The Boys and Alligators

Yesterday the Bear clan and I camped out at Brazos Bend State Park on the Brazos River south of Houston. After setting up camp, the boys and I went biking on the trails throughout the park. Little did we expect to run into so many alligators enjoying a warm and sunny December afternoon.

We have seen alligators before but never so many large ones and never so many laying in the middle of the trails.

Alligator #1 was the first one we came upon -- we took a while to make up our mind, but eventually rode around it since it was half way in the water.

The 2nd alligator was out of the water and its head was pointed toward the water, so we rode around it also.

However, the 3rd one was completely blocking the trail and when we approached it, it raised its head, looked at us, and relieved its bladder. We didn't know what that meant but it was good enough for us to turn around and find another route. However, we were not in the clear, because in the meantime alligator #1 had turned around and was now facing the trail and out of the water. We didn't get a photo of it because we were too busy deciding how to get around it. For a while I thought we might be trapped on the trial (which is on the top of a levee or dike between two lakes or swamps). Fortunately we made our way around alligator #1 and felt very relieved. Later we came across more alligators and had a chance to ride a little bit further to see a 15 footer, but the boys had enough excitement for the day and wanted to get back to camp.

Another fun day with the Boys.