I grew up in the suburbs of Houston. Houston is VERY BIG. Wikipedia puts the Greater Houston area at about 10,062 square miles, slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts. The suburbs were pretty boring, and as soon as we were teens able to drive, we left our immediate area to explore. We mostly went downtown, as that seemed to be where all the excitement was. We visited all the museums and parks, and of course, the music venues like Emo's, the Axiom, the Vatican, Fitzgerald's... I'm forgetting the others. Someplace called the Unicorn, maybe? Numbers... hahahah. We were underage, so I'm sure there were many clubs that were off my radar, plus my memories of high school are a bit hazy at this point.
I go back to visit my parents, and the area and city always feel very familiar but weird because I no longer really know my way around, and so many things have changed.
My interests have changed with age, as you might expect. Not that I don't still like to go to a punk club now and then! But I do love to explore parks with an eye for design, plantings, and history.
On my most recent visit, I decided to check out Buffalo Bayou Park, and more specifically, the Cistern. I don't remember this area being a park when I lived in Houston. It might have been, but it seems like they have put a lot of effort into it more recently, with tons of trails, landscaping, art, and gathering spaces.
You can see how big the whole park is! There is much to explore!
But it's hecka hot in Houston in July. I'm just not acclimated anymore, and I don't like being so hot and humid. It's not really conducive to exploring the outdoors. I did convince the family to head downtown to check out the Cistern on this trip though! I think I had seen that they were putting on concerts and art exhibits, but for our visit, they just had the regular history tour as an option. I love a history tour, so that was fine by me!
The Cistern is, obviously, pretty big! It held up to 15 million gallons of water. It is not in use anymore due to an irreparable leak. I just love that someone decided to turn it into a place to visit and tour. I'm imagining a meeting where some people are like, "Why the heck would people want to visit a musty old broken cistern?!" And other people are like, "Well, we can tell you are not huge nerds, so we're not even sure we can explain it to you!"
The ramped entrance is very dramatic!
I didn't manage to get many good photos. It looks as you might imagine... just like Khazad-dûm in the Lord of the Rings movies.
The water in this picture is only about 2 inches deep but the reflection makes it look like the water is deep and clear. I recommend this tour and exploring Buffalo Bayou Park. I’ll be back to check some of the other interesting-looking areas. The Lost Lake, the Arboretum, and there is a bat colony to visit(!), and a Children’s Nature Play Area.
