Mission Espada

On Saturday, we decided to ride our bikes the other direction down the Riverwalk to where it ends at Mission Espada.  We had not visited any of the other missions (which are now managed by the National Park Service) and thought we would combine a bike ride in with a trip to Mission Espada.

 

 

Many of the walls of the mission are still standing and the masonry work (particularly the arches) was impressive.

 

 

Many of the walls were rebuilt by the WPA back in the 1930's.

As we walked through the grounds, you couldn't help but wonder what life was like here back in the early 1700's when the missions were built.

The church building on the property was not the original church but was impressive too.

 

Below is where the original church building was located and a picture of what it may have looked like.

 

The mission even had a granary where foods and spices were stored...

...including my favorite food:  chocolate!

We walked around Mission Espada for a more minutes...

...and then headed back up the Riverwalk on our bikes to the campground.