Attractions and other places we visit.
We visited San Antonio Zoo for their holiday lights.
We arrived before dark, so there were still some animals awake:
A carousel:
We had some dinner:
Then wandered around some more:
Some holiday lights coming on as the sun set:
A band:
Artwork:
It was a fairly small zoo, not particularly impressive. Notable for opening the first cageless exhibits in the US. Though it looks like much of it hasn’t been updated recently.
We explored the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
We rode our bikes between the four missions, starting at Mission Concepcion in the north. Here’s the approximate route on an interactive map (we diverted from this a little; see the actual route in the video at the end):
Mission Concepcion:
Relief map:
This is still a functional church:
Riding on the river path:
Our next stop, Mission San Jose:
River:
Mission San Juan:
An art installation — Árbol de la Vida: Memorias y Voces de la Tierra:
Mission Espada:
Heading back along the river walk path:
Back at our truck:
Mission Concepcion:
A video of our riding route:
Since it’s Christmas Day, I wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 🎄
We went to SeaWorld in San Antonio to see the holiday lights. One doesn’t really think of the sea in connection with landlocked San Antonio, but there ya go.
We first checked out the sea lions:
Since we happened to be nearby when they were about to start a Sea lion show, we thought we’d check it out:
We sensibly sat outside the splash zone, aka deliberately spraying water jets zone:
So cute:
Snowmen:
A very Texan boot tree:
Plastic bottle tree:
Turtle:
Fish:
Ducks and flamingos:
Jenn:
Dinner:
Swag:
Lights:
Again we happened to be nearby when they were about to start a nativity show, as told by animal puppets, with some live animals, so we attended that too (way too loud):
Lights reflecting in the water:
A musical performance:
Lights:
A Sesame Street Christmas parade:
Then we headed to the Orca Encounter, for a little more animal exploitation… but they were keen to point out how many animals they’d rescued and otherwise helped:
Some videos of the orca:
More lights:
It was a fun evening.
We noticed a place called “Stonehenge II” on a map when looking for nearby attractions, and had to go take a look at it. We’ve been a couple of times to another Stonehenge replica, the Maryhill Stonehenge in Washington, just north of the Oregon border.
This one is in Ingram, Texas, a bit less than an hour south of the Pecan Valley RV Park (which is “nearby” in Texas terms):
Some murals in town:
We first stopped at Hunter House Cafe for brunch:
We’re in Texas, so of course I had to try grits:
Jenn had Huevos Rancheros:
Then we proceeded to Stonehenge II:
Plus a couple of Easter Island head replicas, for reasons:
It’s 90% the height and 60% the width of the original:
We visited Fort McKavett State Historic Site, a 150-year-old fort in West Texas, from the Texas-Indian Wars of 1850–1875, with a museum, some ruins, and several restored structures.
The visitor center and museum is in the restored hospital building:
Some museum exhibits:
Another angle of the hospital building:
Officer buildings:
A schoolhouse, that was used from 1874 to 1956:
Ruins of the commanding officers quarters:
Other officer quarters, restored:
Headquarters:
Barracks:
Ruins of barracks:
Officers quarters:
A “sink”:
The “Dead House” (morgue) behind the hospital:
Other side of the hospital:
A fascinating look at a slice of regional history.
South of Junction, Texas is the South Llano River State Park. We’ve got a Texas State Parks pass… so when driving around town, we decided to check it out:
Info sign:
The visitor center:
An electric & water-only campground (a bit too small for us, though we might have fit in some sites):
A major feature of the park is a wildlife refuge, including a turkey roosting area, where wild turkeys roost in the pecan trees overnight:
We didn’t see any turkeys, though did see one of the small deer:
At a river access point, an interesting idea: a box of trash bags:
The river:
Some subsidence:
The Pecan Valley RV Park is about 8 miles (12 minutes) west of Junction, Texas, the nearest city.
I thought that it might be interesting to post about towns we explore, in addition to travel days, RV parks, and attractions (please do let me know if this is actually interesting!).
So here are a selection of photos of Junction from a few visits there:
The Post Office:
The grocery store:
Grocery store:
A roadside attraction, the Deer Horn Tree, made of hundreds of deer antlers, in front of a processing shop:
When in Texas, of course we have to have BBQ:
Birds on electrical pylons:
Back to Pecan Valley RV Park:
We spent a day visiting Big Bend National Park in Texas, our last national park for the year, and our last new one until we visit Death Valley in March.
An interactive map of our route:
Entrance sign:
Persimmon Gap Visitor Center near the northern entrance:
We asked the ranger about picnic spots; he told us about a secret picnic spot that isn’t normally mentioned, since they don’t maintain it; a couple of shelters, but just one table. So we had a picnic lunch there:
Hazy mountains and views:
Panther Junction Visitor Center, which includes a post office:
You know I enjoy relief maps:
Gift store:
There’s even a gas station, very unusual for a national park:
Chisos Basin Visitor Center:
Window View Trail:
The Window:
Hole in a rock:
Castolon Visitor Center area:
Old barracks from 1919, that burned in 2019:
Moon over mountains:
A scenic drive.
In addition to the little star party at our RV park, we also attended a larger star party at McDonald Observatory in the mountains north of Fort Davis, Texas.
It was a little cloudy, and the moon was about halfway, neither of which made for ideal viewing, but it was fine for viewing bright objects like the moon and planets.
The evening started with an introduction and constellation tour in an outdoor amphitheater:
Then everyone lined up to view selected targets via some telescopes, including the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn:
We then headed to the visitor center, and looked at their exhibits:
And of course the gift store (though shockingly didn’t buy anything):
Back outside:
A different experience than the campground star party; not as personal, more waiting, but more clear views through the telescopes. I’m glad we did both.
A surprising hidden gem in Marathon is Gage Gardens, a 27-acre park tucked away across the railway tracks from the downtown shops.
Rose garden, dormant in winter:
Lots of grasshoppers:
A painted cow:
A delightful garden in a delightful town.