May 20, 2013 by Rae

Digging Up the Cache

I was invited to dinner at Charles and Caroline’s last night, with Charles telling me to use my imagination to come up with something to bring. My imagination came up with these incredibly delicious garlic/butter/sour cream/parmesan cheese/oregano biscuits. Thank you imagination!

I headed over around 4:00 in time to dig up the cache. C&C had put tons of root vegetables into tubs and buried them for the winter. The plan was to have these veggies for dinner. The tubs they had dug up in April were great, but the ones last night were a little disappointing. The ground had warmed up, so the veggies had started to rot. The carrots were a lost cause, but the parsnips, huge beets, and few potatoes were in good shape.

Caroline set to work washing off the veggies at the outdoor sink while Charles, Laura, and I moved some plants into their stable. Then Laura asked me if I wanted something that was about to rot in her yard and which would need a little TLC. The three of us went across the street so I could check the thing out and it was exactly what I was looking for as the first piece of yard furniture. So we got it on a dolly and trundled it down here:

YAY! 🙂 I wanted a nice big sturdy table to use as my laundry station. The boards on one side have come loose, but that’s okay because that will let me stand on the long side and I would have likely removed them anyway. The table needs major cleaning, wire brushing, stripping, and refinishing. Another project!

Charles then confirmed my property limits. OMG, this place is HUGE. 🙂 I don’t know how we got on the subject, but I mentioned that I was hoping to find more pallets and he pointed to the place next door, owned by the disagreeable man, and told me to help myself to all the pallets on the property. The guy is giving them away and had told Charles spread the word around. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with them, besides make a bigger porch but they are oak, so they will come in handy. So today’s projects are to go to C&C’s to borrow a wheelbarrow and shovel, rake more leaves, and then start hauling pallets. And at some point, do some paid work, too, although my projects aren’t pressing and I’ve earned a day away from the computer…

We headed back down to C&C’s and Caroline let Laura and me help her prepare the veggies, then we were banished to the porch with beer. Charles and I got talking about water and he said that between myself, him, and Laura, there is enough hose to go from one of the public taps to my rig. He’s going to have the town turn on one of these taps until I can get my own. It’s not as convenient as having one on site, of course, but it’ll save me a little money to start, especially since I’ll have to pay the water bill.

The dinner bell rang and we went in to enjoy a wonderful meal: fresh asparagus from the garden in lemon pepper butter sauce, salad with biscuits, roast chicken with mashed potatoes, parsnips, beets, stuffing, and gravy. And tons of white zinfandel. YUM.

We were just finishing up when other neighbours, um, let’s call them Isaiah and Grace, came over and we all got along like a house on fire (what an odd expression). Isaiah is Laura’s former son-in-law and a farmer whose life could be a comic strip, the way he expresses his woes being so hilarious.

The subject of my utilities came up and he asked me why I’m planning to go dump in Assiniboia when the ‘lagoon’ is just a mile away. Lagoon? As it turns out, the holding tank pump out truck empties the contents into a pit about a mile from here. Not accessible with an RV, but no problem with a truck. I can just dump into a bucket once a week and go dump it out there instead of paying for the service. Sounds crazy, but simple!

I found out heaps more history about my property. As it turns out, there used to be a town garage and it was on my lot! After that, the lot was used for parties around bonfires, and then went quiet, looking for someone to take care of it.

Isaiah’s father might have a grainery for me. Now that I know the real size of my lot, I am very excited about putting one of these 14’x12′ structures on my lot. They are made of fir, which doesn’t rot, and people put a tin roof and some siding on them. They are tall, so adding a loft inside is very feasible. The plan would be to get it here this year, make it weather proof next year, and then slowly convert the interior into a cozy bunkhouse/shed/work shop. I would get it wired for electricity so that I could have the option of putting a washer and dryer in it at some point. This falls right in line with my plans for the property, except I couldn’t imagine being able to afford such a construction for several years. I’m looking at about $600 to get it here and make it weather proof, versus paying $1,500 just to build a frame from scratch for a building that size.

After a couple more bottles of wine, we all went back into the house for Laura’s apple pie with some ice cream. And then the wine hit all of us and the lateness of the hour began to make itself felt. I walked home with Isaiah and Grace, who live a few doors down, on the other side of the church, carrying home the following:

-pin cherry jelly and apple sauce (from Laura)

-garlic and green onions (from C&C)

All good stuff grown locally. Mmm!

Here’s a rough sketch of the village, to help situate you all a little. It’s about a mile wide, to give you a sense of scale. The top of the map is south.

Legend

Arrow=road towards the petroglyphs

P=post office (that road continues to the west, winding and wending through the hills, to join highway 2)

I=Isaiah and Grace’s house

+=church and the symbol behind it is a headstone for the cemetery (probably a half mile behind it)

E=easterly non-sociable neighbour

M=me

D=disagreeable westerly neighbour

L=Laura’s house

C=Charles and Caroline’s house (the road continues eastward as gravel towards the town of Willow Bunch)

A=the apartment building

S=the swimming hole

I didn’t put the community hall on this, but it’s between the church and the cemetery. I will update this map as if I get more landmarks, but this should help for now.

April 11, 2013 by Rae

Out and About Around Dallas

Ms. Cinnamon had the afternoon off, so we set off on a mini road trip. The weather was gorgeous and there wasn’t anything else I particularly wanted to see, so she just drove.

We headed out first to the Ray Hubbard reservoir area, where her son’s family lives. It’s a giant man-made lake used for recreation. The communities along the shore appeal to young upwardly mobile families.

Next, we drove the President George Bush Turnpike. Even a quick query on my phone didn’t satisfactorily answer how the toll structure works, although it is clear that your license plate is photographed and you get a bill in the mail.

We then stopped at her son-in-law’s recycling business, where I learned quite a bit about how recycling works and got a tour of the facility. The baler is really cool! I do find stuff like this fascinating, so this was absolutely a highlight of the day, with no sarcasm! He collects all sorts of things and showed off some small thick plastic bags of which he had dozens of boxes on a pallet. I mused that they would be great for scooping the litter box and I suddenly found myself the owner of a full 1,000 count box! I scoop two to three times a day, so that’s a year’s supply!

The visit done, Ms. Cinnamon took me to the Urban Reserve neighbourhood, filled with modern sustainable homes. It’s a lovely project, but those homes are just not my style.

Finally, she took me to another neighbourhood to show off a house she loves and we passed the very ornate Dallas Buddhist Center.

It was a lovely afternoon. I love getting chauffeured around!

: My babies enjoying the sun this morning.

: Ray Hubbard reservoir.

: Driving westward toward the reservoir.

: Marina where folks can anchor their boats to go shop or see a movie.

: Driving on the President George Bush Turnpike. It’s in good shape!

: Defunct toll booths.

: H.W., not Dubya.

: Just driving over an overpass.

: Dallas is very beautiful; lots of green spaces.

: The Dallas Buddhist Center.

: The building is very ornate.

: I believe that writing is Thai.

: Urban Reserve neighbourhood with modern houses; not my cup of tea.

: The see-through house. WTF? Who wants to live in a see-through house?!

: The neighbourhood is very verdant.

: I like the spiral staircase on this one.

: One house is called the X-acto house.

: My haul of bags.

: That’s a lot of bags! But I have plenty of space to store them!

March 25, 2013 by Rae

Downtown San Antonio, Including the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Mercado

The day was very slow to warm and I didn’t think I was going to end up going into San Antonio. We final hit double digits Celsius near noon and I decided to head out, wearing sandals, but also long thick leggings under my skirt and a long-sleeved top, and I stuffed my heaviest wool pashmina into my purse at the last minute. I wound up being very grateful for that shawl as I wore it all afternoon. It was warm in the sun, but absolutely freezing in shaded areas.

Teri, my host here at Hidden Valley had given me a detailed map with how to get to $5 a day parking downtown. I gave the map a glance before leaving and only noted the exit name… not that I had to get off I-35 and take I-10 to I-37, from which I would take said exit. So I wound up driving straight through town and had to double back! But once I was downtown, the parking lot was easy to find. It is at the corner of Bowie and Crockett, kitty corner from the giant mall.

First stop of the day was the Alamo! WOW! I can’t believe I’ve finally been to the Alamo!!! Wow! 😀

A number of people told me that I would be disappointed, but disappointment is all about expectations. No expectations, no disappointment. From a purely pragmatic point of view, I could understand how someone who is only moderately interested in the Alamo might not get much out of the site. There is a very long line to get into the shrine, an even longer line in the shrine snaking through the sparse exhibits, and there is no photography permitted.

But if you know the history, you can close your eyes and hear the rifles and cannons and death gurgles of men drowning in their own blood. In the room where women and children sought refuge, you can hear their muffled cries of terror. Standing within the halls of this former mission, I could understand how it has become a symbol of Texan independence.

The exhibits are wonderful for a history buff; lots of old documents and maps with a few artifacts, like a book belonging to Bowie and a rifle belonging to Crockett.

Attached to the Alamo shrine, there is a museum (again, no pictures). You can also see a movie, but the line for that was really, really long and I was ready for lunch.

The Alamo (which means cottonwood) is free to visit. You can pay $6 for an audio tour, but I opted out.

My thirst for living history slaked, it was time to find some lunch. I had done my research and headed to Sushi Zushi on the corner of St Mary’s and Commerce. Don’t give me that look! I haven’t had sushi since the beginning of January!!!!!!

From the restaurant, I was able to head down into the famous Riverwalk, where it was really cold along the water. What a beautiful area! I did the entire main loop and a little of the newer branch that heads north.

After, I headed across town to the marketplace to see the Mercado, colloquially known as ‘the Mexican flea market.’ If you want to get a sense of what it’s like to shop in a Mexican border town without having a bunch of shopkeepers hassle you, you have to check out this place. I was underwhelmed by the same tchotchkes that I saw in Nuevo Progreso and Tijuana.

That was the end of my day. Public transportation is super cheap in San Antonio, but the city is very walkable and compact, so I ended up hoofing my way back to the truck, enjoying the exercise and sunshine.

Gotta remember where I’m parked. 😉 There’s a giant mall right downtown and I was across from it.

Looking down Crockett.

Lots of lampposts right in the middle of the sidewalk. Odd.

Made it to Alamo Plaza

This is the iconic façade of the church that is now the Alamo shrine.

A very long line, but it moved quickly enough.

Lots of rules in the shrine. Men have to take off their hats, no pictures, no talking loudly, etc.

Gardens outside the shrine.

Exquisite sculpting on the shrine doors.

Closeup of the sculpting details.

Rear exit.

Entrance to the gift shop.

Wall, still in the Alamo Plaza.

Exit of the museum in the long barracks.

I just came around the shrine.

This is a post office and something else, probably a courthouse. I had to go through a metal detector and put my purse through an X-ray machine to get in.

Alamo Plaza reminded me of Hollywood, with a lot of crappy attractions long its edge, like a Madame Tussaud’s and a Ripley’s Odditorium.

First view of the Riverwalk (from above).

Sushi Zushi. Yum! I left the best (octopus) for last and the server thought I was done and tried to take it from me. I almost slapped her hand. 🙂

Right at the restaurant, a wheelchair snakes down to the water.

The river is very green.

Lots of ducks around.

I saw a few of these mosaics telling the history of the area.

Lots of low lying bridges.

No rails; watch your step! I’d be careful about getting drunk here!

Water feature.

This stucco building looks like something out of a faery tale!

So pretty!

So does this cute bridge!

The architecture in San Antonio is mostly beautiful.

Exquisite.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard debating taking a plunge.

Ooh! Ice cream! Never mind that I’m freezing!

I love bridge columns like these.

Expensive, but sooooo delicious!

No architectural details are neglected.

Again, don’t walk here drunk!

Even neglected, this building is beautiful.

I understand why San Antonians love their Riverwalk so much.

This reminded me of Alcatraz.

I’m along the new, wilder, north spur.

Market place.

Another pretty building.

Exterior of the Mercado.

Exterior of the mercado.

Interior of the Mercado.

This tower sure sticks out!

March 23, 2013 by Rae

Mission San José and Mission Concepción, San Antonio

The gals I had lunch with on Thursday strongly suggested I start my tour of the area with a visit to at least one of the missions near San Antonio so as to get a better idea of the historical context of the Alamo.

I was going going to go out today, having woken up to super overcast and coldish conditions, but the sky was clear by noon and I was itching to get outside.

I started with Mission San José because it is the best restored and it has a visitors’ centre, guided tours, and a movie (all free, including parking!). From there, I went to Mission Concepción because it is the best preserved. There were a few others to see, but I did not feel compelled to tour them.

Briefly, the Missions were established by Spanish Franciscan friars in the 18th century as settlements to teach the south Texas Indians how to be Spanish citizens. This was how Spain established its presence in the area. If it couldn’t populate it with real Spaniards, then it would create new Spaniards.

The Indian tribes were being attacked from the north by Comanches, Apaches, and other plains nations who had horses. From the south came a wave of European illnesses. The south Texans accepted their bitter fate and that sometimes the only way to survive is to surrender. They went to live in the missions and learned the Spanish way of life, the language, and the religion, Roman Catholicism.

The missions were eventually secularized and turned over to their inhabitants. Some fell to the wayside and others, like the Alamo, were used by the military.

The architecture of the missions was exquisite! I’m glad I watched the movie, Gente de razon (literally, people of reason, but actually human beings), which talks about the fate of the Indians and how they live on as the Tejano people.

The missions of San Antonio were churches, farms, villages, ranches, and schools.

Mission San José visitors’ centre.

I wonder how old this tree is.

First glimpse of Mission San José.

All the missions have four of these round rooms at each corner. There were canons on the bottom and riflemen at the top.

Indian quarters.

Inside the round defense room.

Ceiling.

80 people would have to share one oven like this. 8 to 10 people would live two rooms in the Indian quarters.

This is the only original part of the structure. Most of the walls were dismantled during secularization in the early 1800s, with the walls used to build home.

The Franciscans lived in this area.

The bell tower was destroyed, rebuilt, struck down by God (well, lightening), and then rebuilt a third time. The window under construction is called the rose window and is very famous and popular with romantics.

Inside of the rose window.

This magnificent chapel is still used today.

These are authentic period colours. The entire exterior of the church would have been painted in colours like these.

The sculpture around the door tells the story of the Roman Catholic faith and its virtues.

Grave of the man who supposedly carved the rose window in memory of his beloved who died en route to the new world.

This gristmill still works. The ditch is called an acequia, a technologically marvelous technique of diverting water from the San Antonio river to irrigate fields with no loss of water pressure. Here, the acequia is full of recycled water.

Some of the food that would have been grown in the fields outside the mission.

The granary where the Indians would get their weekly rations.

Flying buttress outside the granary (flying because it is not flush against the building; who thought my degree in medieval history would come in handy on an RV blog?!)

There would not have been wells like these at the time of the missions, but I thought it looked cool.

Notice the cacti on the roof!

Mission Concepcion

The Indians went from very free lives to highly disciplined ones.

One of the surviving paintings of Mission Concepcion.

In the courtyard.

This is a regular buttress at the entrance to the chapel.

The sign on the left says to watch your step on the stairs. I wish I could have gone up. 🙂

Another painting in an altar room.

I wasn’t expecting such a spectacular dome!

Not sure if this paint is original or not, but it’s unlikely.

The doors are made of fabric.

January 28, 2013 by Rae

Goliad and Presidio La Bahia

The only thing of note in Port Lavaca is a museum that is closed on Mondays. My own reason for going into town was to mail two packages that could have waited another day or two, so I almost stayed in.

Instead, I decided to take Pam’s advice and go on a drive to Goliad, one of the oldest towns in Texas. Its name is an anagram, minus the H, of Hidalgo, a Mexican priest and leader of the Mexican War of Independence.

Most of the town was shut down, so I just followed my nose to the Empresario Restaurant, a sliver of a building with a warm decor. It had a simple menu with burgers and the like as well as a few Mexican dishes. I chose the cheese enchiladas and was a little surprised that they came smothered in BEEF. I didn’t send it back since the rice, beans, and corn tortilla enchiladas were fantastic. The little beef I took in was nicely seasoned. It’s not their fault that beef does nothing for me. Lunch was gigantic and I wound up leaving a bit of everything (well, a lot of the beef) and I still came out at $9 with the tip! Service was great, too. No regrets on my lunch choice! Amusingly enough, I checked my email on my phone while waiting for my food and there was an email from Pam recommending the fried chicken and iced tea at Empresario!

Then, I found an ATM of the drive-through variety (I got an odd look from a few people because I walked to it). That’s one thing about the US that boggles me; people just about never need to get out of their cars. You have drive through banks (not just ATMs, you can deal with a teller from your car!), drive through pharmacies, drive through restaurants (and not just fast food), and even drive through liquor stores.

THANK GOODNESS I took out cash because a few hours later my credit card was denied at a gas station. Not declined, denied. I haven’t been able to get through to them as the lines are busy, but I did my work around (called the main CIBC number instead of the Visa number) and got an automated message that they were having a problem with authorizations on their credit cards. I thought I might have a security hold, but it looks like the problem has nothing to do with me specifically. Ah, I just got a message from a friend while writing this post and the ENTIRE VISA SYSTEM ACROSS CANADA WAS DOWN THIS AFTERNOON. OMG. Anyway, it’s all restored now and I’m not stranded anywhere!

Next, I walked around the courthouse that features a hanging tree where justice was expediently served. From there, I strolled a block to the post office. I got a really nice lady who told me not to miss Presidio La Bahia, which I was planning to head to. She told me that that and the state park were pretty much the only things open at this time, so that was good info.

It was misting when I got out of the post office and walked the few blocks to my truck, but the weather cleared somewhat by the time I got to Presidio La Bahia. Presidio is my Spanish word of the week; it means fort.

Presidio La Bahia was founded in 1721 on the ruins of a French fort, moved several times, and was restored to its original state in the 1960s. It is now the best preserved presidio in the U.S. Until today, if you had asked me how much I know about Texas history, I would have replied, “Not much.” Now, I know I actually had a very good colouring book out line of it! I knew the general gist of events and the names of the main players involved. Very surprising! Who says you can’t learn anything from a TV mini-series like True Women?

This fort was at the centre of many sieges and battles in the Mexican War of Independence and ensuing Texas Revolution as well as the site of the Goliad Massacre.

The Goliad courthouse.

The Hanging Tree

Goliad Courthouse

Market Street

Another angle of the Goliad courthouse

Empresario Restaurant

First view of Presidio La Bahia

Nine flags have flown over Goliad

U.S., Confederate, Republic of Texas

First Independence (Bloody Arm), Second Republic, Mexican

First Republic, French, Spanish

The nine flags of Goliad

entrance

lobby

The area was settled by tejanos, cattle ranchers.

There was a caste system depending on the mixture of your blood, from pure Spaniard to Indian, African, born in the colonies, and several mixtures and mixtures of mixtures.

There were reproductions of all the flags over the doorways.

The decor felt quite warm.

I like that terra cotta colour that’s close to my dressing room!

List of the men who were killed in the Goliad Massacre.

Distant relative of mine?

The bathroom hallway was impressive!

The Angel of Goliad was the wife of a soldier who saved some men from the Goliad Massacre.

The Angel of Goliad.

Whether the killing of the soldiers was a massacre or not depended on which side you were on!

Santa Anna called the massacre the legitimate execution of outlaws.

The doors are very narrow. You only go through half of one of these.

Courtyard

Looking out towards the main road.

Our Lady of Loreto chapel is the original construction from 1779 and services are still held there! That church is exactly 200 years older than me and in better shape!

Our Lady of Loreto chapel

church bell

statue

Soft music played. You could feel every soul who ever prayed here. Look at that ceiling!

Window.

Arch

balcony

pews

It was possible to restore the fort because of a detailed lithograph that was based on a detailed drawing made by a solider posted at Presidio La Bahia (when it was called Fort Defiance).