Seven Texas state parks in five days

A Blue Metalmark greeted us at the front door of Resaca de la Palma.

We gave our Texas State Parks Pass a workout recently. In less than a week, my chauffeur and I visited seven state parks.

1. Lake Corpus Christi State Park for lunch.
2. Estero Llano Grande State Park on a misty morning.
3. Resaca de la Palma State Park on an 80-degree afternoon.
4. Falcon State Park on a blustery morning.
5. Lake Casa Blanca International State Park on a 45-degree morning.
6. Choke Canyon State Park on a blustery afternoon.
7. Palmetto State Park on a chilly morning that turned into a glorious midday.

We are not birders, campers or fishermen, but we like to walk the trails and take photos.

All the parks were well-kept and had heir own quirks. The ones I would be most interested in visiting again are:

Gator by the dock on an overcast morning.

* Estero Llano Grande in Weslaco has winding trails, a viewing deck with birds posing for visitors and an alligator lake.

Walking to dock of the alligator lake, we found an alligator there to greet us. My brain flashed to Sam/Ralph the Sheepdog in the old Looney Tunes cartoon, who punches in for his shift and greets his co-worker. It looked like this alligator, maybe named Alonzo, had the morning shift to wow the tourists, and its replacement came on at lunchtime.

* Brownsville's Resaca de la Palma is interesting too. There are plenty of trails and if you get tired, you can wait for the loop shuttle to pick you and take you back to the spacious air-conditioned visitor's center.

Palmetto State Park lives up to its name with thousands of palmetto plants.

* Palmetto State Park in Gonzales is a little gem along the San Marcos River. The trails wind into each other, and I like trails that loop.

A subdivision backs up to the border of Lake Casa Blanca International State Park in Laredo.

My nominee for Most Ridiculous Trail goes to Mesquite Bend Trail at Lake Casa Blanca. There are lots of mesquite and switchbacks, but the trail along the border of the park is next to a subdivision.

Trail walkers can see into backyards and across rooftops. On this Sunday morning, we could hear lawnmowers and barking dogs. That was weird.