Lots was learned at this learning center, like do not attempt to take on the bees.
It had been a long day. Waking up at 8am to go to Galveston Island then driving into Houston to flip my Aggie Ring around to symbolize that I am a Former Student of Texas A&M at the San Jacinto Battleground (by the way, a sarcastic thanks to A&M for not putting me on their Instagram story) had us anxious to get to the last Texas State Park of the day and of our Houston trip. Sheldon Lake is an environmental learning center meaning it has clinics and seminars to teach people about nature and the outdoors. It is not much of a hiker’s eden since it has only three trails and the longest of those being around three quarters of a mile. However, when you’re on a mission to complete the Texas State Parks list you experience every single one.
We rolled into Sheldon Lake State Park on the northeast side of Houston in the afternoon of Friday, May 8. The entry road snakes across the Gulf Coast swamp prairie for nearly 2 miles until you hit the park. The entire park is in one section all jumbled together from the greenhouses and headquarters to the small series of ponds that contribute to the learning of the environment. We started by eating lunch at a picnic table close to the main fishing pond. We weren’t two bites into our sandwiches when a small rain cloud passed over the top of us. Initially we tried to tough it out, but the rain continued to steadily get stronger and before long we would be soaked. We took off running to the car for some shelter and peace for the rest of our lunch.
Like I mentioned earlier, Sheldon Lake doesn’t have much to it. We took a short stroll around the gravel walkways that were lined with native Texas plants labeled to help the visitors self-guide themselves. We hit the first and longest trail out to a small wildlife viewing station that rose out of the tall grass with views of the expanse of Gulf Coast prairie we saw as we walked in. Kaylee snapped a few pictures and ring pictures and we went back to the main area. The trail looped around to what Kaylee and I thought would be the best part of the park. A large observation tower that skies above the flatlands of the Houston area. Coming up to the tower made us ready for a pretty sweet view, it is detailed in the trails map for Sheldon Lake that on a clear day you can see the Downtown Houston skyline from the top of the tower. We got onto the first level of the tower to see a sign that read the tower was closed due to bee problems. Thinking I am invincible, I said, “ehh, what’s a few bees?” We didn’t make it four steps up to the next level when we observed just why this tower was closed, hundreds of bees swarming around the tower, dancing to defend their hive. I thought maybe I am not as invincible as previously mentioned, so we went back down a little sad since that observation tower was going to be the piece de resistance of the park.
The rest of the park was a short gravel trail that split the lakes and ended back at the center of the park. It had little slips between the brush to where you can see the ponds. Kaylee took a few pictures of the ponds before moving on to a bridge (have I mentioned that Kaylee likes bridges?). The quick walk back to the car was accented with the rain starting to sprinkle down again and taking a picture of us in front of a pond.
This marked the end of our time in H-Town as well as the end of our first multi-day trip instead of taking day trips. It was a great experience to share and a nice little trip before we part ways. After we got back to College Station on May 8, the next day we went back to our homes in Flower Mound and Smithville. We would get time with our families without the other person being there (which I am sure our families appreciated). Though it was nice to be with family, we looked forward to the next time we would be back together. Which ended up being a whole week sooner than we had planned. Go figure. Stay tuned for our next adventure and our first of the summer after a hiatus away from each other: Buescher State Park in my own backyard here in Smithville, TX. Memorial Day Weekend 2020.
P.S.A.: Upon graduation from Texas A&M, I officially received my diploma in the mail on Memorial Day itself, May 25, 2020. Kaylee is still a kiddo and has to go back to school in the fall.
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