakes and Big Creek Trail, which turned out to be a lovely stroll through the wooded, mostly dry section of the park. There were a pair of oxbow or horseshoe lakes, where I was able to spot a couple of big gators from the bank above the lakes, then the trail looped back into the bottomland forests hung with spanish moss and blanketed with wildlflowers. Even at the end of October flowers were in bloom, and the leaves were only just beginning to change colors on the trees. It was here, with little piles of leaf litter strewn across the path, that I began to worry about snakes. Texas is home to several venomous snakes, and a recent sighting of a coral snake back home had me jumpy. I'm not afraid of snakes (I own two myself) but I do worry about being bitten by one while out on the trail, or of my dog being bitten and not being able to do anything about it. As such, we went cautiously, making lots of noise with my feet and giving any critters nearby plenty of time to slither out of sight. We didn't see any reptiles other than the gators on our hike, and despite the fact that I love seeing snakes on the trail, I wasn't disappointed. None of my concerns materialized, and I finally saw an alligator (seven of them!); goal achieved.