Brazos Bend

     Camping. Not something I do very often, but when I do I prefer it to involve running water and an air mattress. So my friends and I went on a little camping trip this past weekend to Brazos Bend State Park. It didn't exactly live up to my preferences, but we did have running water!
     I had such a blast, I arrived late Friday afternoon (some had been there a while already and some arrived after me) and we immediately took off on a short hike. This short hike ended up being probably my favorite of the weekend, and definitely the most exquisite. While we were hiking around one of the large lakes in the park the sunset began, and the colors painted across the sky were vibrant and beautiful, and their reflection in the lake was just as amazing. Plus on this hike I saw my first ever alligator in the wild! It was in the water with just the top of his head sticking out, but I saw him nonetheless.
     After the hike we returned to our campsite to cook and eat hamburgers and hotdogs. Then we sang worship songs and had a time of prayer, after which we enjoyed s'mores and hot chocolate. Naturally a chubby bunny competition ensued - for those unfamiliar with the game of chubby bunny it is a challenge to fit as many marshmallows in your mouth as possible while still being able to clearly say "chubby bunny" - the funnier part of this however was when the park ranger stopped by to remind us it was quiet time. The two gentlemen doing chubby bunny had about 9 marshmallows in each of their mouths, and everyone was trying so hard not to laugh. The winner made it to 12 (after the ranger left of course).
     Later in the evening we took a night hike, it was a lot of fun to walk around the trails without lights, the moon was surprisingly bright. We even saw an owl spying on us from a branch over the path. We got back to our tents around 1am and were all fast asleep. My friend Faith and I woke up at 6:30 and went back to the big lake to hike around while the sun rose. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy that morning so not near as pretty as the sunset had been the night before.
     Upon our return we made and ate a delicious breakfast - funny how all food tastes better when you're starving at a campsite - of breakfast tacos. In all seriousness though the food was great because it was all prepared by my friend Daniel who left the following Monday for his new job as head chef at a camp in Colorado. Then we cleaned up and played card games until time to leave.

Here are a few pictures from the trip, 

some are more like photography, but some are just for fun.

Sunset Hike:

CHUBBY BUNNY!

Night Hike:

Sunrise Hike:

 

Group Shots:

 

 Quote of the Day:

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."               Philippians 4:8

Lets face it, our minds are prone to wander from all that is holy, but when we do, recall this verse. We are called to dwell on excellent and praiseworthy things - the things of our most high God.

Exercise Note of the Day:

 After an MRI it was determined that I have an inflamed tendon in my ankle which is causing all of the pain while I run. I am on two weeks of doctors ordered rest, then I will attempt to resume training. Praising God that is wasn't anything serious!