We started the day with a long bike ride to the southern end of the river walk trail about seven miles south of camp. On the way back we visited several of the old Spanish missions along the way. Several of the smaller structures resemble the Alamo, which was also one of the original missions. We had a picnic lunch along the trail in between stops.
After getting back to the campground we got on our shorts and took our books down to the pool and enjoyed the sun.
Later still we drove into town and had a great Mexican dinner at one of the local restaurants.
A beautiful day along the San Antonio River.
The southern terminus of the river trail. The plans are in the works to extend the trail to neighboring towns soon and add miles of additional trails.
Mission Espada is one of the smaller missions in the area. It is all decorated for the Christmas season.
These missions were built in the early 1700's and renovations have been underway in recent decades to restore them to their original beauty.
The missions were not only places of worship, but were entire communities with residences and garden areas to make them self sufficient.
The inside of Mission Espada's church.
I thought this was quite the ornate drinking fountain.
Mission San Juan Capistrano was our next stop. It was across the river and a bit north of Mission Espada. This area was still being restored, and a lot of it was locked due to renovations and the government shutdown. Go Donald!!
An outdoor sanctuary with Mother Mary and a sacrificial candle alter.
The missions used the rivers for agriculture and had a series of dams and aqueducts to supply water for farming.
One of the oldest remaining man made dams in the country.
Mission San Juan was one of the largest and most ornate missions in the area. The grounds were huges and once contains an entire small town.
The sculptures decorating the mission were ornate and beautiful works of art.
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