Brazos Bend Trip Report
Submitted by Sandy Smith and Marilyn Fowler
The following folks attended: BeverlyT and pup Chico, plus granddaughter Hannah arrived on Saturday; CarolP and Patches, ChristineF, Lisa McM, Gloria B, Jacque , JaniceB, JudyD and Mike, AnnaE, LisaMgo, im F, LindaBW and Tom, LindaKW, MarilynF, Sandy , SandyS (son Kody and granddaughter Kayla visited Sat morning), SaraF and Jacksom, SharonR and Billy, SusanW, JanetFB
and KarenV. A special treat was having TPWD’s KimS (former TOWNie) and Ranger John join campfires on Friday and Saturday nights.

Everyone enjoyed seeing beautiful birds and alligators of all sizes. We encourage all to share their bird lists with all to see what was flying.

There are several lakes in the Park, stranded remnants from decades of devastating floods of the Brazos River; as the floodwaters brought in topsoil and sediment from upstream, marshes established and attracted the exotic wildlife we saw firsthand.

Everyone got photos of alligators, baby and senior, and those with good cameras got some excellent bird photos that we hope to see on Facebook and at our gatherings. Did you know that you can estimate the age of an alligator by looking at the length between the tip of the nose and the eyes (one inch equals one year)? However, once an alligator reaches maturity, the equation
no longer applies.

Another point of interest in the Park is a historic steamboat landing: The Yellow Stone stopped at a point on the northern edge of the Park in the 1830-50’s to load fuel and continue upstream to the capital of Texas in Washington, supplying critical supplies for the Texas Revolution. You cannot visit the boat
landing as the trails are closed, and next time we’ll try in advance to arrange for a special tour of the landing area.

Thursday night we enjoyed our group dinner at Jay Café, where chicken-fried anything was the meal of the evening, as well as cobbler and pie. Our “Luck of the Irish” Potluck Friday night provided about twenty delicious dishes, most of which were green.

It was a large group of TOWNies and many went on their separate hikes and bike rides. Saturday night we went to the amphitheater to hear bluegrass music from the Brazos River Pickers.

The weather turned out to be much better than predicted: We had little sunshine, but the intense humidity was mediated by lovely breezes and shade. Storms never materialized, and on the last night there were stars!

A couple of TOWNies agreed to share a shelter, but when they arrived they found a thin layer of condensation water over the floor, so they left early. Janice B was in a shelter, but she had brought a plastic mattress. Be sure you check with the Park before renting a shelter so that you, too, come prepared.
She is a tough TOWNie!

It was a great group of folks and everyone looks forward to our next trip to Brazos Bend State Park.

SandyS and MarilynF