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National Historical Parks - Texas

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

5/24/1997 Continued up to Johnson City to the Lyndon B. Johnson NHP. Just caught a tour of LBJ’s boyhood home [Lyndon Baines Johnson Boyhood Home NHL], then took a trail to LBJ’s grandparents’ original log cabin, which is 95% original and quite impressive in its construction and good condition.

A park sign

LBJ's home

A Longhorn

Original log cabin exterior ...

... and interior

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park

5/16/2004 Headed over to just a bit north of Brownsville to Palo Alto Battlefield NHP [NHL]. Saw a good video in the brand new visitor center, then took a ¾ mile walk in the hot sun (and rising humidity) out for a view of the battle area. This was the opening battle between the US and Mexico.

The park sign

Battle scene in the VC

Cactus by the battlefield

Pretty flowers

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

5/24/1997 Drove along the Mission Trail to San Jose Mission (part of San Antonio Missions NHP), arriving just at the 9:00 bells and carillon. Saw a good movie at the visitor center, then walked around the grounds. Weather clear and warm but breezy as we walked within old walls and into mission church.

Me in front of the mission

The mission church

A close up of the detail

4/13/2018 First stop, Espada Mission (San Antonio Missions NHP). We actually thought the Aqueduct was here but signs indicated otherwise. This was the first of all five of the San Antonio missions we’d see, four in the NHP plus the Alamo. Each mission followed similar themes, but differed in scope and overall layout. There were bus tours and school groups around, but we persevered and did the best we could. ... Mission San Juan. We spontaneously added this NPS site to our tour, it being convenient on the Mission Trail as we moved north and eventually completing our set of all five missions. ... Mission San Jose. This is the biggest and most impressive mission and VC for the NPS. As such it had the most people visiting but it was still impressive and enjoyable. We noted one section of the outer wall which was still smooth white with red and white painted designs, reminding us that in the day these structures were not the dark stone that we see but bright, magnificent buildings. Mission Concepcion NHL. Franciscan friars established Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in 1716 as a base for converting the Hasinai to Catholicism.

Espada park sign

Info and scale model

One view of the outside ...

... and another

Inside the church

San Juan park sign

The mission

Close-up of the bells

San Jose park sign

A look down the quarters

The miision from afar ...

... and close

The original paint colors

The church

Concepcion park sign

The model and the real thing

Nice view of the mission ...

... and one with us

The church