Sometimes we get distracted by alligators and ducks

We are still camped at Heartland RV Park near Huntsville, Texas.  One main reason to stop in this part of Texas is to explore all things about its favorite son--Sam Houston. We drove through the Sam Houston National Forest yesterday, and today we are headed towards Sam Houston University, the largest statue of Sam Houston, and Sam's hometown in Huntsville. But sometimes we get distracted . . .

Our first stop is at Huntsville State Park. We weren't surprised to see a line of cars at the gate, as this is a very popular park and it is a beautiful weather weekend. We were glad that we filled out the on-line registration for a reserved day pass, as some Texas state parks will turn away visitors when they reach their reduced-by-Covid capacity.

This is another park in the tall pines section of Texas, and we love to walk under these big guys. The first thing on our agenda was a little hike in the woods. 

But as often happens to us,  we get distracted. Our little hike turned into a big hike as we started the 7-mile Chinquapin Trail that circles the entire lake.

We had read on their web site that the park had a controlled burn four days ago, so much of our hiking scenery was a bit charred.

In fact, we wished we had packed some marshmallows for this hike. Some of the embers were still glowing and even flaming. They would have been perfect for a massive marshmallow roast.

As the winds picked up, they fanned some embers and we had to really hustle through this smoky section of the Chinquapin Trail.

That hike took longer than we expected, and we still wanted to get the kayak on the water. So we quickly ate a snack and were out on Raven Lake.

This "w-shaped" lake has lots of cool coves for kayaking and looking for animals. We found out that Lake Raven had some very interesting wildlife. Do you see it in the picture below?

A zoomed-in photo shows our first alligator of the day, hiding in the moss as we rowed by.

As we rowed in and out of the coves, we found more alligators in this very green environment.

Some times we even found two gators at a time.

In case you should think we are crazy, this pictures shows that other kayakers were out with the alligators this afternoon. We're not sure if the kayakers pictured below were aware of the gator that you see in the lower left hand corner of the picture.

Besides alligators, we found that wood ducks also love it here at Huntsville State Park. We had never seen a wood duck in the wild. Denisa was so happy, she took a picture every time we spotted one. Because we always seemed to find them perched on a log, we assume that they like wood. Perhaps that's where they got their name?

Sometimes we spotted four or six at a time. It looks like they are all paired up this spring. The flashy males with their beautiful plumage are each escorting a plainer wood duck female.

It's easy to get distracted with so many wood ducks around!

The farthest tips of the lake are filled with water lilies that are just beginning to bloom. A plastic barrier keeps the boaters out, so we were a little sad to think what great treasures might be in these protected lily waters.

We could see that the flowers are just beginning to bloom, and this section will be a beautiful sea of yellow very soon.

The water is clear in Raven Lake, and it's fun to see things under the water. This big turtle swam right next to the white edge of our inflatable kayak as we pictured him through the water.

We're back on the alligator hunt as we spot another gator near the edge of the lake.

We went to the ranger's program at the nature center right after our hike, and found out that there are 65 alligators here in the park. We're not sure how they do an accurate count like that, but we are keeping track of our sightings. We're up to #10 now.

and #11.

Denisa is wishing that she had kept count of the wood ducks. Since we've never seen one before, she still grabs the camera and starts taking pictures every time we find another.

The wind has picked up, and we see that the four-day-old embers close to the lake are fanning into sizable flames.

After a couple hours on the water, we're about ready to head to the boat dock. But we were hoping for a dozen alligator sightings. We got our wish when we spotted #12 sunning himself on a log. Those open jaws look like an ear-to-ear smile.

Alligators are so easy to photograph because they rarely move. This one was enjoying sunning himself this afternoon, and he certainly wasn't interested in moving as we passed by.

We're not sure if it was lucky or unlucky to find alligator #13 as we turned the kayak around.

Denisa also spotted one more male wood duck as we rowed toward the pickup. These alligators and wood ducks are so distracting! What a great day of kayaking!

With a long hike and a long kayak trip, we were well past our usual lunch hour. Denisa usually packs a lunch for these days away from the motor home, but for some reason she didn't do it today. So our stomachs were really rumbling as we finally left Huntsville State Park. We were so hungry that we didn't make the short detour to see the 67-foot-tall statue of Sam Houston. Remember, we were supposed to be focusing on Sam today! When we had our food from the local Chinese food restaurant, we finally made our way to Sam Houston Park in downtown Huntsville.

Log cabins from all over Texas have been moved to this delightful park, and it's free for the public to stroll among them--or eat dinner at one of the picnic tables. The Sam Houston Museum is also located here, but it was closed by the time we arrived. So we read the informational boards in the park to find out that this house--"Woodland"--is the home that Sam built for his wife Margaret. She was 26 years younger, and he had already served as General of the Texas Army and President of the Republic of Texas by the time they married. It was here that she gave birth to four of their eight children.

Also in the park is the Steamboat House. This is where Sam Houston lived out his final years, and where he died. His funeral was held in the upstairs parlor in this long white house that was designed to look like a steamboat.

We got a crash course in Sam Houston trivia. He was the first president of the Republic of Texas, General of the army that won Texas independence, Senator to represent Texas in Washington, and Texas Governor. He is a larger-than-life figure here in the Lone Star state. We meant to spend more time with him today, but somehow we got distracted by alligators and wood ducks.