It all started with The Lizard Lodge

When I was a kid, we moved to the country from Humble, Texas. Instead of walking to the 7-Eleven with a babysitter, I was now by myself to roam in open air and pastures. I discovered the creek down from the pasture and fell in love with building forts and playing in the water. In the summer, the creek would dry up in some places, and I would be the fish saver, gathering up the fish in a bucket and bringing them to the house to drop them off into a cow trough that was not in use. I kept the water clean, and thinking back now, some of these fish survived in this trough for years. I remember a catfish that was the size of my hand, and it never grew any bigger. I also caught many lizards and broke some of their tails by accident... they were fast, but not fast enough! It was at that time, I would say around 9 years of age, that I decided I would create a place for people to come and enjoy all that I did in nature, and I was going to call it The Lizard Lodge. I got busy making trails around my trough so they could see my fish. I built a mudslide at the pond by going down to the bottom and getting the slimy dirt and packing it on an embankment. I took an inner tube and put plywood on the top and an old oar that was in the garage and practiced my creek tour I would take people on. When my cousins or friends would come over, I would show them all the wonderful ideas, and once I even got my parents to pay me a couple of dollars for a tour. It was one of the happiest times of my childhood I can remember.

I was in the golf cart taking pics of the lake and all the spring blooms around and admiring all the work that has been put into our property. I started towards the creek there, and this flood of happiness filled my soul. The memory of me as a kid creating a make-believe world, and then to see the adult me creating a real-life version made me realize I am doing what I was meant to do. I laughed at myself and thought, it all started with The Lizard Lodge.