The Land of No Cell Phone Reception

Oh my!

It has been a while.

We have been on a whirlwind tour of the west.

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah again, and finally Colorado.

Whew!

This trip has been so wonderful.

We are here at my sister's house where I FINALLY have a good Wi-Fi connection.

That has been the only draw back to this trip. No cell phone service.

Some places we have been have NO SERVICE whatsoever. None. Zilch. Nada.

Some places have had service but we were out of luck.

You know how Verizon says that they have the largest network.

Don't believe. It is a lie. A bold face lie.

Every place that has had any kind of service whatsoever has been on an AT and T network. Verizon users have been out of luck.

Now I know why there are not as many Verizon stores out west.

So I have been journaling. Every day. Mostly.

I just have not been able to upload any blog posts.

I have decided that instead of deluging you guys with a huge amount of posts, that I would just go back and start in order of the last post and work my way forward.

I left off on May 13 where we were in San Antonio. I will begin with May 14 where we went to the Alamo. Please bear with me as I attempt to catch up. I have learned so much this trip and I want you all to be blessed with the things we have seen and the what I have learned.

So here you go.

May 14, 2015

Remember the Alamo!

Today was the day that Carl has looked forward to for quite some time now.

He has wanted to go to see the Alamo for a very long time.

We had planned on going yesterday but that did not work out due to the deluge of rain yesterday. Today dawned a little brighter but while we were trying to get breakfast it started to sprinkle. We were so discouraged but decided to go anyway. We are so glad we decided to go because the day turned out to be beautiful.

We packed up the camper and headed into downtown San Antonio. Now, I had always pictured the Alamo as being in the middle of nowhere with fields surrounding it and it would look like a little village. It was the direct opposite. We ended up in the heart of the city with tall buildings all around with parking garages and restaurants, and tourist traps. It is very hard to find a parking spot just like most downtown cities. Carl dropped us off and went to find a space. We had to pay a ridiculous amount but he found one close by.

We walked around the grounds in search of a bathroom while Carl parked the car. We met up and then went into the shrine. It was kind of hard to imagine the fighting that happened here as it was kind of commercial. There were at least 15 different school groups running around with chaperones. I had explained to the kids that people had died here and that they needed to treat the site with reverence and respect. I apparently was among the very few people to tell their children this. For that matter, the adults were not much better. We went into one room where there were signs all over the place to NOT TOUCH THE WALLS. The first thing I saw when I went in was a chaperon very leisurely propped up against the wall talking on his cell phone not watching the group of children next to him who were also TOUCHING THE WALL.

I was appalled and upset.

We spent an insane amount of money in the gift shop but Carl wanted to get a couple of movies. We bought the original Davy Crockett movies and then a documentary on the West that included a section on the Alamo. We also bought a children’s book that we were able to get signed by the illustrator who was there signing copies.

I was ready to leave as the school groups were wearing on my nerves, especially when I had to tell at least 10 middle school girls that the line for the ladies room was out the door and they could not just come in and cut in front of everyone. Ugh!! Manners, people. Teach manners.

I was glad that we went but I was a little bit disappointed. I was expecting something bigger and grander and different.

We decided to walk to the RIverwalk as suggested by my sister, Jen who I had just been texting this morning. I am glad for the Whatsapp that allows me to talk to her a continent away. The Riverwalk  was beautiful. It looked like a European city next to the river with all the bright colors and balconies and little cafes along the path. We ended up eating pizza at a local place and headed back to the car.

We knew that there were some other missions in San Antonio. There is actually a national park about 4 miles from the Alamo. We headed there and drove through what looked to us as the bad side of town. We had to take a detour as there was a tractor trailer driver who could not read to multiple, huge warning signs for a low clearance bridge under the railroad. He hit the bridge and the road was closed.

Once we got close to the national park the land cleared and it almost looked like we were in the country. We pulled up to the visitor’s center and it really did not look like much. When we entered the mission though we were very pleased. It looked like what I imagined the Alamo would look like. It had the walls and the fields and the church and the little rooms where people had lived. It had a grist mill and lots of little exhibits and treasures to discover all over the place. It was quiet as there were not many people around. It was so pleasant. As we walked around the mission I had a lovely time talking to the Esther, Daniel, and Nathan. Carl had Caleb and Tirzah was taking a nap in the car while William and Alex watched her. Sam was in the van too.

It was just a very enjoyable time with a few of the kids. They were shocked when we went into the church and found that it is still a working Catholic church that holds services. It was very interesting. I enjoyed it so much more than the actual Alamo. Is that wrong? I was able to get a really good vision for how the Alamo really looked in 1836. I pictured them being surrounded and defending the mission. I was able to really see it rather than at the actual site that was surrounded by modern things and very commercial. I am so glad we went to the mission at the National Park.

We went in Mission San Jose but there are 3 other missions around San Antonio that you can visit too. I would encourage everyone to visit the Alamo but to get a clearer picture of what I truly looked like, go see the missions that are part of the National Park system.

We headed back to the Air Force base and got distracted by the planes they have on display and a huge memorial honoring military dogs. I never knew there was any such thing but there is and it was so cool.

We packed up the camper and decided to head to Seminole Canyon State Park near Del Rio, Texas.

We drove through all these little towns and passed many ranches as we chose to go the more scenic route and not the major highway. We find that we have more fun and see more things off the beaten path. We knew we were very close to the border of Mexico which the kids thought was neat. I had to explain the whole concept of passports to them. It was getting dark so when we saw signs that all traffic had to stop ahead we got nervous. As we are driving we saw buildings and border patrol agents and dogs. We were panicking because the map said that we were not THAT close to the border. We pulled up and a very polite border patrol agent assured us that we were still in the UNITED STATES. They explained that because they are so close to the border that they have these checkpoints.

He asked how many people in the car and he was kind of shocked when we told him. He then asked if we were all US citizens and where we were going. He did not hesitate to let us go through. I guess the southern drawl and 8 kids and 36 ft trailer and 15 passenger van gave us away that we are true Americans. I thought it was funny though and so did the kids.

As we finished driving to the park we kept seeing lightening off in the distance. It was amazing and almost hypnotizing. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

It made the kids nervous.

They were even more nervous when we pulled into the park and there was nothing.

No lights.

No ranger station.

Just warning signs to be careful of drop offs and that only guides can lead you through the canyon.

And lots of bugs. Huge bugs. Bugs 3 times the size of North Carolina bugs.

Bugs that at the first glimpse of light … attack. Everywhere. They were flying in our mouths and on our clothes and at our legs and arms. You had to keep your mouth shut and the lights off. Once Carl got the camper all unhitched we all gathered by the door and ran in. There were still a ton of bugs that got in the camper but our trusty fly swatter took care of that in short order.

We are now all settled down. It is quiet now except for the tapping of my computer keys. As I reflect on this day, two things stick out in my mind.

The first was Mission San Jose. The church – it was lifeless. Empty. Devoid of life. Depressing.

You walk in and there are signs all over the place warning you to keep quiet and be reverent and respectful. It was most uninviting. Even the kids felt very uncomfortable. So did I. We did not spend much time in the actual church. That made me start thinking about our church or the church we have attended the last 3 year. What a contrast.

Our church is full of life and children – lots of children. There is JOY and laughter and learning and discussion and prayer and eating and playing and fellowshipping and just LIFE!!!! Life being lived and enjoyed and treasured and full of peace and JOY. Gladness is there every Sunday. We learn from one another and pray for one another and encourage one another. That does not stop on Sunday either. I could call any one of the people I go to church with at any time with a request or problem and they would stop and pray immediately or find some way to come and help. That is a church that is ALIVE!!!!!

The second thing that struck me was the wonderful display of creation that we saw this evening. While we were driving down that road to the campground we saw a storm off in the distance. I am amazed at how in Texas you can see so far. We knew that the storm was far away from us but it was a little unnerving. Once we had the camper parked and set up we had a chance to look up in the sky. I was amazed at the amount of stars in the sky. I have never seen so many stars in all my life. Combined with the lightening, the sky was putting on a display for us to see. I thanked the Lord that I was able to witness this awesome display of God’s amazing power and might. It was an incredible thing to see.

I am so thankful that the Lord has us on this journey. Right where we are, God is showing us his awesome power. The mountains, the skies, the wind, everything all is pointing us to how powerful God is and how he takes care of us. Praise the Lord that we are here on this journey. What JOY it brings to my heart to be privileged to be here on this journey with my family.