February 22, 2022 | Brazos Bend State Park, TX

This is our third stay at Brazos Bend State Park southwest of Houston. The first year we were pounded by a booming thunderstorm that dumped torrential rain, blown sideways by high winds leaving swimming pool sized craters of flooding brown water in the roads. Our site placed Gladys underneath a horizontal branch that extended at least 40 feet from the massive trunk of the largest tree in the entire park; a perfect target for the flashing lightning.

Last year was the big blizzard that plunged the entire of state of Texas into freezing blackness. Most of the campers left the park, but a dozen or so of us had no other place to go and had to ride out five days of no water or power with the gate into and out of the park padlocked. We had no choice except to hunker down under the very same tree and hope the weight of ice did not bring the giant limb crashing down on us.

This year Tim decided that if we were going to return to Brazos Bend for a third time, we should probably try a different site so we moved down the road a bit. And as the expression goes, “third time is a charm”. We had some days of absolutely perfect weather with blue skies, wispy clouds and mild breezes. This time we decided to explore the park to appreciate all that we had missed the previous two years. With six lakes, the Brazos River, thirty-seven miles of hiking trails, an Observatory, and observation tower, fishing piers, boat launch, and nature center there is plenty to keep you busy inside the park.

We did hike some trails and saw alligators in a couple of the ponds and lots of different birds in the marshes. The most prevalent bird was the black vulture, a pretty scary looking creature that travels in large flocks. Our “Birdman” friend Andy Mason assured us that we were safe from these scavengers as long as we did not lay down on the ground and play dead. Well, that put an end to our afternoon plans. Fortunately, it was too early for the 747 sized mosquitos to be attacking so all in all, perfect timing.

The reason we continue to return to the Houston area is to visit our very dear friends, Robert and Shellie Callaway. We met them several years ago through Cat Greenleaf and Michael Rey. It’s a long story, and many of you already know it, so I’ll skip over the when, why and where and just say that we are so glad to know these special folks. We did manage to get together for a BBQ lunch and long visit at Joe’s Place BBQ in Alvin, Tx.

The food was very good and the company outstanding. The original plan called for us to meet at a local pizza parlor for take out to a city park. But the pizza place was closed on Mondays so plan B was BBQ. It was a chilly Monday afternoon with a light drizzle. The BBQ place did not have a covered patio or any outdoor dining for that matter and we couldn’t eat at a park in that weather.

Being double vaxed and boosted we decided that it was about time for us to dip our toes into the cesspool of close public contact and have our first indoor meal in an unknown restaurant in two years. After all, how crowded could a restaurant be on a Monday afternoon?

The answer is very crowded. We met Robert and Shellie in the overflow parking lot and went inside to stand in the long line to place our orders. Tim and I were both a bit nervous, but in for a toe, in for the whole body. Our table was packed between baseball caps and tattoos on one side and torn sweaty straw cowboy hats on the other. Before you start calling me a bigot, just remember that I was born and raised in Texas, these are my people. And if we were anyplace but Texas at any time other than during the Covid pandemic, I would not have even noticed.

The food was quite good and the waitress kept filling out tea glasses with the mandatory Southern greeting, “Sweet or not sweet?”. As the tables continued to fill and the crowd got bigger and louder, Tim and I looked at each other and I requested a to-go box.

In the parking lot we exchanged hugs and presents. Robert had picked out a little red waffle iron in the shape of Texas for me and I had gotten them a small paddle shaped charcuterie board with their last name and the year they met us at their wedding in the Catskills. It was obvious that we had all put some thought and love into the gifts we exchanged and with more hugs and maybe a moist eye or two, we said good bye and reminded them that it was time for them to visit the Catskills.

Our next stop begins the road north.

Some more scenes from our visit to Brazos Bend

Captured on Video

Jill bravely risks her life to ward off a flock of flesh earing vultures.