Elaine Warner

For dress-up, there’s no accessory like a boa. So what’s wrong with this picture? That’s an albino Burmese python draped around my neck — just couldn’t find a boa. The python lives at Gator Country Adventure Park in Beaumont, Texas, along with enough alligators to fill Oprah’s closet.

This was a good introduction to Beaumont — a town that advertises itself as “Texas with a little something extra.” Some of that extra is due to the fact that Beaumont is about as close to Louisiana as you can get in Texas — and southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas share a lot in the way of terrain and wildlife. There’s also a big oil presence here.

When Beaumont was founded in the mid-1800s, it was a sleepy little community with an economy based on cattle and farming. Later in the century, it became a significant river port, a rice and lumber center and a railroad town. These roles were eclipsed in 1901 with the discovery of oil — the Spindletop field. Gulf Oil and Humble Oil started in Beaumont and Magnolia became a major company in the area. The petrochemical industry still dominates the local economy.

I was in the area to learn more about the Big Thicket National Preserve — an area of amazing biological diversity — a combination of habitats from forest to swamp to plains with plants from cactus to orchids. You can’t really see this preserve from the road — you have to get up close and personal on foot or by boat.

One of the easiest ways to get a peek at this ecological Eden is on the Cardinal, a comfortable excursion boat that will take you up the Neches River into part of the Big Thicket. The two-hour tour, at $15, is a real bargain.

For an even closer look, I took a canoe trip with David Martin of Piney Woods Outfitters. Notice I didn’t say I went canoeing. David paddled — I sat in the front, camera at the ready, and was as happy as Queen Elizabeth on a royal yacht. We slid silently through the tea-colored waters of Village Creek past river birch, willows, cypresses with knobby knees poking above the surface, magnolias and tall pines. An occasional kingfisher swooped in front of us and, hearing the rat-tat-tat, we spotted a pileated woodpecker at work.

We stopped mid-trip for a luncheon picnic on a convenient sandbar. Our trip was short — just over three hours — traveling four miles on the stream.

Big Thicket isn’t a conventional park — it snakes along a number of waterways running through, if I counted correctly, six counties. Hiking trails range from a couple of half-milers — one that will take you through an area of carnivorous plants — to a 15-mile linear trail along Turkey Creek and an 18-mile round-trip trail designed for hiking, all-terrain biking and horseback riding. Backcountry camping is permitted in certain areas but there are no developed campgrounds or other accommodations in the preserve.

Big Thicket is truly nature au naturel. For a look at flora with a little help from its friends, check out Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in nearby Orange. The property comprises 262 acres with approximately 22 in cultivated gardens.

Shangri La is a great place to visit for several reasons: the plants, of course, but this is also the first LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction) Platinum Certified project in Texas. The Gardens feature more than 300 species of plants in nine formal gardens including five “garden rooms” representing artistic concepts like line, texture, color, shape and contrast.

One of my favorite spots was a high-tech bird blind where, during nesting season, birders can see hoards of egrets. Boardwalks and boat tours help visitors enjoy the wilder parts of the park.

Beaumont has its share of museums, too. A combination indoor-outdoor museum explores the area’s oil history at the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum. For a contemporary look at the industry, a stop at the Texas Energy Museum is a must.

If you love architecture and decoration, a visit to the McFaddin-Ward House, a beautiful Beaux-Arts Colonial Revival home, is the stop for you. Beaumont has museums for every interest — from art (Art Museum of Southeast Texas) and sport (the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum) to invention (the Edison Museum). And you can’t miss the 24-foot fire hydrant at the Fire Museum of Texas.

I’m running out of space but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention food. Beaumont is the birthplace of Jason’s Deli. Barbecue is a favorite at Willy Rays — and don’t skip their carrot soufflé. Suga’s has the best fried green tomatoes, topped with lump crabmeat and drizzled with shrimp cream sauce and Hollandaise. And Rao’s Bakery Coffee Café deserves an article of its own for the fabulous baked goods and sandwiches — on homemade bread, of course.

There are plenty of places to stay. I was at the Eleganté Hotel, comfortable, attractive and with a day spa with the most high-tech mani/pedi chair I’ve ever seen. And concierge Charlotte Rumsey was the best — even bringing her stuffed bear to work to meet Vanilla, the SATW traveling teddy who corresponds with Mrs. Kysar’s class at Northern Hills!

Come to think of it — Beaumont under-advertises. You’ll find a whole lot extra here!

ELAINE WARNER is an Edmond resident.