Mystery of the Creepy Things in the Pond...
So, yesterday I was out pre-scouting trail from my truck, getting ready for my last Galveston H3 haring as a local. I'm moving to Clear Lake to let a new set of criminals have their fair shot at my stuff, and I'm trying to break some new ground on the well-worn 30 mi. X 2 mi. island before I go.

Anyway, after cruising by a lot of funky wooden beach shacks and bait shops, I ended up near the gulf on this old, deadend driveway down the middle of a swampy pond - a man made isthmus in decay. The pavement used to go to some cheesy burned down motel, and now it ends at a locked, rusty gate just before disappearing into the muck. It's narrow, so you have to back out once you get down there. High grass, weeds, cactus, and oleander grow up on both sides of the asphalt between you and the water. Just the kind of place for a live Scooby Doo episode, and perfect for the On In, if my cohare likes it.

I climb down to get a better feel for the place, and as the truck engine dies, I hear multiple bodies sliding into the water... Not the careless plop of turtles off a bank, much smoother and more deliberate. And bigger. Gators? No, not the straight line descent of a bunch of gators. More of a tight swirling eddy behind each one. It creeped me out, and that is not easy to do.

Keep in mind it's broad daylight, but I'm about ready to leap back in the truck, sure that something's about to wrap around my legs, when a couple of these Things resurface out in the dark water. Their heads are about 7 inches long, and I can just make out their furry bodies through the murk. They move fast, until one decides to stalk me, about 10 feet off the asphalt. I lunge at it, trying to scare it, and it treads water to stare me down. I didn't have my binoculars, so all I can say is their snouts were less pointy than a rat, or even a dog, and if they had ears, they must have been tucked back. With tails included, they appeared to be about four feet long. There were at least six of them swimming around, just while I was there.

I know it's virgin Hash territory, so I'm still willing to have Circle there, but it damned sure won't be after dark.