“It’s getting better,” a ranger told me one afternoon. “But you know Texans and their land. If the government owns it, they don’t like it.”
We returned to Chain-O-Lakes weary yet somehow still craving another hit of the swamp. So we took a canoe out into the resort’s necklace of bayous and cruised about as the setting sun spilled over the horizon like a cracked egg. The waters were calm and pea-soup green, and until the late afternoon shadows began to thicken, you could see egrets preening and stretching on the shore, a hawk or two swooping to snatch a fish. And yes, over on the shore of another lake, I did finally spot an alligator. Funny, he didn’t look nearly as menacing as the crocs on Animal Planet. He just looked bored and, like everything else in the Big Thicket, a little lonely.
We decided to head back to the launching point, but suddenly the terrain didn’t look the same. We turned the canoe about—momentarily lost. But for some reason, I didn’t care a bit.
The Details
Staying and Eating There
Chain-O-Lakes Resort. It’s the only game in several towns, but fortunately it doesn’t take advantage of that fact. Thirty-two cabins with full kitchens and porches overlook the bayous and the campgrounds placed strategically along more than a dozen lakes in the middle of a lovely, very quiet swamp. Canoe, kayak, or take to the nature trails on horseback (235 Chain-O-Lakes Resort, Cleveland, Texas; 832-397-4000; from $150). At the resort’s Hilltop Herb Farm Restaurant (832-397-4020), don’t be put off by the too-quaint country décor or the fact that the food is served buffet-style. The view of an apple-green bayou out the huge picture window is all you need to look at, and somehow the chef here has figured out how to keep food like rare sirloin of beef and spicy gumbo hot and fresh. The $16.95 fixed price makes it go down all the easier. The morning breakfast buffet features fluffy scrambled eggs laced with Cheddar cheese, spicy sausages, and blueberry pancakes with just the right tartness.
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