I love the outdoors. There is just something about it that makes me feel relaxed and like I’m being recharged. I’m really lucky to live only about 45 minutes from one of my favorite state parks, Brazos Bend. I love this park because they have great bike trails, you can fish, alligators live in the park and the Houston Museum of Natural Science has their George Observatory located here.
Recently I had some free time and visited there with my boyfriend Joel and we camped for one night. It was Saturday night so that meant we could go enjoy the Observatory because they have it open to the public on Saturdays. We had to make sure we could view the stars that night through those amazing telescopes. So we went to get tickets right when we got there, before we even set up camp. After getting tickets and knowing that we were going to see the stars we headed to set up camp.
Then we set out to find the alligators. Brazos Bend is know for having them in the park. In the gift shop you will find all kinds of stuff with photos of alligators: shirts, post cards, mugs and much more. I have some post cards and a mug with alligators on them that I got from a previous trip here.
Joel and I knew exactly where to find them…the fishing pier. They always want they fish people are trying to catch. The minute we walked up we heard people talking about the gator in the water and I was pleased. I’ve always wanted to get photos of alligators and now I had another chance. 
After that we headed to the George Observatory. I was really excited to finally get the chance to see the stars through those huge telescopes. They have 3 telescopes: a 14″, 18″, and a 36″. The moon was full so we couldn’t see too many different things. We did get to see Saturn. It was amazing because you could see
the rings and the moons around it. I think it’s amazing to be able to see a really far off planet from Earth. We also got to see the moon. Seeing the full moon through a telescope is amazing but very bright. You know how when you are getting your photo taken in a dark room and the flash goes off then stays with you for a few seconds afterward. It was exactly like that!
This experience reminded me of a time my brother and I looked at the full moon through his friend’s telescope. We stayed up really late that night and it was amazing. Looking at the stars reminds me just how small we are and how much more we need to learn and explore.