Zebulon Montgomery Pike Trail to Red River, Mexico Journey 1807

Day 32: October 29th, 2003 San Antonio (Mission Trail)

Also today I have breakfast at Cracker Barrel. My driving distance yesterday was not too much, so I skip the gas station today. Instead I drive over to a Chevrolet dealer. Maybe they can help me with my broken speedometer. If I am lucky, I only need a new speedometer cable.

When I arrive there the employee explains to me that I have to leave my car there. They cannot start to look at my problem before the afternoon. This would screw up my whole plan for today. Therefore I ask, if I can just make the appointment now and return with my truck in the afternoon. After a little discussion he agrees and comes with me to my car. I tell him more precise about my issue and especially about the noise. Suddenly his eyes are getting big and he says that in nine out of ten cases this is the speedometer itself and the whole instrument cluster needs to be replaced, because you cannot just change the speedometer. If I want to, they can localize the problem, just to be sure. But that would cost $75 (seems to be the standard price for localizing problems), if I don’t let them do the repair. As I am not able to wait several days for a repair (the instrument cluster needs to be send in, which takes 3–4 days) there is no chance for me to let them repair my speedometer.

I thank him for this frank answer and leave without an appointment. They were really nice here. Another dealer might have charged the $75 to localize the problem and then have let me go without fixing it…

I know that the direct road to Mission Concepción is closed. Therefore I try to reach the detour directly. But somehow I miss the right crossing and end up somewhere in San Antonio. When I am hopelessly lost I decide to reach the next mission by directly following the degree direction of my GPS. And soon I am reaching my desired Mission Trail.

The next mission is Mission San José. Pike stayed here from June 7th to 13th in 1807. The monks treated him with a lot of hospitality. Even the Spaniards gave him a lot of freedom, so it was hard to tell that he was a prisoner in reality.

Mission San José, San Antonio, TX

Today the mission is well visited. Nevertheless I am able to get some nice shots without tourists in the picture. Like five years ago the long alley with all the archways fascinates me again. Back then there was a roof on top and the monks lived here.

Mission San José, San Antonio, TX

When reaching the outer walls I realize that there is another exhibition: An old mill has been restored. They are not yet finished with all their work, but you can already visit the mill. There is also a guide yet, who explains you how exactly this old mill works.

Mission San José, San Antonio, TX

Then I hike back to my car and continue along the Mission Trail. The signs are really good and with the assistance of my missions overview map, which you can get at any of the missions, it is fairly easy to follow the trails.

Mission Trail, San Antonio, TX

First you drive down to the river into Espada Park. After a short drive you have to cross the river. From a distance I can already see that the bridge is slightly under water. But the closer I get, the more clearer I can see that there are already a lot of tracks leading out of the river on the other side. Therefore it cannot be this bad and I give it a try. At the other side I already see someone turning around. Another one pulls to the side and waits to see, if I can make it safely across. Interestingly both have SUV’s, but obviously not much faith. The water is not running very fast across the bridge and therefore the crossing is extremely easy. But I am also driving very slow. After I have reached the other side safely, the other guy, who waited, also tries to cross the river.

Mission San Juan, San Antonio, TX

My next destination is Mission San Juan. There is still the padre living in one of these old buildings and you are asked to respect privacy. In the middle of the grass is a huge cross where a lot of cacti are growing around.

Espada Aqueduct, San Antonio, TX

Then I continue to Espada Aqueduct. This is the old irrigation channel, which is still functional.

The last destination of today is Mission San Francisco De La Espada

Mission San Francisco De La Espada, San Antonio, TX

This time I am able to visit the church. Five years ago there was a fire, which destroyed the whole roof structure. At that time the church was closed to public. In front of the church are currently a bunch of cats, which are extremely lazy. This makes my video taping of them very easy.

Finally I walk over to the Visitor Center. There I have a nice chat with an employee. After a while Robert showed up. Just before I arrived he left the visitor center with a reporter from Times to explain him the area. He is really well informed about history and he also knows Pike. He is the first one I met, who knows, that Pike was traveling through here in confinement. We still chat for a while until I walk back to my car around 5pm.

My stock of video tapes comes to an end. So I drive over to Wal–Mart to get some more. With this opportunity I also get a new pack of bottled water. It is now very warm again, which causes my water consumption to rise extremely.

At half past five I drive back to my motel. There I check the video taping of today. Then I drive over to my Outback Steakhouse in San Antonio for the last time. Around ten I pay and drive back to my motel.

Sights
Mission San José
Mission San Juan
Espada Aqueduct
Mission San Francisco De La Espada

General
Breakfast: Cracker Barrel, San Antonio
Dinner: Outback Steakhouse, San Antonio
Motel: Motel 6, San Antonio
Distance: 47 miles

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