Texas - Goliad

We went shopping in Goliad and ventured to the historic district.  There is a courthouse square with historic buildings on four sides.

courthouse





restaurant and antique store

lawyer's office


When the Alamo was under siege in San Antonio word was spread for reinforcements.  James Walker Fannin had men nine miles from Goliad but were unable to provide support to the Alamo.  Upon the loss of the Alamo, Santa Ana sent General Urrea to intercept Fannin.  As Fannin and his men were trying to get back to the United States they were overrun by Urrea and formed a square and prepared to repel the Mexicans. 


the battleground

 

the monument erected at the Fannin Battleground

bandstand built as part of the memorial

Gin Horse Power Screw placed here in 1894 to mark the battleground

 Fannin and his men were taken to the Presidio and held in the church.  Word came from Santa Ana that no quarter was to be given and 342 men were taken out and executed, some mass buried and burnt, some left on the ground.  This memorial is to all of the men who fought with Fannin and it is also their burial place.



the 'Angel of Goliad' who was instrumental in saving some of the prisoners

Texas is a very large state and history abounds.  We are glad to share in the knowledge.

Texas - Goliad State Park

The morning of the 27th saw us headed west towards Goliad.  Before we left I was lucky enough to watch a group of Meadowlarks grazing across from the rv.

I haven't seen these birds since I was young but I do remember their song.

Last year we stayed at Goliad State Park from the 23rd to 27th of December but this year the main campground is full and we are finding ourselves along with others in the overflow camping area.  This is the first time this year that it has happened to us so we have been lucky.  There are a lot of people on the move with school and university holidays and also Winter Texans heading to the coast.

On the grounds of Goliad State Park is the Mission Espiritu  Santo.  It was founded by Franciscan Monks to bring Christianity to the natives.  They also developed a trade school consisting of looms, forges, clay works and carpentry.

the gray areas are some of the original walls

no pews, people knelt or sat on the floor

the font

The mission was abandoned and fell into ruin.  Anyone who wanted stones could go and take them.  In 1931 the Civilian Corp of Engineers lent their skills to the restoration of the Chapel, granary, school and surrounding walls.  Other foundations are left in situ but not fully restored.

Goliad is on the Texas Independence Trail and this area played a crucial role in Texas gaining its dependence from Mexico.

The Presidio La Bahia or The Bay Fort is an example of a Spanish frontier fort.  The first declaration of Texas Independence was declared at the Presidio on December 20, 1835.  The Presidio was restored in the 1960's.


part of one wall with cannon placements and the chapel in the corner



gates to the fort



inside the entrance of the Presidio

 

guard tower and lookout

Our Lady of Loreto Chapel is the oldest building in the compound to see continuous use since the 1700's.  The church still has Sunday services.



the original chapel bell

The Presidio compound is a self sustaining private institution operated under the administration of the Catholic Diocese of Victoria, Texas.



Texas - December 25, 2012

Christmas day 2012 finds us once again in Texas and enjoying the warmer weather.  We are having a mixed bag this morning, wind, cloud, humidity, sun and at times clear skies.  

Turkey with all the trimmings is the order of the day today.  That is one thing I miss about fall in Alberta - the turkey suppers!

It is very quiet in this park.  A lot of people have left their units and gone home for the holidays and will sometime, I'm sure return.



Lake Texana is a large lake but with the rainfall is not down by much

 



our rig across the water



Texas - Merry Christmas

From Brazos Bend State Park we ventured to the little town of Blessing.  Unfortunately this little town is in need of a few blessings.  Some businesses are closed and others are trying to upgrade their facilities but the overall residential district was very depressed.
We stayed two nights, got the laundry done, took a car trip to Matagorda Bay on the coast, ate Gumbo at a local eatery in Palacios, shopped for some groceries and just generally gadded about.

December 23, found us making our way to Brackenridge RV Resort on Lake Texana.  Lake Texana State Park no longer exists and has been given over to the same authority that runs Brackenridge RV Resort.  We will stay here until after Christmas and Boxing Day.

It is truly amazing the number of people with families that choose to camp during the holiday season.  But then again the day time temps are in the 70's and the night time temps have been 60F+.  It is very high humidity and that is bringing on a thunder storm in a day or two.

Tomorrow we will cook our turkey and have it with all the trimmings and enjoy every bite. 

Texas - Brazos Bend St. Pk.- Creekfield Lake Nature Walk

Today we went exploring and took the Creekfield Lake nature trail and were pleasantly surprised by all the bird life near and on this lake.

The nature trail goes completely around this lake and we were fortunate at the start of the trail to glimpse an alligator showing his snout and eyes.

We were even more fortunate to see four alligators on our walk.  The weather is warm and they are starting to come out of hibernation.

When you are looking out at the lake these alligators are hard to spot!

There were several water fowl.  We knew the names of some but some were completely new to us.

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks

Cattle Egrets on the rail and Coots in the water



Moorhens



Lots and lots of turtles were sunning themselves on logs and branches.  The most common turtle in this area is the Red Eared Slider and we saw little ones, medium ones and quite large ones.

We also saw a Great Egret, a Wurdemann's Egret, several Cattle Egrets as well as a Glossy Ibis and a few White Ibis.



Wurdemann's Egret



Great Egret



Cattle Egret



Glossy Ibis





White Ibis

There are several birds chirping in the trees that we don't see but you can't miss the black lumps roosting.



this guy was on the railing and we got within ten feet of him before he flew off


These vultures might look ungainly on the ground but in the air they are graceful as they soar on the wind currents.
There are other, very noisy black birds in the park which we have back in Alberta - the ever noisy crow!

Along the edges of the lake, in the marshy areas cypress trees grow.  Rising vertical from their roots are Cypress Knees.  Nobody understands why they grow, just that they do.  Later the Cypress Knees will actually lend support to the main tree.

As we were walking over to the nature centre I couldn't resist taking a picture of this huge Live Oak tree with Clark underneath it.  He is definitely dwarfed.

And speaking of the nature center, I was able to hold a baby alligator that had been hatched in August.  There are no distinct characteristics telling male and female alligators apart.  The placement of the eggs in the nest determines sex.  As alligators grow the males do get larger than the females.

One thing about warmth and humidity, there are lots of bugs.  We have several lady bugs attached to our screens, spiders, large and small everywhere, lots of no-see-ums and other bugs that have bitten us but we don't know what they are.