The stars at night... (Needville, TX)

Are big and bright... *clap clap clap clap*... deep in the heart of Texas! It's too bad we were only 30 minutes outside of Houston. It all began at Target when we were browsing and saw tents on sale. We always wanted to try camping so just like that we bought it. But there's a lot to it so before taking the whole family camping, we wanted to have a test run first sans kids, to make sure it's doable. What's nice is that there's a state park only 30 minutes away from our house (Brazos Bend). The staff at this park were super friendly and accommodating. I'd definitely recommend going there.

It's been over ten years since I last went camping so it's essentially like going for the first time all over again. Cooking our food was a semi-disaster but we managed. I couldn't imagine having the kids with us though, they would have starved to death. Note for next time: bring more (easily cook-able) food and tongs.

I love looking at the stars (when I can see them). I love space. I love taking pictures. So when Lynn passed out, I spent hours late at night taking pictures of the night sky. I tried several different techniques, one being to let the camera take a long, continuous picture thereby getting the stars to streak across the sky... since the Earth is rotating. After going on this trip, now I really want to go to the middle of nowhere (to avoid the light pollution) and gaze into a darker night sky.