A few oddities:
A bit about Mike Howlett. He works at Jesse H. Jones Park &
Nature Center. He has a great interest in herpetology, and is a person I turn to whenever I need a reptile identification.
He also runs a small business called Houston Herpetological Supply (google it). Mike is my source for the steamed and
canned bugs that I feed to my carnivorous plants. Yum yum!
The Big Thicket Visitor Center is on road 69/287, about 12 km north
of Kountze, at the intersection with Hwy 420. It
has some lovely displays, including
the resin pitcher plant model shown above. That model is enormous--the pitcher mouth is about 2 meters off the ground!
The Visitor Center is a great place to spend a few minutes buying trinkets, while you let
your eyes recover from the bright Big Thicket sun.
The Big Thicket encourages exploration of its biological treasures, so visitors without benefit of a guide like Mike would
do well to stop by the Visitor Center to get tips on places to visit. In addition to the Pitcher Plant Trail, there is
a Sundew Trail in the "Hickory Creek Savannah Unit", accessed from hwy 2827 which heads west from 69/287 about
10km north of the Visitor Center.
