Texas Master Naturalist 13th Annual State Meeting
October 26-28, 2012
Camp Allen, Navasota, TX
13th Annual State Meeting Final Agenda (upd: 22-Oct-2012)
13th Annual State Meeting Advanced Training Descriptions (upd: 8-13-2012)
A little about Camp Allen and the area:
One thousand acres of mostly forested land. Piney woods and piney smells. Cool autumn, starry nights. Tree-lined lakes. Wood smoke and fishing. Log cabins and tree houses, rock fireplaces and shaded decks. Lapping water and loon calls.
Sounds enticing, doesn’t it? We thought so! Camp Allen is our choice this year for the Texas Master Naturalist annual conference. It is situated just off the Brazos and Navasota Rivers, southeast of Navasota, Texas. It is a fine facility offering indoor comfort and convenience and outdoor pleasure. Our meetings will be held in the main facility and most of our double-occupancy rooms will be in the adjacent conference hotel. Our registration will also have accommodation options for chapters wanting to stay as a group in one of three lakeside cabins or for those wishing to cut costs there will be a bunkhouse super saver registration option in one of the elevated log “tree houses” as well.
Registration for the conference includes use of the fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts and fishing in Lake Goddard. For an extra charge, canoeing, skeet shooting and horseback trail rides are available for those in your party not attending or registered for the conference.
Of course we, and you, expect you to be fully and happily occupied for the advanced training sessions and other conference offerings (more details on that forthcoming!). After all, that is why you are here. But should you have a little time of your own, or should your guests choose to fly solo while you are otherwise blissfully busy with the business at hand, there are a few jaunts in the area of which to be aware.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is happening just up the road. Jousting knights, costumed ladies, medieval games and viands, contests, merriment, purveyors, artisans and performers of mime, music and moment. Undoubtedly, a little ribaldry for those so inclined.
Camp Allen also happens to be smack in the middle of the Texas bluebonnet wine trail (www.texasbluebonnetwinetrail.com). No bluebonnets blooming for us in October, but the wineries are still there and still open for business. They offer tastings and tours, delectable dining and winsome wines. One winery has some unusual offerings: several wines crafted from prickly pear cactus, hibiscus flowers, wild mustang grapes or cranberries.
White water rafting on the Brazos River is accessible just northwest of Navasota near Washington-on-the-Brazos. Rent equipment there, or bring your own.
The Katy Prairie, just a very few miles due south of Camp Allen on Highway 6, running parallel to the Navasota River, is 13,000 acres of upland grasslands and wetlands held in 14 conservation preserves. Keep in mind that the last weekend of October is still the tail end of migration for many avian species. Some of the preserves are open 7 days a week. Visit their website for details.