More of God's great world.

25 January 10 - 1 February 10

Ally, sorry we missed you while we were in Mesa.

It seems my 'Buffalo Soldiers' question has been misinterpreted. So let me clear up all the controversy I have started - 'Buffalo Soldiers were black – were given the named by the Indians ---NO not the Cleveland Indians. The question is WHY were they called 'Buffalo Soldiers'?

Ruth Ann, I will answer your questions here next week – I need a little more time to work out all the details. They are something more than just you will want to know. I assumed the only people reading this would be from our little area of Ohio who knew what was happening and had seen our mode of travel.

With two moving days in the week there will not be as much to talk about. We went from Benson, AZ to Vado, NM and spent two nights there. While there we went into El Paso, TX and did some sightseeing although I didn't take any pictures as it drizzled the whole time. I did get Miriam down next to the Rio Grande and Mexico – within six or eight blocks, but she didn't want to get out of the car. I thought it would be the best place to have Mexican food for lunch, but it was not to be. We did have a Mexican lunch, though. As we traveled through West Texas – to quote Miriam – all we saw was “miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. Over the last week though I have been asked: “Are you a citizen?” twice at Border Patrol check points. The first time was after Obama's speech and I thought Texas might have staged a coup and I was in a foreign land. They let us continue so I guess four years and six months in the Air Force counts for something.

We arrived in San Antonio Friday afternoon. In our planning of what we could see we knew it would have to be close and not real expanded. The first thing that comes to mind in San Antonio if you were ever in the Air Force would be Lackland AFB, but I'm too old for that any more. So we did the next best thing – went to the Alamo. We figured Saturday shouldn't be to crowded – little did we know they had a parade of some kind in the area in the morning. The first half-hour wasn't too crowded , but after that it was wall to wall people. You will see what you can get for pictures even if you wait. With only half the day gone we went to the other four missions started about the same time as the Alamo which was also a mission. The other four are still functioning Catholic churches. The tour guide in one of them said they had six services every weekend to accommodate all of the parish. So much for the separation of Church and State – each of the four is maintained by the US National Park Service – our tax dollars, but the Archdiocese of San Antonio is responsible for the service. You can see in one picture the renovation taking place. There were painters working in the building and they let us in and told a little bit about what was happening. The colors are as close to the original colors used in 1869 – they found the date in one part of the colors around the dome. I guess we sometimes get lucky – last week the Railroad Business Car and this week the Mission Sanctuary.

Next week south Texas.

Pictures:
Old Paintings in the Chapel – Mission Concepcion
Front of Mission Concepcion
Newly painted dome of Mission Concepcion
The Alamo
West Texas – scrub and mountains for hours