Carl Henning

I am fascinated by the Spanish missions of the West. A ranger-led tour at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park added to my knowledge of the mission system. These four missions are only a couple miles apart; the Alamo is just slightly further away. There were two reasons for the closeness of these missions: 1. Defense. The Apache and Comanches raided the local tribes before the missions were built and after. 2. They shared a common ranch where thousand of cattle and sheep were pastured. Each week animals from the ranch were delivered to the missions.

San Antonio, Texas is famous for The Alamo and its River Walk. The Alamo we remember. It was a mission that was the site of a battle for the independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico. Lots of Americans joined the fight, including Davy Crocket. The vastly outnumbered Texans lost the battle but won the war. Along the River Walk is The Briscoe Western Art Museum. It features Western art and artifacts and a little about the Alamo.

Officially this place is called Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. The arboretum portion is kind of lame although it has some trails. But the garden is wonderful. Admission is free.

In addition to the flowers there are often pretty latinas in fancy dresses having their photos taken. I don’t know what the occasion is but this is a frequent sight.

Traveling down the west side of Nevada, we stopped in Tonopah at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. It’s located on the site of the original strike which refreshed interest in Nevada as a state.

Lassen Volcanic National Park. In May of 1914 Lassen Peak produced the most recent eruption in the mainland United States (until Mount St. Helens.in 1980). A local photographer was nearby and captured pictures of the eruption. This is a rare area where all four types of volcanos exist in close proximity.

Crater Lake National Park. The lake formed in the caldera of a collapsed volcano (Mount Mazama), it is very blue and clear. The deepest and highest lake in the United States. (1949 feet deep, 6178 feet elevation at the surface.) There are no inlets or outlets; it is fed by rain and snow and loses water to evaporation and seepage through the volcano walls.

The Seattle Museum of Flight is located adjacent to Boeing Field and several Boeing plants. In incorporates the original Boeing building, The Red Barn. This huge facility displays many airplanes from a Wright Brothers reproduction to the most modern planes.

The last time we visited Olympic National Park the clouds were so low we did not see much, Mount Olympus. Although we did see some wildlife last time but not this.

Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies (also known as the Wild Horse Monument) commemorates in sculpture the area wild horses. We stopped at a scenic view point along the Columbia River to photograph the sculpture with my anemic 300mm telephoto lens.

The Wallace Depot Museum was suggested by Roadtrippers.com. We got a guided tour of this interesting little museum. We hung around Wallace for lunch and a quick stop at another museum.