The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park is located on several different sites in and around San Antonio. The Visitors Center is located at the Mission San Jose. The Visitor Center has a nice museum area, that goes through the history of the Missions, and why they are there, the role they played in society. The Visitor Center also has a film which discusses the history, as well as a store.

I went to see the film first. I try to do that at any location that offers a film. The films are always full of great information, and give an overview that is impossible to get when only staying at the site for a short time. Starting out, there was no one else in the theater, but a family came in after me and joined me. The film went through the reasons why the Missions were there - to basically make the "pagan" locals embrace Catholicism, and why the locals embraced the Missions.

When the area was settled by the Europeans, there was a lot of disease brought in to the local population. Many people died because of disease. In order to have their families survive, the locals went to the Missions. At Mission San Jose, the site was arranged in a large rectangle. The walls along the outside were actually not just walls, they were homes. The locals lived there, and helped with the farming activities of the missionaries. One of the things the missionaries did was to bring with them ideas for farming that helped the locals. For example, they built irrigation systems that are still in place today.

On one side of the rectangle, the church was built. This was the center of the community that lived at Mission San Jose. The church and grounds are in great shape, and it is interesting to see how the people who lived here existed.

After leaving Mission San Jose, I visited another one of the Missions; Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo). This mission is in the downtown area, and did not cover as much land. It is famous for having been attacked, with many people losing their lives. The Alamo area is very busy with tourists, and it has a large shop area, and some refurbished grounds. The mission itself is open, and has several informative displays in it discussing the history of the mission.

Just outside of the Alamo are a bunch of tourist type businesses, and a block away is the San Antonio Riverwalk - the Riverwalk is beautiful, and if you have some time to wander, stop for a drink or dinner, or take a riverboat ride, it is a nice place to be. More information on the San Antonio Missions National Park can be found at the NPS site at: https://www.nps.gov/saan/index.htm

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