This has been a wonderful weekend.  I am going to do something a little different with this posting and tell you what we have been doing by using pictures.

 

Thursday at lunch we were treated to a very fine meal at one of the local eateries.  The lay leader at the First United Methodist Church where we have been working had made arrangements for us to eat there.  He is one of many at the church that have made us feel very welcome to the community.

The menu included everything from home style cooking to Mexican.  Starting from left to right: Sharon has a nacho plate.  For those that don't know, the nacho was an invention of a cook in Piedras Negras, Mexico.  The women of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras would have a monthly luncheon, alternating between each city.  One of the women in Piedras Negras asked for a special hordourve.  The cook came up with the nacho, that was also the cooks name, Nacho.  We are used to a plate of nacho chips covered with all the fixings.  The type that Sharon has are the type that Chef Nacho invented.  Separate chips are covered with different toppings.  They are very good. 

Sitting next to Sharon on her left is Martha and her husband Kent.  They both had a Mexican plate of some type.  All I know is the really liked what they had. 

To Kent's left is Ralph.  Ralph had the fried catfish dinner.  Ralph must really like catfish, it was the second time in two weeks that he has ordered when we ate out.

Across from Ralph is his wife Virginia.  Virginia had a taco plate.  I believe that the taco shells were red.  They were not spicy, just red in color.

On Virginia's left is me.  No, I am not dieting, should be though, I am having the soup and salad bar.  The soup was some kind of vegetable soup with mystery meat.  It was very good.  I am not sure what all was in it, but I believe that what ever was left over from the day before found it's way into the soup.

All had a good feeding, and then back to work to finish out the week.

The Fort Clark Days celebration was held on Friday and Saturday.  We started the weekend off by stopping at the Sutler's Store, now a gift shop, to purchase some items for friends and family.  We have some wonderful neighbors that have been watching our house for us, so Sharon found a few little things for them.  One of my best friends expressed an interest in the Black Seminole history, so I got him a book about them.  We also picked up a few things for our grandson's.  Won't say what they are because they might be reading my blog.  This is the original building, just updated with a new rook and electricity. 

This picture is of the Empty Saddle Monument.  It is is honor of the many soldiers, assigned to troops at Fort Clark, that fell in combat from 1852 to the closing of the fort right after the end of World War II.  A little side story:  the American flag in the background was raised to half mast on Saturday morning in honor of one of the resident's of Fort Clark Springs.  Warren died after a long battle with a brain tumor.  Warren was a decorated retired Air Force Officer.  When the hearse carried Warren out the gate, all of the military re-enactors from the different time periods of the fort, all law enforcement, border patrol, fire department, emt's, and the Apache Indians, lined the road and saluted as he passed by.  I was not there, but I did talk to Warren's wife, Alyson, and she said that it was a complete surprise and very touching.

Here is a picture of Sharon, on the right, in front of one of the Lipan Apache Indian Tepee displays.  It was very interesting talking with these Indians.  The Apache's were the main Indians in this area during the time that Fort Clark was built to protect settlers and travelers from the Indians.  Many of the tribe that attended the Fort Clark Days weekend were from as far away as California and Indiana.

Friday was kids day at the celebration.  I was told later that there were about one thousand children there that day.  Many came from as far away as Eagle Pass and Uvalde.  You could tell that they were having a great time.  The re-enactors enjoyed talking with the children.  The best way to learn history is to see it live.  The kids really got a history lesson about the like and time of Fort Clark.

This U.S. Army Officer is from around the 1852 time period.  He dressed in authentic dress.  The articles on the table are from the time period, some are actually from the 1850's.  He was very knowledgeable of the history of the army on the Texas frontier.

Camels were introduced to the army in the west.  The camel worked out very well for transportation and as pack animals, except for one thing.  The camel walked so softly that they would sneak up on the horses and spook them.  The horses never seemed to get along with the camel, so the camels were dropped from service.  I understand that many were let loose into the wild.  The last camel was seen roaming the desserts around 1948.  Sharon would have taken this one home with her if she could have.  The RV doesn't have enough room for us, the cat, and a camel.

The old chuck wagon in this picture is over one hundred and fifty years old.  The head cook that told us the story about the chuck wagon was probably pretty close to being that old also.  He told me that he will travel throughout the state giving demonstrations at festivals and schools all year long.  He likes teaching school kids how soldiers were fed in the field during the old west days.  Oh yes, he was cooking beans.

On Friday Sharon and I took a little tour of the Fort Clark Springs property on a golf cart.  There are over 2700 acres on the property, with many miles of trails.  The terrain ranges from dessert to forested areas.  Fort Clark Springs gets it's name from the fort and the springs that are at the head of the Los Moras River.  As you get close to the river the forest come alive.  The forest aren't filled with very tall trees as we are used to in the mountains, but they are very big.  We spotted one old oak tree that is one of the biggest that I have ever seen.  I would say that it is over a thousand years old.

I you look closely you can see the turtles on the log before they jump into the water.

We spotted this crane, I was told that it is a Great Blue Heron, along the river.  This picture doesn't show the height of the crane, but I would guess that it stood at least five feet.  It stood so still that Sharon thought that it might have been a statute, until it took wing a flew away.  The wing spread was very big.

On Saturday we went back to the Fort Clark Days.  I was fortunate to have my brother, above, and his wife to come spend the day with us.  Don and Holly live just north of San Antonio.  Don is the one in the dark shirt, not the one in the beige fur.

We missed the gun fight, but the gunfighters were everywhere.  Here you see some of the gunfighters and military re-enactors.

The weekend finished with church on Sunday morning.  Here is the NOMADS team in front of the Brackettville First United Methodist Church.  Sorry for the small picture, couldn't get it size up for me.

Looking forward to finishing up this week.  It has been a wonderful time here in Brackettville, but ready to move on.  Friday Sharon and I head home for Alabama for three weeks, and then off again for other projects.

I will post again later in the week to finish up with this project, then take a few weeks off.

Hope all are enjoying my postings.  Please send me your comments and suggestions.  I have had some that I hope have improved my blog.

Will blog you more later, and remember,

God Loves You.