By Brandt Mannchen

When I arrived early at Hudson Woods, there were several cars at the trailhead parking lot.  I noticed that the parking lot had been reduced in size, fenced, and the porta-potter was nowhere in sight.  Good thing I stopped at Buc-ee’s on the way!

People arrived until the parking lot was full and cars were parked alongside the entrance road.  When we were all accounted for, we had 18 Sierrans and visitors who made the trip to Angleton for this forest walk.  Hudson Woods is in the Columbia Bottomlands of Brazoria County, is a part of the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, and is a unique coastal forest of Live Oak, Pecan, Shumard Oak, Burr Oak, Water Oak, Hackberry, Green Ash, and many other trees.  

Once we had all signed in and I had given a little trail talk about fun, safety, and what to watch for, we took off.  I was concerned we might be in for a “muddy” time because it had rained two days before.  We first went to Scoby Lake on the boardwalk.  There were a few downed tree limbs that required that we get off the boardwalk and walk around them, but we did great.

Scoby Lake was full, and I was very happy about that.  In the past several years, there had been many times that this oxbow of Oyster Creek was almost totally dry.  We saw some ducks, coots, or moorhens fly in the distance.

The Spanish Moss was draped over many of the Pecan, American Elm, Cedar Elm, and Hackberry trees that we passed underneath.  The sky was as clear as a sky can be, and the lake reflected a deep blue color.

We hiked along the edge of Scoby Lake and then visited the environmental education center where we stopped for a bathroom break.  The large Live Oaks and Green Ash where the environmental education center was, provided a gorgeous backdrop of green with the beginning of fall yellow, red, gold, and brown colors.  So far, the ground was damp but not muddy, so I was happy.  We continued hiking on the trail, stopping periodically to view the trees, vines, and mixed forest.

We hiked to a powerline right-of-way (ROW) which was overgrown.  I knew we had to walk about 200 yards down the ROW to get to another trail.  We carefully picked our way and made it to the second trail.  We hiked parallel to Oyster Creek, which was running red with Brazos River Basin soil.  After two hundred yards, I stared intently into the woods, saw what I was looking for, and we headed toward the creek.

I introduced our group to my favorite tree in Hudson Woods.  It is a huge Live Oak that stood 20 to 30 feet from Oyster Creek.  Many resurrection ferns lined its branches along with vines and an American Elderberry had grown out of a cavity in this tree and was 6 to 10 feet tall about 8 feet off the ground!  A tree growing on another tree.  That is “cool”!

As the leader, I promptly got us lost, temporarily.  I passed our trail while walking on the ROW.  Soon we were back on our trail and hiked to the parking lot.  The weather was perfect, the sun and mild temperatures made me wish Houston was always like this.

From the parking lot we went to lunch.  Unfortunately, while everyone else used their GPS’s and the address I gave them to maneuver to China Star restaurant in Lake Jackson, I did not realize that the restaurant had moved and went to the old location.  Luckily for me, Linda and Steven had followed me, and brought their chagrined leader to the restaurant.

We had a great buffet and really good conversation, another thing I like about Sierra Club outings.  Then we were off to Sea Center.  Sea Center is run by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and is a combination aquarium, fish hatchery, and wetland.  The fish that are raised at Sea Center include Redfish, Speckled Trout, and Southern Flounder.

After we signed in, we learned that there would be no tour of the fish hatchery because there was no volunteer available to give the tour.  At the “touch pool”, where you can get in close “personal contact” with Blue Crabs, sea anemones, fish, and hermit crabs, I told the TPWD staff person, Arlene, that we were a Sierra Club group and were disappointed that today there was no fish hatchery tour.

Arlene looked very serious and told me to wait and she would check on that.  After a few minutes, she came back and said she would take us on a short tour.  I was really excited and our group, along with a few other people who were at Sea Center, gathered and off we went!

Arlene was a great guide!  She told us about eggs, frylings, fingerlings, and adult fish that are used or produced in the fish hatchery.  She showed us where they raised frylings and fingerlings, we saw the huge adult Redfish used for breeding, and she showed us how they filtered the water to make sure it was clean for the fish.

Then she took us outside to the fishing pond, where kids get to catch fish for free.  She provided us with fish food and in a few minutes the water boiled with Black Drum and Redfish.  We talked excitedly like 10-year-olds!

We viewed the aquariums inside Sea Center with fish from our bays, estuaries, and the Gulf of Mexico.  Some of these fish were Nurse Sharks, Jack Cravelle, Southern Flounder, morey eels, Redfish, Snook, Tarpon, Black Drum, Speckled Trout, and many others. 

Finally, we visited the freshwater and brackish wetlands that has been created on the site.  Red-eared Sliders sunned themselves while Pied-billed Grebes floated on the water and then disappeared underwater to feed.  A group of six White Ibis lounged in a tree while nearby Crinum Lilies bloomed.  Who would believe such beautiful blooms in November!

It was all over too soon.  We did our obligatory “end of the outing group photo” and then split up to drive home.  I like halcyon days in November especially at Hudson Woods and Sea Center.  

Photograph courtesy of Lisa Samoilenko.