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Waco - San Antonio

Tuesday we headed out and went to the Dallas Temple

Afterwards, we hit the road to find some ancestor graves



We were pleasantly surprised to find that Waco Mammoth National Monument was open! It is affiliated with Baylor University + visitor fees are probably why it was open during the federal shutdown

See the line on the pole next to the banner? That's how tall a mammoth was (about 14 feet up)

We got to see some mammoth fossils in situ.  This one was a male (based on the amazing tusks) and you could see his teeth too!

This painting of the mammoth was 6 inches shorter than they were, for reference: S is walking by and she's 5'2"

Since we were in Waco, we went to the Magnolia silos! Not that I've ever seen Fixer Upper, but it was definitely a "while you're here, why not?" kind of stop!



Wednesday we saw a few more sights around Waco including this restored 1929 Gulf gas station.  Just for looks, no gas dispensed, no one in the office


We also went out to the Branch Davidian compound


It was very quiet and peaceful, has this little church there and a handful of small homes with a few memorials

Then we went to one more cemetery to find another ancestor grave

Saturday we headed into San Antonio.  The San Antonio Missions NPS visitor center was not open, but the mission itself was open so we could explore Mission San José which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site



This is the rose window in the chapel.  You see this design a lot around San Antonio


This was the Spanish Governor's Palace. We didn't go inside, but it was interesting to see it wasn't much of a palace!

Just around the corner was the O. Henry house! That was an interesting find to stumble upon!

It was a tiny little "home" right on a busy street corner

Our next stop was the San Fernando Cathedral

It is the site of the interred remains of some of the men who died at the Alamo



Then we headed to THE Alamo! The Alamo was one of the 5 missions in San Antonio, the other 4 are included in the San Antonio Missions NPS site.  By the time the Alamo was used as a fort, it was no longer a mission.

 It is really touristy and yet you can kind of sidestep that and see it as a quiet historical site.  When you come around the corner, there is a booth where they rent audio tours.  You do NOT have to do that.  Then you get in line to go into the Alamo itself, they try to do one of those "commemorative photos" that you have to pay for later in the gift shop.  We just skipped that and went straight inside.  It is a completely empty church, just the walls, some signage and lighting.  It was interesting to read the signs and try to imagine it being used as a fort.

There were re-enactors on site, we got to see some cool rifle demonstrations.

Afterwards, we headed out to the Riverwalk and I snapped this amazing photo of this bird, not sure what kind of hawk.

The Riverwalk is touristy in the middle of San Antonio

You can even take boat tours

We got beyond downtown and saw quite a few ducks, including these ducklings, and an egret flew by too.

Our last stop for the night was the San Antonio Temple

LOTS of stained glass there, so beautiful


The spire even had stained glass!

Today we attended the Cibola Ward, San Antonio Texas Cibola Valley Stake

With the federal shutdown over, we are headed out to try and see as much as possible before something else happens!

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