We left Houston around 6:00 AM driving in a fog where visibility was about ¼-mile.  It was hard to see the green road sign and restaurant sign, yet slow driving had led us to succeed. There were a great number of hawks on the poles beside the road waiting for a breakfast of the rodents.  We saw one about every mile on the highway to the main entrance of the Refuge. We turned south on highway 61 from I-10 at Winnie then back east on FM 1985.  There we found East Anahuac Wildlife Area with an entry fee of $10.00, the attendant pointed us to the main refuge where there is no entrance fee. 

All other paddlers had to cancel the trip so we launched at the boat ramp in the fog. It is a mile paddle down a channel until you hit Oyster Bayou. You can paddle left up the backwaters of the Bayou to right to Smith Point on the Trinity Bay. Our only worries were the high or low tides and the wind.  We lucked out and had high tide with a south wind.  The first wildlife we encountered was a spoonbill stalking the banks.  Next was an Ibis fishing.

Foggy put-in		Spoonbill stalking		Ibis fishing

Also we saw sandpipers. Every time we spotted a brown pelican it kept just far enough so it was hard to get a good picture.

Sandpipers		Pelican in flight		Pelican

A break from paddling

We were looking for a place to get out and take a break paddling both our physical problems were making  paddling more difficult.  Mud bank sides kept on in the boat finally we found a place to get out and after a break since we had no other paddlers decided to give up our goal and turn back.

We saw the first gator of the season. It was about 4 ft  and we finally got a picture of him after 20 minutes of sitting and watching. Amazingly the geese kept on flying over us and abundance of red tailed hawks were sighted but we were unable to capture them in a picture. The weather was just right for this day paddle As we reentered the canal off of Oyster Bayou back to the boat ramp we produced more good pictures. 

Gator		Geese		Duck		Egret

After loading our gear we took the roads of this Refuge and found fishing camps and wildlife platforms rebuilt after the past Hurricane damage to the area. 

Marshes		Coastal grasslands		Smith Point		Ducks swimming

I would highly suggest Anahuac Wildlife refuge and Oyster Creek paddle to other paddlers.  Just driving through the Refuge is an adventure.  We then went to Cedar Hill park to camp before attending the Chambers Lake paddle the next day.

Cedar Hill campout		Cedar Hill sunset		Mary at lunch

Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

Map & driving directions to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

---

the earth is my mother. the sky is my father the animals are my brothers the canoe lets me get closer to them Paul Woodcock