#2 Golden Bloom Pond Trail @ Baytown Nature Center

Hike #2 Golden Bloom Pond Trail at the Baytown Nature Center.
#52HikeChallenge

Date: January 19, 2020

Distance: approximately 3 miles

Weather: Sunny and clear. Blue skies for miles. A little chill in the air but the sunshine more than made up for it.
Type: Park
Company: Solo

Reflections: First a bit of history.  The Baytown Nature Center sits on the site of a housing development that waa reclaimed by Mother Nature through a series of floods, sinking ground, and finally a devasting hurricane. The area was originally home to local Native American tribes who came to fish in the waterways and take advantage of all the bounty the area had to offer.  After that it was bought by the Brown family from Mississippi (I think) and they set up a thriving cattle ranch on the property.  After Mr. Brown passed away in the 1920's his widow starting selling off pieces of the land for development. In the 1940's and 1950's the Brownwood neighborhood was one of Baytown's most desirable neighborhoods.  With beautiful bays on three sides this little peninsula neighborhood was the place to be! My mother tells me it was home to the Exxon bigwigs who were trying to redefine the landscape.  Well, as I mentioned earlier, Mother Nature had a few things to say about that!  The area was subject to constant flooding and following Hurricane Carla in the 1960's the area started to sink. Then when Hurricane Alicia hit in the 1980's, MoNa delivered her final blow and reclaimed the area. Residents were forced to leave the area, sometimes against their will, and the City of Baytown stepped in and reworked the space to make it the lovely nature preserve it is today.

So, with all that history behind it, how could I not choose it for my hiking destination today? We finally had some sunshiney and dry weather, I was off work, and we weren't packing this morning. The morning was definitely meant for some nature therapy at the nature center. Not gonna lie though, it almost didn't happen.  Just a few feet in on the lovely Golden Bloom Pond Trail I was greeted by this sign.

 Yeah...was not feeling the copperheads, cottonmouths, and corals.  These are three C's I did not want to encounter. Seriously considered turning around and calling it quits.  But in the end I decided to push on and I am so glad I did! It only took a little bit for the heart pounding fear and paranoia to subside and then I was able to enjoy the morning without flinching at every sound..sort of!  Hey--did you see the sign? Cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes!! You would be flinching too! No judging.

Eventually I made my way off the trail and decided to walk on the roadway to check out the other end of the center.  Two bonuses for getting off the trail...water views and a wider scanning range for snake patrol!  It was so gorgeous!  Choppy waves, ships (it's part of the ship channel) and lots of birds.  

See that tall tower in the background? That is the San Jacinto Monument.  That is where the battle for Texas' independence from Mexico was won.  Right there ya'll, is where Texas became Texas.  So across that bay is Deer Park which refers to itself as the "birthplace of Texas" because of said battle and all.   Here is a another look at the monument from the nature center.

 and even closer....

So fun (or not so fun) fact about Deer Park.  That is one of the main areas my family lived in when I was growing up. We bounced around between Deer Park, Pasadena, and LaPorte.  I went to at least one year of high school in Deer Park.  It was a total mean girl school. No joke. And since I was as far from cool as it was possible to get--like seriously if you look up antonyms for cool in the dictionary you will probably find a picture of me from then-- I was often subject to the mean girls taunts and jabs. Not a place I enjoyed. At all. Although I did make one really good friend while I was there, Leigh Ann. I was fortunate to have her as a buffer while I was there and we stayed friends. Years later, when I was slightly less uncool, she was even in my wedding.  See good things can come from shity experiences-- moral of the day!  Anyway moving on from that tangent!  

After spending some time exploring the kid's nature park, butterfly garden, and enjoying the water views I headed back to the trails and stumbled on this lovely boardwalk. Meandered through the trees and passed a pretty landscaped pond

before making my way back to the Golden Bloom Pond Trail and eventually my car.  Thankfully none of the 3 C's were seen!  A history lesson, inceased heartrate (from fear), beautiful scenery, and a stroll down memory lane--- all in all a very good 2nd hike for my 2020 #52HikeChallenge.