Saturday 1/12, 2008, 1:30 pm at Brazos Bend State Park.

This will be the 4th year in a row we have done this, and the past three times have been wonderful outings for scouts and their families. Here is the plan. Meet at the Red Buckeye trailhead in the Hale Lake picnic area of Brazos Bend State Park by 1:15 pm and we will take attendance and begin our two mile hike at 1:30. The attached map shows the driving route through the park in blue and the hiking trail in magenta.

BrazosBendmap1_2008ltr.pdf (191KB)

The Red Buckeye trail gets my vote for the prettiest trail in the park. It travels along the Brazos river and is densely forested with a variety of trees. It can have some muddy areas during rainy periods, but I walked it on Jan 5 and it was completely dry the whole way. The trail goes through an interesting area that was deeply flooded last Spring during the extended period of heavy rains we received. If we do get a lot of rain next week I will be able to switch us to another trail from the same parking area.

The scouts will do the ABC hike. The purpose is to find things along the way that start with each letter of the alphabet and write them on a note card. So I need each participating child to bring a pen or pencil - I plan to bring a stack of 3x5 cards.  Also bring water, snacks, rain gear, coat if necessary, and shoes that can get dirty. You can get excellent local weather forecasts free from the Fox Channel 26 weather line by dialing 713 627-2626.

On your way out you may want to stop at the Nature Center and let the kids pet a baby alligator and see the collection of turtles, fish and snakes.

Bill Schneider
Webelos Den 9 Leader