We left the Piney Woods and took the Old Spanish Trail west of Houston to the town of San Felipe. Established in 1824 by Stephen F. Austin with almost 300 families, this area became the political and economic center as Texas reached for independence from Mexico. Here along the banks of the Brazos River is the Stephen F. Austin State Park. The park is a river-bottom forest with miles of trails and a large variety of wildlife.
Wildlife encounters during our stay in the state park exceeded any other place we’ve visited so far. Behind our campground site, on the trail, at the river, and even in the bathrooms and dumpster – the animals of the park were constantly surprising and delighting us. Deer, wild boar, feral pigs, barred owl, river otter, turtles, cardinals, herons, Mississippi kite, spoonbill, vultures, rabbits, frogs, and an eagle as well as a couple non-venomous snakes and lizards.
I must admit to being a lot more surprised and a lot less delighted when opening the door to the women’s room and watching a skinny green striped snake slither away into the floor drain. Lee on the other hand was having the time of his life with his encounters. First, he rescued a small flat-headed night snake from the showers and relocated it to the nearby woods. The following morning, he discovered three young raccoons stuck in the bottom of the dumpster. Concerned for their welfare in the triple digit heatwave, he found a long board and placed it like an exit ramp for the trapped bandits. Within moments, the three climbed out and ran for the woods. After all those heroics, a commemorative patch was in order!
Palmetto State Park
A couple hours west along the O.S.T. route and we arrived at our next campsite on the San Marcos River.
This gave us a chance to visit the historic and unique Palmetto State Park. Located at the southern edge of the Prairies and Lakes region, the park contains swamp, river bottom forest and prairie habitats. Converging on the same trail, we saw the last of the palmetto plants that have been present since that Palm Sunday hike in Mississippi and the first of cactus and mesquite. Palmetto SP is also one of the premier parks built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression. Many of the beautiful buildings and structures remain almost 100 years later.
Palmetto State Park – converging environments.
OPOSSUM WITH 9 BABIES!
The CCC projects:
San Antonio
If the Alamo is the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about San Antonio, be prepared for a shock. This is an extraordinarily vibrant, fun and interesting city providing almost endless opportunities for exploration and activities complete with e-bike rentals on almost every corner. It is extremely walkable and bike-able with something for everyone – outdoor recreation, parks, bike trails, shopping, restaurants, museums, historical sites, music and entertainment. San Antonio is the place to be! I recommend stopping at the San Antonio Visitor’s Center located directly across from the Alamo. The knowledgeable staff and well stocked printed information were a great help in planning our visit.
One of our favorite activities was spending time enjoying the natural and spiritual beauty of the five San Antonio Missions. Preserved and maintained by the National Park Service now, four of the Missions are still home to an active community. The missions are located about 2.5 miles apart in a North to South direction along the San Antonio River with the Alamo being at the northern-most end in the center of the city. We especially enjoyed the grounds and gardens unique to each compound. Also, the architecture of the buildings and chapels as well as the innovative acequia and aquaducts to irrigate the farm fields and sustain the herds of cattle, goats, and sheep demonstrated the tenaciousness of the Spanish friars trying to settle in the land over 250 years ago.
Mission Espada – southern most mission. Built a Roman-style aquaduct to provide water from the San Antonio River which still functions today.
Mission San Juan. Beautiful and classic bell tower. Utilized trench irrigation to water the livestock and fields.
Mission San Jose. The Queen of the missions.
Mission Concepcion – Beautiful grounds with green parrots in the trees and a beautiful outdoor chapel/prayer area.
The Alamo – Mission San Antonio del Valero. Only a mission for a short time, this military outpost defended by such famous names as Jim Bowie and Davey Crockett became the voice for Texas Independence after defeated by Santa Ana — “Remember the Alamo!” Today, it’s “acequia” has become a koi pond for reflection.
San Antonio Riverwalk
The San Antonio Riverwalk is an extravagant dining, shopping, and entertainment area designed as an urban tropical oasis stretching for miles on the banks of the San Antonio River through the city center. The shops, clubs, cafes, combine with hotels and residential areas to become the most visited attraction in the state of Texas.
Market Square
Multiple cultures and heritages converge in San Antonio and no better is this observed than in the Historic Market Square. One of the largest outdoor Mexican markets, vendors sell pottery, arts and crafts, clothing, canned goods, clothing and unique gift items from Mexico. Also located here are restaurants and bakeries. On the weekends, live entertainment makes the market more of a festival destination. We had a great time shopping and eating our way through the market!
Accommodations
We stayed at the San Antonio / Alamo KOA. The bus stopped outside the gate and provided easy transportation to the major attractions. Driving and parking around the downtown area was very congested and filled with construction detours. The campground was adjacent to the City Hike-n-Bike Greenway Trail which had e-bike rentals and charging stations along the route to/from the city and access to the Riverwalk.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in San Antonio and give it our highest recommendation for an ultimate urban experience travel destination.
CAMPGROUND REVIEW: SAN ANTONIO / ALAMO KOA
We stayed at the San Antonio / Alamo KOA for five days in a pull-thru FHU site. Sites are gravel, level and somewhat close together with picnic table and fire ring on a concrete pad. Our site had cable and adequate WiFi and T-Mobile service. The park is convenient to San Antonio in many different ways – by car, by bus or by e-bike. The bus stop is located across the driveway from the KOA and buses run about every 30 minutes. The campground backs up to the City Hike-n-Bike trail which joins up with the Riverwalk trails. It is about a 15 minute drive to downtown with easy access to the major highways. Aside from the location, each KOA staff member we met was cheerful, friendly and eager to help. All facilities are sparkling clean, air conditioned, and located near the office. We appreciated the beautifully landscaped fishing pond area with benches and a pier as well as the shaded outdoor patio with gas firepits. The general store has a good selection of food, RV parts, gifts plus a made-to-order pizza stand. They also offer breakfast each morning! We enjoyed our stay with KOA and found the location made our visit to the San Antonio area easy. We give this campground our highest recommendation.
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