San Antonio Mission Trails



Mission Concepcion

Detail

San Antonio's 300 year old Mission Trails was full of interesting tales and architectural features. The 5 National Park sites are separated by only miles, along the San Antonio River. We just parked at a mission and took advantage of the bus system to travel to each site. You can also rent bicycles and follow a path that runs parallel.

Active Chapels






Irrigation Systems



Mission Espada










Mission San Juan






We gained a lot of local history, meeting a docent who shared a bus ride with us. His described the tales of the local indigenous people who helped build the missions.  

His ancestors helped build the missions and he described some of the correlations in the design which reflects their ancestral beliefs along with Christianity.

He noted an important date to remember Oct. 14, 2023 when annular solar eclipse passes directly over San Antonio and the lands of his people. 

 

Mission San Jose

Alamo

Padre Island Texas

Malaquite Beach

We stayed at the first come first serve Malaquite Campground on the Padre Island National Seashore. Although the weather wasn't lovey we did enjoy being off the grid for a couple of nights.

Long-billed Curlew

The sound of the surf drowned out any generators in use and we had the pleasure of a guided bird hike with two VIP's. Volunteers in Parks and saw 29 different birds from the shores to the prairies and ponds.

Aplomado Falcon

Sailors Valentine with Heart Sea Beans in Center and Shells

Sand Dune Flowers

Another program featured Sea Beans. Which I'm sure you are as curious as I was. They are the seeds and nuts that make their way from lands across the sea onto beaches like Padre Island. Actually Padre Island is the hot spot for Sea Beans, shells and anything that floats along the gulf currents. The other part of anything that floats, is all the garbage, especially plastic, dumped by boats, ships and various uncaring peoples.

Barnacles

So with the good comes lots of bad. The park offers big yellow bags to all beach combers hoping they take out more than just shells. It unfortunately continues to wash ashore everyday.




Many brave souls try to venture to the end of the island, a 60 mile journey on the beach with many rewards at Big Shell Beach. You have to have 4 wheel drive and a lot of luck. People do get stuck out in the sand with the tide coming in. I heard it can cost hundreds or more to hire someone to haul out.




We made it to mile marker 5. Maybe not as brave as some but we were successful in finding a few Sea Beans and my new favorite barnancles.

Barefoot Parade

Celebrating Mardi Gras Corpus Christi style with a parade on the beach.
































Cars and people lined up for a couple of miles. You can always tell a good parade when it's hard to distinguish the spectators from the spectables.





























A great day for people watching. Usually you see a some political positioning at a public gathering. Here we only saw a few democratic floats.
















Golf carts decorated as sharks was a favorite.










We caught our share of beads and snacked on a Oyster Po Boy.

 

On the Beach

Scoot'n Around

That's actually the name of the place and yes it's on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico. No wall here but we did see a border patrol car.



As an option for getting around a new scooter is getting a lot of attention. Great for taking out the garbage.

Beach Lodge Restaurant

The beach also serves as a road and for a $12 a year parking pass you can even camp overnight no charge in many areas.

 
 
 
We preferred our first nights on the island to have full hook ups. A mile walk on the beach for a Flounder Fish Fry at Beach Lodge.






Pelican

Lots of fishing here in this port town, and we had a chance to see a number of feathered creatures too.




Short walk on a pier.

Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

Zoomed in on some Rosy Spoonbills

Hanging out at the Beach

Plow on the Beach -Sand not Snow

 

Texas or Bust

Midway Park Waco

We made it after 4 days of driving to our first destination Port Aransas, Texas. We always began after morning rush hour and settled in before dark, stretching out the 1900 miles with HaRVey in tow.

Reflecting on the route, we wish we would have avoided an $18 toll from Kansas City, KS and Fort Worth, Texas downtown road construction. But arriving without incident is all we wanted.

Wendy as we fondly call our GPS unit was usually right, but still have some doubts. As we took the ferry onto Mustang Island she told up to get off the Ferry when we were still 100 feet from shore. I guess she was just as excited as we were.

Sunset  with one more day.

Our overnights on the road - Lakeview Casino in Iowa winning a $100, a Microtel in Oklahoma enjoying a hot tub soak and Midway Park, Army Corp of Engineer property in Waco, Texas where we made use of the Senior National Park past for our first time. Only $12 for water and electric.   The stops were brief stays as we kept everything hooked up so no exploring our surroundings.









Driving into Aransas Pass

By the time we crossed into Texas the temps were rising to the 60's which felt plenty warm to us.



We know we were coming into the storm worn area of last falls Hurricane Harvey. Reports are many businesses have reopened but many still awaiting repairs and clean up in Port Aransas. It was very evident on the last stretch of road before the ferry. Miles of mounds of building debris filling the media between a divided highway for sorting and crushing.

Ready for a Ferry Ride

So far the spirit of area residents is strong. Many volunteers remain in the area. Clean up continues, the beach is beautiful. Were meeting people who have returned here for their winter getaways and are saddened by what they see, but wouldn't choose anywhere else. Even a neighboring RV couple adopted a rescued dog from the shelter.

The saying here- Port A Strong.

 

 

On the Road Again

Our great escape this year will take us south to Texas. It's a big state, I mean really big. Too big to cover all of it in our February adventures.













We'll be starting with the beach in Port Aransas, we know the sand is still their but we will see how much has been reconstructed since Hurricane Harvey. No to be confused with our HaRVey.








Then our mission will be to explore San Antonio and the Hill Country. Walk along the river and enjoy Gruene or Green as they pronounce it.

Austin will be our last stop hopefully, since we have reservations at an Army Corp campground. Hopefully the Federal government won't be on break again closing down our rest stop.



If nature is in our favor we hope to see some of the bluebells in bloom.  Along with finding the best brisket and BBQ and discovering taco trucks. My desire is to see an Armadillo and a Long Horn Steer, hopefully at the rodeo.





We've been preparing as always, I read James Micheners book Texas, we've researched the web and got our gps updated. If you have any spots to share be sure to let us know.
 

All Fired Up and Glazed

Our bowl creations from December's event.

Saturday's date night at Generous Earth Pottery in La Crosse, WI. They're pretty small and heavy but they're ours.