Dynatrekkin'

Come along with us!

April 21, 2024

Day 99 / March 30, 2024

Posted by

Ember Hutton

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We chose the tiny state park nearby because it is near Big Thicket National Preserve. The Big Thicket, the first preserve in the National Park Service, is spread over 112,000 acres in east Texas. Since we only have one day we’ll only be checking out just a few of those acres. 😉

The Big Thicket National Preserve protects nine different habitats and countless plants and animals. Although there isn’t a tall mountain or deep gorge there is one thing we were excited to see…the pitcher plant. ☠️

Of the five carnivorous plants that grow in the US, four of them can be found in the Big Thicket. We hadn’t seen one in person yet but we all agreed that this pitcher plant display was false advertising. 😅

The visitor center was very well done and the kids enjoyed the interactive exhibits.

Everett really enjoyed the microscope and the prepared slides. He surprised me with a camera roll full of creepy insect parts when I opened my phone a while later. 🤪

Finally we were ready to head out into the Big Thicket.

Of course we picked the Pitcher Plant Trail so we could see these carnivorous plants in action. Not as tall as the model in the visitor center, but still pretty cool to peek into them and see trapped insects inside.

Big Thicket National Preserve Junior Rangers

This year is the 50 year anniversary so there was an extra badge to earn as well.

And because Elleny and I are extrinsically motivated we completed their 50th Anniversary Adventure Challenge and earned a bronze pin by hiking 3 miles.

Once we were back at the campground the kids rounded up all of the other kids who were also camping and played the rest of the night away together. Their ability to meet other people, engage and get along with kids from all backgrounds always makes me happy. Just another benefit of traveling!

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About the author

Hi! I’m Ember and I love traveling and photography but not so much organizing said adventures and pictures. Chronically blogging in past tense. :)