Celina urgently needed more pictures for her homework assignment in photography class. She had decided on “animals behind bars” as the theme for her leporello, and the photos she had taken during our visit to Austin Zoo weren’t enough. So she needed to find some more subjects, and she thought she would find them at the newly designed Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary.
It’s Sunday, and for once we’re heading east to Navasota, Texas, to fulfill our little girl’s wishes regarding photo motifs for her Leporello. But rather than driving around for 2.5 hours just to see a few wolves, we decided we needed to do something else as well. After a quick search on the internet for possible destinations along the way, we found something exciting.
Where Texas became Texas
After our first stop naturally took us to BUCC-EE’s, we continued on to Washington on the Brazos, the birthplace of the independent Republic of Texas.
The Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site is located in the middle of a park. It was here that 59 delegates gathered on March 2, 1836, to declare the Republic of Texas’ independence from Mexico. The Republic of Texas existed as an independent nation from 1836 to 1846. Unfortunately, the museum was undergoing renovations, so we were only able to see part of the grounds, the meeting building, and the gift shop. But that was okay, because we had to move on—the guided tour of the wolves was scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Wolf Sanctuary
Andrea and Celina were already here in 2019 (at that time in a different location). The animal residents now have more space and some new arrivals have also joined them.
During the approximately one-hour tour, we learned all sorts of things about the animals and their pasts. The animals here all came to this rescue project with different stories: most of them had previously been kept as pets or had been freed from traps or other circumstances. And most of the animals are wolf-dog mixes, which are actually prohibited but are taken in here. There are strict regulations in Texas regarding the “housing” of wolves or wolf-dogs, so the rescue center is a suitable place to give these beautiful animals a home.
Madame was also able to take a few photos to add to her Leporello, and we were happy to donate to the maintenance of the facility (okay, in the souvenir shop, but still 🙂 ).