Camping trip

No knitting today, sorry. I thought that I’d share some photos from my camping trip, instead! (I did knit a lot while I was camping…)

Some time ago, I found out that there is a 17 mile hike-and-bike trail linking the 4 Spanish missions in San Antonio. Since we were planning to camp relatively close to SA, I took my bike along and did the bike trail.

Now, I grew up in Ohio. I know a lot about Ohio history. Texas history, not so much. I knew about the battle of the Alamo, of course – that is well into mainstream American history. What I did not learn until much later was that the Alamo was one of 5 missions built in what is now San Antonio by Franciscans during the Spanish colonial period, in the 18th century. While the Alamo is now a shrine and tourist attraction (with an amazing garden!) the other 4 missions are active Catholic parishes. They are also part of the National Park System, which runs several visitor centers and provides historical interpretation.

The bike path linking the missions is very nice. I did not have to deal with any stoplights or traffic – a big change from my normal cycling here in Austin!

The first mission that I visited was the Mission San José. This mission has been extensively reconstructed, including the wall running around the grounds which enclose several acres of green space. Many of the converts who came to live at the mission lived in homes that were a part of the outside walls.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way to my second stop, I passed by the Espada Dam, which was constructed around the same time as the missions as part of the local aqueduct system. It was impressive to note that even though we are in a drought period and many of the water tables, lakes and streams are low, the aqueduct was full to the brim! I saw several cranes out fishing along parts of  the dam and aqueduct.

 

 

 

My second stop was at the Mission San Francisco de la Espada. This photograph is deceptive, because from the outside, it looks like the church is partially in ruin. It is in fact still an active church with a lovely interior. I saw an awesome container garden in back of the residence – there were hundreds of plants!

 

Stop three was the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My last stop was at the mission Concepción. They also have a very nice prayer garden out front.

After riding 17 miles in the wind and the heat, I decided to skip going up to the Alamo (which I’ve already seen several times) and head for our campsite. Because of the drought, there is a ban on campfires, so I took along a little charcoal grill to cook with. After supper, I took everything containing food back to the car. I did not, however, take the bag of charcoal – I closed it up and left it under the picnic table. No animal was going to invade our camp for the charcoal, right?

Well, in the middle of the night, I started hearing thumping and crunching sounds. I stuck my flashlight out of the tent door to look around, and saw a raccoon sitting on the picnic table. He was munching on a lump of charcoal with one hand and rummaging around for more with his other! Raccoons eat charcoal. Who would have thunk it?