In June 2017, while at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas, I decided to dedicate the final day of a three-day nature, photo shoot to capturing images of some of the roughly 300 American Alligators, which reside in the state-protected sanctuary. While walking down one of the many hiking trails, I almost literally "stumbled" up this mature gator lying right along the trail under the shade of cypress trees in a green, algae-filled swamp.