Back to Nature: Parks with Parks, and Parks that are hiding

On most weekends, you will find me strolling with my daughter on early Saturday mornings in Hermann Park. The park offers a lot to us residents of Houston. The Miller Outdoor Theatre, the zoo, the natural history museum, a jogging track, a playground, and a golf course. Saturday mornings are fun. Brides and quinceiras are posing in their dresses by the fountains. My daughter waddles over to imitate their poses. She was really engrossed in the female body builder wearing a red cocktail dress. The poses were surreal to me. It is fun to go over to the lake to watch the elderly Russians play backgammon. They think that I am Russian, so I just say “Da, Da” (which happens to be my favorite art form too.

Hermann Park was donated by the Hermann family as a place for the Germans here in Houston to have a place to end their parades at. At that time the park was considered to be outside of town. Now we think of it as being almost a central park. From picnic ground for parading Germans to today, the park has undergone some dramatic changes. My special space is the park within a park: the Japanese Garden. The plants are ones that are more at home in Texas, than Japan, but the trails provide evocative views. On Saturday mornings, you find the young ladies there for their photographs, so the area is quiet. Except once, we had to cheer for the poor groom whose fiancee made him hold her in a dipping position till the shot was perfect. What stamina. When I went one afternoon, I found lovers in the sun, and people reading on the benches. It was nice to laze about.

For a true nature's walk, I go to the Arboretum. Since I could drive, I have been heading there on a frequent basis. However, I have found little parks no bigger than a city block, or just a path way along a bayou that fit the bill for a brief dip into nature. Most neighborhood parks are just playgrounds, and most builders offer this fare. I am finding more hidden parks in neighborhoods that are left in a natural state with a simple trail cut through it. Many parks like this will be found close to or on one of our many bayous. My suggestion to you is to explore your area, and you may just find such a treasure.