Last weekend we visited my younger son, Adam Smith Palmer, and his wife. They live near Houston, Texas, where both are studying/working. On Labour Day, they took us to Brazos Bend State Park.
While there, we saw smallish alligator (we were told it was maybe 4-5 years old)
and tonnes of Golden Silk Spiders.
It's a nice park with a great hands-on programme for touching snakes and baby alligators, and for learning more about golden silk spiders.