Part 3 and last, on our recent tour of the
San Antonio Mission Trail.
Our third stop was at
Mission San Francisco de la Espada.
This mission was established in 1731.
Like the other missions, it afforded protection for the local Native Indians.
The priests taught agriculture, weaving, and, of course, religion.
The church here is especially small. But, there are still masses performed here.
Mr. P is a big guy. But, the door here is pretty small.
This restored section, is a convent. Seems the sisters love their gardens.
San Antonio Mission Trail.
Our third stop was at
Mission San Francisco de la Espada.
Like the other missions, it afforded protection for the local Native Indians.
The priests taught agriculture, weaving, and, of course, religion.
The church here is especially small. But, there are still masses performed here.
Mr. P is a big guy. But, the door here is pretty small.
Sturdy walls withstand time. And, that mesquite tree is hanging in there, too. The broken section is sending up more limbs.
I liked this one. It's small and quiet. No elaborate decorations.
Just simple expressions of faith.
Leaving, we passed this funky little house.
Someone here likes their gardens, too.
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Close by the mission is the Espada Aqueduct.
I liked this one. It's small and quiet. No elaborate decorations.
Just simple expressions of faith.
Leaving, we passed this funky little house.
Someone here likes their gardens, too.
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The success of the crops was very important for the success of the missions.
In a hot and dry climate, this success of the crops depended on water.
So, a dam was built on the river, to divert water into aqueducts.
The water was then used to irrigate the fields.
Remnants of that system are still there.
Pretty clever.
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Our last mission for the day, was San Juan Capistrano.
As you can see, there is a lot of restoration going on here. It's not open to the public right now.
As with Espada, this is a small and simple mission.
But, the grounds look very charming.
I think we'll be going back to see it, when they're done.
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picture taken 2011
The most famous of the missions on the Mission Trail, is
The Alamo. Formally, Mission San Antonio de Valero.
Having been there many times, we chose to skip it this time.
If you haven't been there, it's worth the trip.
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We really enjoyed our tour, and will probably do it again.
We missed things I'd like to go back and see.
I hope you've enjoyed this tour.
Have a Great Weekend...
~~Linda~~
Beautiful shots. I remember going here a long time ago. So lush and green! Looks like it was a great day! Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteMy coworker and I also stopped at the aqueducts...of course, since we're in the water business, it seemed fitting. nice pictures and I'm glad you had a good time - as I said, I think I like the remaining missions better than the alamo.
ReplyDeleteI knew there was something else I needed to fit in before I left Austin on Tues AM! The stone walls and plantings are something to behold. Oh well, thanks for another of your great travel logs on this...filed for future reference.
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