Oklahoma

Finally we are back out on the road to visit new states and places to see.  We made it to Oklahoma and so far have seen quite a lot just around where we are staying, despite all of the rain and flooding.

We are staying at the Lake Elmer Thomas Recreational Area (LETRA) on Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  It is one of the nicest RV parks we have stayed on yet.  It offers a 365 acre lake with water slides, beach swimming area, boat rentals, and an archery range with bow rentals.  There is also a 18 hole mini golf coarse along with a snack bar that opens up on Memorial Day weekend, except this year it will open late due to all of the rain and flooding in the area. 

The winds blow pretty good across the plains where we are, but so far we have not been blown over, so all is good.  There are tornado watches and warnings around our area a good bit too, but luckily we have not had any tornadoes yet and hopefully will not have any while we are here.

Avery, Courtney, Chloe, Ethan, Ian, and Tia at Elmer Thomas Lake at sunset.

I'm going to have to buy my OK fishing license so that I can fish the lake which holds bass, catfish, and crappie.  I would have already bought them and fished, but the weather has just been too bad.

We have caught some wildlife while here and hope to catch some fish before we leave.

A turtle we helped across the parking lot to the lake.  It only tried to bite me a couple of times.

The kids can not wait for the park to officially open so that they can swim at the beach and play on the water slide.  They did get to play in the sand some though.

Courtney, Avery, and Ian playing in the sand.

The beach at LETRA.

Avery, Ian, and Courtney still playing in the sand.

Ethan's sand castle.  Looks like all he has done is the moat.

Avery starting on a sand castle or just digging in the sand.

Tia's idea of a castle is sticking a stick in a pile of sand.

Courtney and Ian building a wall for their sand castle.

Some of the things to see while in Lawton, OK are the Wichita Mountain Wilderness area or Wildlife Refuge which butts up against Fort Sill.  

Across from Lake Elmer Thomas is Mt. Scott which is 2264 feet in elevation and gives you a 360 degree view of the area around it.  It is well worth the drive to its summit to feel the wind in your face and to take in the view it offers.

Looking at Mt. Scott from the RV park.

Tia, Chloe, Avery, Ethan, Courtney, and Ian on top of Mt. Scott with Lake Elmer Thomas in the background.

Lake Elmer Thomas viewed from Mt. Scott.

Playing around with the Pano option on my iPhone.  The kids could not move into position quick enough.

Since we have been in Oklahoma, it has rained more than not with lots of flooding.  I guess a lot of states are suffering from the rains and floods.  Our prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by it.  

The first night we arrived here the sunset was just beautiful.  I am a sucker for a good sunset.

Sunset on Lake Elmer Thomas.

Sunset on Lake Elmer Thomas starting to show its better colors.

About every evening the storm clouds start to roll in and the wind starts to blow.  The kids go to bed scared that we are going to get hit by a tornado, which is somewhat a possibility, but we trust in the Lord to keep us save and tell the kids to say their prayers to keep us safe.

Another storm rolling in.

The lake is not immune from flooding either.  Normally the black floating dock is a good six inches below the bank or sidewalk, but as you can see it is a good two feet above it with water covering the sidewalk.

Some of the flooding here at the lake.

The water is usually a good foot or more below the sidewalk here, but today it is over it.  You can also see how far the water came up by the debris line where the milk jug came to rest.

The lake's water level rising over the sidewalk with its debris line showing how much it has went down.

The best thing about being in Oklahoma is that fact that we can mark off another state visited, which has slowed down some in the past year.  We hope to get back on schedule of only staying in a state for thirty days rather than months, but you just never know.

I'm sure once we get further out west we may stay in some areas longer like when we visit the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.  That is the beauty of our lifestyle that we can stay in an area for as long as we want.

Once again we are blessed that we can live this way and that God watches over and guides us in our travels.  May He watch over you too and keep you safe from harm.

We would love it if you left a comment, followed our blog, and/or became friends with us on Facebook.  The links to do all of that are at the upper right of this blog.

Also if you are interested in Young Living Essential Oils or want to know how they can improve your life, please do not hesitate to ask.  We would be more than happy to do an Essential Oils 101 class for you and anyone you know on the benefits of the oils in your everyday life.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

States we have visited so far.

San Antonio Missions

While in San Antonio Texas we made sure to visit the missions that were so important in the development of the city itself and southern Texas by allowing the native population to be colonized.

In the early 1700's the missions were the only true defense against attacking Apaches, sickness, and drought.   All the native Indians had to do is agree to become citizens of Spain, support the king, and accept the Catholic beliefs as their religion.

Spain wanted to keep a foothold in the area especially with the French encroachments from Louisiana and missions were a way of doing that.  They were the most successful between 1745 and 1780 until increased Indian attacks, lack of sufficient military support, and disease caused their later decline.

The first mission on the San Antonio River was the Mission San Antonio de Valero or the Alamo as we know it today.  It is not part of the National Park's San Antonio Missions since it is owned by the state of Texas and managed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Tia, Courtney, Ethan, Misty, Avery, Don, Chloe, and Ian in front of the Alamo.

The next mission on the San Antonio river is the Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion.  It is considered the oldest unrestored stone church in America.

Avery, Ethan, Ian, Courtney, Tia, and Chloe at Mission Concepcion.

Mission Concepcion.

The sanctuary for Mission Concepcion.

One of the surviving interior wall paintings.

Another wall painting.

Mission Concepcion also had its own rock quarry which provided stones for its buildings and for portions of Mission San Jose.

Stone quarry for Mission Concepcion and portions of Mission San Jose.

The next mission on the river is the best known of the Texas missions, San Jose y San Miguel del Aguayo  or San Jose for short.  

Not only was it the biggest of all the San Antonio Missions, but was also considered to be a "model mission organization".  It was a major social center, had a unique church architecture, and had prospering fields and pastures.  This is why it was nicknamed, "Queen of the Missions."

Mission San Jose, the "Queen of the Missions."

Mission San Jose.

The below Rosa's Window or Rose Window shows off the Spanish artisans' high level of skill when it came to fine details in their building techniques.

Another view of Mission San Jose to include the Rose Window located in the middle.

Ethan, Chloe, Avery, Courtney, Ian, and Tia in front of the Rose Window.

Mission San Jose's sanctuary.

The grist mill, that was built late in the mission period, never did grind corn, but only wheat since the mission Indians had grown so accustomed to foods made from wheat and not corn.

Grist mill at Mission San Jose.

Back side entrance to the grist mill at Mission San Jose.

San Jose also had a much larger wall which included bastions with firing ports to let it be easily defended.  This gave the defenders of the mission a better perspective when firing at any attackers.

The kids looking into a firing port at one of the bastions at Mission San Jose.

Looking out one of the firing ports on a bastion at Mission San Jose.

The next mission south on the river is Mission San Juan Capistrano which was originally named San Jose de los Nazonis when in East Texas, but was renamed when moved to the San Antonio River in 1731.

Ian, Avery, Ethan, Courtney, Chloe, and Tia at Mission San Juan.

Mission San Juan.

The sanctuary at Mission San Juan.

All of the missions, except for the Alamo, still hold Catholic services on Saturday and Sundays.  At Mission San Juan the priest still lives in one of the original buildings on the mission grounds.

Private residence for the priest at Mission San Juan.

Some of the remaining walls still standing at Mission San Juan.

Once of the entry ways into Mission San Juan.

The best attraction, according to the kids, at Mission San Juan was the cat sunning on a window ledge.  You can see Ethan's concern when the cat arched its back to stretch.  He is such a silly boy!

The kids favorite attraction at Mission San Juan.

The last of the San Antonio Missions is also the oldest one which was founded in 1690 in East Texas and then moved on to the San Antonio River in 1731.

It was originally named San Francisco de los Tejas but renamed San Francisco de la Espada.

Courtney, Ethan, Avery, Ian, Chloe, and Tia at Mission Espada.

While we were visiting this mission the kids completed their Junior Park Ranger books and earned their badges which we will use as a good example of something learned of our field trips while homeschooling.

Chloe, Tia, Courtney, Ethan, Avery, and Ian taking the Junior Park Ranger pledge.

And to the victors go the spoils or at least the Junior Park Ranger badge.

After all of that excitement we toured the mission and then walked the Riverwalk from it to Mission San Juan which is a good three miles up river.

Church at Mission Espada.

Church sanctuary at Mission Espada.

Some of the fortifications on the back side of Mission Espada.

After we explored the mission then we set out to walk to the Espada Aqueduct which is two centuries old and still works to provide water to the acequia madre (mother ditch) that farms still use to this day.  It is considered the oldest Spanish aqueduct in the United States.

Arches for the two centuries old Espada Aqueduct.

Water being held in the aqueduct.

Another view of the still working aqueduct for Mission Espada.

Even though the next picture is in the fields of Mission San Juan, you can see how an aqueduct directs water to the crops.

Gates to control the water flow to the fields.

The water outlet to one of the fields at Mission San Juan.

After looking at the aqueducts we finished our walk back up to Mission San Juan and back around to Mission Espada.  Needless to say we were a little tired and sore after walking the six plus miles.

We had a backpack with water, apples, oranges, trail mix, and Peeps left over from Easter.  We decided that we would save the Peeps for the last treat once we were about a mile out in our journey to give the kids that little extra jolt of energy to finish the hike.  We did not want to give it to them too early just to have them burn out with some distance still to walk.

The Riverwalk next to Mission Espada.

Walking on the Riverwalk on the east side of the San Antonio River.

Misty, Chloe, and Don on the Riverwalk between Mission Espada and Mission San Juan. 

A view of the San Antonio River near Mission Espada from the Riverwalk.

Another part of the Riverwalk near Mission Espada.

The kids getting some water at one of the many water fountains on this portion of the Riverwalk.

The path off of the Riverwalk to the Espada Aqueduct.

Some old mill ruins on the Riverwalk from a long lost community.

I wish I could post all of the pictures we took while touring the Missions of San Antonio and strolling along the Riverwalk, but time just does not permit it.

If you are ever in San Antonio, Texas, you have to visit the mission trail and see them all for yourself.  It is well worth the trip!

If you like our blog then please comment below and sign up to follow us.  You can also become our friends on Facebook using the links on the upper right of this blog.

We hope you enjoyed our little view of our mission tours and do hope you make it here one day to do the same.

Once again we are so blessed by God that we can see such wonderful sights as we travel across America.

God bless and Thanks!

Don, Misty, and Kids...

States we have visited so far.