We're Off! Goliad State Park

All Shiny and Ready to Go!

Roger here... We are embarking on our first extended trip since our adventures in the Canadian Rockies!  (This does not include the weeks of celebration in California during our daughter and son-in-law's wedding.)  This time we will be headed east to Florida, then north to New England, then west to Indiana, then north to Wisconsin and Minnesota, then the long trek home to south Texas.  There will be many interesting stops along the way as we visit with family and friends.  Our adventures will last for four months in our new "teensy-weensie trailer" --- her official name.  (Dianne here:  Right before we left, we applied some "Bug-X" to the front of both trailer and car, after hearing it was love bug season in Florida.  That will make it easy to remove the varmints when and if we drive through them).

Our last sunset from Mission TX --- for a while.

Our first stop will be at Goliad State Park.  This historic park is in an iconic area of Texas.  It was both bloody and inspirational, as you will see.

During the four + hour drive, Poquita was entrenched on Dianne's lap.  She gave her lots of lovin' along the way.  Bandido had his own adult seat behind me where he could look out the window.

We will arrive at our campsite soon, but first Dianne has a new continuing feature.  We are calling it --- Dianne's Teensy-Weensie Trailer Tips.  She will continue to post snippets on our blog as long as there is interesting and viable information.  OK, Dianne, the blog is yours :-).

Dianne here:   I had lots of fun organizing our "teensie-weensy" trailer.   One of the first things I found on Amazon was this wall-mounted (stick-on) paper towel holder with upper shelf.   We use the shelf for k-cups for our tiny coffee maker (future "tip").   

Our Campsite....

Dianne snapped a picture of the paddle cactus growing on a dead tree trunk.  Since this park is surrounded  by the San Antonio River, I suspect that the cactus on the floor of the area reproduced in the trees, either via flooding or birds.  It brings to mind a quote from the movie, Jurassic Park --- "life will find a way."

The gigantic campsites in this Texas state park are amazing.  We had a 30/50 amp full-hook-up site.  The site was spacious and quiet.  Dianne was able to utilize her outdoor kitchen (instant pot and George Foreman grill on a roll-out aluminum table) to prepare delicious and healthy meals.  We found space on the outside table for a portable ice maker to keep our drinks cold.  Life is good.

Our first evening meal was Aztec chicken salad a la Dianne.  It did not take long to scarf it down.  So good!  (Dianne here:  I planned "travel day" meals so that we would not need to set up our outside kitchen on travel days.)

The weather was perfect for enjoying a glass (or two) of Bob and Lindas' homemade wine.  We have such good friends!







Mission #1  Espiritu Santo de Zuniga  ...

After a night of quiet relaxation, we had an entire day to explore this center of Texas history.  All of it was accessible by walking trails --- both inside and outside the state park.  Oh, and almost everything was dog friendly. Our first stop was the Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga on the park grounds.  This particular site was not dog friendly so Dianne and I took turns exploring the mission and the grounds.

This is a classic southwest Catholic mission.  The white stucco entrance was enhanced by ornate designs and sculpture.

The small room to the left of the entrance was filled with candles and a font with what I presume to be holy water.

The sanctuary was beautiful and classic.

After exploring the sanctuary I exited a side door to explore the walled grounds.  I wondered who lived in the small cubicles behind what were clearly fortifications.  The back entrance of the church looked somewhat menacing.  The skull and crossbones carving over the door was meant to send some kind of message.  What was it?  Maybe someone knows.  I often wonder about the evolution of religion.  The preachings that I accepted growing up were of love, mutual respect and kindness.  The darker images that are often found in old churches do not always mesh with those beliefs in my mind.

We were intrigued by the stone-stacked walls, reconstructed by the Army Corps of Engineers that surrounded the property.  Dianne found an archaeological  display that I missed when I walked through that explained the stonework and colors: 

Downtown Goliad....

From the mission we embarked on a nice hike on a paved trail near the San Antonio River.  The nearby town of Goliad was our destination.  We love walking in the woods, and so do our dogs.

The centerpiece of Goliad is the courthouse.  Texas is known for ornate and architecturally well-designed court houses.  Dianne liked the wind vane at the apex.  She also liked the live oak trees that accented the town square.

The town itself consisted of a square of businesses in authentic buildings.  Walking around we found shops --- Dianne bought an apron.  

We found lunch at the Blue Quail --- cream of jalapeño soup.  (Thanks, Lynn and Stuart for the tip.   It's great to live in an RV community where our friends and neighbors also travel and have recommendations -- D.)

We found ICE CREAM!  We both cheated on our diets and had milkshakes.  This is not really a touristy place even though there are tourists.  The people in the businesses are local, genuine and friendly.  We liked it.

Mission #2 ... The Presidio La Bahia and the Loreto Chapel....

It was time to walk off the ice cream.  We retraced our steps on the "Angel of Goliad" trail.  The trail continued through and past the state park.  We crossed the San Antonio River and arrived at an impressive historical compound.  The Presidio La Bahia and the Loreto Chapel were both surrounded by imposing fortifications.

It was probably a good idea to steer clear of this rifle hole.... as well as the cannon shown below.

I have visited several old fortifications that were constructed to repel invaders.  Many of those were never challenged.  That was not the case here.  This was the scene of brutal battles.  The worst, and most famous, involved the massacre of 342 Texans by General Santa Ana by the forces of Mexico.  

The flags of nine different countries flew over the Presidio, beginning with Spain, then France, and ending with the United States.

The inside of the museum displayed relics from the past.  A fifteen minute video documented all the events that took place at the Presidio La Bahia.   BTW,  our dogs were actually welcomed into the museum and the Presidio.  

After spending some time inside the museum we wandered around inside the fortress.  
The ramp in the photo led to the same battlement and cannon that we had viewed from the outside.

Painted Sculpture at the entrance of the Loreto Chapel

We found the same dichotomy of darkness and love  in the Presidio La Bahia that we observed in our morning visit to the Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga in the state park.  The difference was the intensity of the bloody battles and brutal massacres that occurred on this site seemed to make the beauty of the Loreto Chapel even more compelling.

The sanctuary of this active Catholic Church was so calming and spiritual.  The painting behind the alter was inspirational.

The view below from one of the battlements of the Presidio La Bahia gave a great view of our hiking for the day.  The courthouse at Goliad was prominent in the distance.  Much of the space in between included Mission Espiritu Santo De Zuniga and Goliad State Park.

Our day started at our RV spot at Goliad State Park.  We walked a short distance to Espiritu Santo De Zuniga.  We then hiked to Goliad.  We retraced our steps back to the state park and beyond to the Presidio La Bahia.  We returned to our RV site via a state park road.  In all we walked 6.8 miles.  It was a great day.


(Dianne again:   During our hike back to the camp site, we passed under an overpass and found dozens and dozens of barn swallow nests.  The birds were zipping all around us.   This answered our question of why there were no mosquitos here!  The video shows only about one-fourth of the nests that we saw.):

After two nights at Goliad we drove to Weimer, TX (west of Houston) for an overnight stay.  Tomorrow (Saturday), we will drive through Houston and on to Abbeville, Louisiana.  We will be spending three nights there, enjoying Cajun country.

Pet Picture of the Day...

My little Tweetie-Pie -- D.