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Text
and Photos by Sam Fenstermacher
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Dear
Texas Escapes,
Several years ago my wife and I spent a long weekend in
San Antonio. We did all the popular things there
are to do in San Antonio. The Alamo,
River Walk, Botanic Gardens, etc. On Sunday morning we got up early and checked
out of the hotel intending to spend a day drifting around in the Hill
Country. The one last thing we wanted to do was take a quick look at the "Other"
Missions. You know, the ones they don't talk about in the travel brochures. |
| Mission
Concepcion Church |
| Mission
Concepcion. Church interior |
| At about
9:00 AM we found ourselves at the front door of the church at Mission Concepcion.
The National Park Service ranger had assured us the building was unlocked so we
opened the door and walked in. What we found was the church congregation preparing
for Sunday services. A very kind woman assured us we were welcome to stay and
look around for a few minutes before church services started. All the San Antonio
Missions are still active churches. |
| Mission
Espada. Scanned from a brown-tone black and white print. |
| Mission
Espada. Picture taken in late afternoon. |
| Mission
Espada. Picture taken in late afternoon. Accent is on broken arch of door
and cross with strong shadow. |
| In
November of 2002 we returned to San Antonio to
spend two days dedicated to seeing the other missions. The images here are from
that trip. I'm going to resist the temptation to tell you anything about the missions.
They are well documented. I will tell you that I was impressed with the history
of this holy place. These have to be the oldest active churches
in the state. |
| Mission
San Jose. Church interior and dome |
| Mission
San Juan. Church interior | |
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