San Antonio Getaway: Day 3 … On the Missions Trail

Wednesday, 14 March 2018
I-10 … On the way to Houston
Temps: 73F (23C) / 50F (10C)

Another great day in San Antonio, Texas.  It’s mid-afternoon now and we’re on I-10E, heading back to Houston.  We have a 206-mile (330 km) drive ahead of us.  The best way I know to while away the three hours or so it will take for us to get home is writing.  So, let’s get started on today’s story.

Our plan today was to visit one of the US sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list … the frontier missions that stretch along a portion of the San Antonio River Basin.

Since the first mission — the one closest to us — didn’t open until 9:00a, I slept in a bit this morning.  We ended up dallying at the hotel a little longer than we expected and didn’t arrive there until 9:30a.  The good news — very few people were ahead of us.  That would change as the day progressed.  At each of the other missions that are under the umbrella of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Site, patience was key to getting people-less photos.

With one exception — Mission San José — the missions we visited today were not founded on the lands on which we saw them today.  Instead, they were moved here from East Texas after they failed due to draught, disease, flooding, and problematic relations with France.  The transition happened in 1731.  Amongst the four missions, Concepción carries the distinction of having one of the oldest stone churches in the US.  In fact, this is the oldest least restored stone church in America.

It’s true that these missions had a religious purpose … to convert the indigenous cultures to Christianity.  But they also “… instructed inhabitants to function as a European community.”  Was doing so right?  Well, that’s a debate that I am not going to get into here.  Combining the teachings of the native cultures — known collectively as Coahuiltecans — with those of the Spanish gave birth to the unique Tejano culture found in much of South Texas.

Mission Concepción — which we came upon by happenstance on Monday — was our first stop.  Having explored the grounds already, we focused on the interior this morning.  I had read that there were frescoes inside.  Yes, there were.  But not many.  Certainly, nothing was left of the brightly painted façade depicted in some of the representational photos.  We walked around inside  and then wrapped up with a quick walk through the exhibit space in the inter-connected rooms of what was once the convent.

After 15 years of construction, the church was dedicated in 1755.

The best preserved of the frescoes in the church is that of Christ
on the Cross (far left).  It is painted above the baptismal fount.

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo — less formally, Mission San José — is often described as the “Queen of the Missions.”  It is only 2.5 miles (4 km) from Concepción.  In fact, distances between each mission we visited was about the same.  A ranger-led tour was just getting started when we arrived.  We’ve always enjoyed these NPS tours and considered joining the group.  But with a long drive to Houston ahead of us, our sightseeing-pace was going to be faster than usual.  So we decided to skip it … as well as the self-guided cell-phone tour … for the same reason.

Founded in 1720, San José was a major social and cultural center.

“… in point of beauty, plan, and strength ... there is not a presidio ...
that can compare with it.”  Fr Morfi  - 1777

Going through the gate, we left the group behind and went directly to the church.  After studying the weathered carvings framing the rose window, we wandered over to the ruins of the convent for a few more exterior shots.  Then we went inside the church where the painted altar was the focal point.  Next, out we went through what I thought was the back door.  The highly-ornamented façade framing the door proved me wrong.  Signage had a representation of the once-painted exterior … it looked amazing.  One of the nearby exhibits described the meaning of the carvings and identified the statues of the saints … including Our Lady of Guadalupe … the manifestation of the Virgin Mary that is considered the patron saint of the Americas.

Left: In ruins now, the convent was two stories high and covered with painted plaster.

Right: The retablo inside the still-active church is made of Mexican red cedar.  It was restored and unveiled in 2011.  The color was selected by sampling the paint on the choir loft.

Left: The intricate carvings include symbols of Catholicism & Spanish culture.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is in a place of honor over the door.  She was “the
first new world saint, appearing to an Indian peasant as a native herself.”

Right: This small plot is what’s left of the mission cemetery.  Those who were buried in
the cemetery back in the day were moved elsewhere during the restoration work.

We wrapped up our visit with a quick visit to the grist mill outside the mission walls, visited the exhibits in some of the Indian Quarters, checked out the diorama of the mission installed in the granary, and peeked into one of the bastions from which the residents of the mission averted Apache and Comanche attacks.  Our final stop was the visitor center where we watched the 23-minute video that documents the missions and the people of the time … both indigenous and Spanish.

The grist mill was operated between 1794-1809 …  at a time when the people
living at the mission began eating more wheat than corn.

Built in 1755, it was in these two-room apartments that the
indigenous families entering the mission lived.

Logistically, next on the Mission Trail is Mission San Juan.  But the bridge crossing on the road was blocked off for construction, so we detoured around to the last mission.  On the way there, we stopped at a park to see an aqueduct that carries an acequia [watercourse].

The Franciscans and the indigenous population of Mission Espada dug a 15-mile (24 km) system of ditches to water the labores [fields].  Only here at Sixmile Creek did they have to construct an aqueduct to bridge a gap in the terrain to keep the water flowing to the fields.

Mission San Francisco de la Espada’s name translates as Saint Francis of the Sword. But that’s the name it was given after it was moved here in 1731.  Back in 1690, when it was first founded, it was named Mission San Francisco de los Texas.  I found the small, quaint church — originally built to serve as the sacristy — to be very photogenic.  After stopping for a photo op or two, we wandered the perimeter of the compound for a few more photo ops before continuing on our way.

Though there were plans in 1742 to add on to what was built two years before as a sacristy, the construction came to a halt when the master mason left.  The church we see today is a reconstruction that dates back to the 19th century … the façade and door are original.

The broken arch over the door is a builder’s mistake.  I think the unusual feature adds charm.

Where once stood Indian Quarters built into the perimeter wall back in the
1700’s, I find the ruins of a house from the period between 1821-1967.

While I was taking photos, Mui had found out from the NPS ranger about an alternate route to the mission we had skipped earlier because the road was closed … just hang a left when leaving Espada and follow the road to the signs.  We didn’t get far, though.  Spotting a picnic area, we parked the car to have a quick bite to eat.  The shelter is on the River Walk, which runs all the way from San Antonio.

We thought we’d have a nice view of the San Antonio River from our
picnic spot.  Well, we have a view of it ... but also of I-410 in the distance.

Mission San Juan Capistrano was named San Jose de Nazonis before it was moved here from West Texas.  The land on which it is situated was so fertile that it grew and supplied produce for the entire region.  A large number of sheep and cattle were raised here as well.  When we arrived, a group of school kids were leaving for a ranger-led tour of the fields.  If we didn’t have a 3-hour+ drive ahead of us, we might have stuck around to go see what they saw.  No time today, though.  We took our photos, walked around the perimeter where we came upon the ruins of a church that was never completed, and decided to call it a day.

The white-washed mission church was constructed somewhere around 1776 as a
temporary sanctuary.  It was partially built over the foundation of a granary.  To
the left is the church before the stone walls were plastered over in 1984.

The new church from the site of the the unfinished church that was begun in 1772.

I almost miss the Stations of the Cross along the wall … it pays to look down!

(For those interested in additional information, the National Park Service website for this park has brochures and the like.)

Back Home …

It wasn’t quite 2:00p when we left the missions behind and got on the road.  We settled into a comfortable drive.  Until we reached Katy.  By this time, rush hour was in full swing in both directions, made worse on our side of I-10 by an accident.  Then we exited onto the Sam Houston Tollway and things got worse for a while.  Long story short, we arrived at the campground around 5:30p.  Could have been worse, I suppose.  Around here, it doesn’t matter which direction you want to drive ... rush hour is bad, bad, bad everywhere.

Thus a terrific getaway to San Antonio has ended.  We should do more of these short trips when we are settled in one place for extended periods.  But we get lazy.  Plus, we always have things to catch up on … mostly travel planning in my case.  That we had a reason to go to San Antonio — a couple of them actually — helped to get us moving this time.  We’ll try to do better and at least do a couple of day trips here in Houston before we head west on our road trip.

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