Camping in February?

I never thought I would ever go camping down here.  With stories of the horrendous mosquitoes, alligators that lie in wait to eat small children, and ravenous racoons that cut holes in your tent like a CIA agent, I have never had the smallest desire to go.  Well, leave it to some good friends to convince us that it wasn't ALL that bad. We decided to try it out--once couldn't hurt right?  So we decided to join the 5 other families that were going and drove the hour and a half drive to Huntsville State Park.

It couldn't have been better--well, maybe a mattress would have saved my back and kidneys from hurting--but otherwise it was perfect.  It was so crazy to not go to bed freezing.  We only wore sweatshirts at night around the campfire!  We had beautiful weather, no mosquitoes, and the only alligator we saw was this one that Zander and Elle got to pet. 

Zander petting the baby alligator

Our friends also brought their canoes, so we got to paddle around the lake a bit. 

 We couldn't convince Elle to come out with us.  She was having too much fun playing with her friends.  However, she did go out with another family later on. 

We had such a great time being with our friends, talking by the fire, cooking breakfast together, and being reminded that Houston does have natural beauty--it's just well hidden. Even all the kids (13 kids under the age of 8) managed to play well together and stay safely away from the water.  I was relieved that our campsite was well away from the lake.  We were so sad when it was time to go.  With all the work it takes to get packed and ready, I really would have liked to stay another day.