Remember the Alamo! General Santa Anna sent that message back with the battle's survivors hoping it would discourage the Texans from further fighting. It had the opposite effect and instead became the Americans' battle cry.

The heroic leaders of the fateful battle at the Alamo: Bonham, Bowie and Crockett.

The whole town of San Antonio turned out wearing green for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. It reminded us of small town parades in Redlands, with cheering squads, school bands and civic groups.

Jacob tries on the body of Jon Minnoch, the Guinness record holder for the heaviest man at more than 1400 pounds. He also holds the record for the greatest weight loss of 924 pounds in 16 months.

Jacob beat the posted world record number of drum beats in a minute. The previous record was 1072. The new record is 1122. He has emailed Guinness for information on verification of his title!

At a San Antonio flea market, we came across a label for Golden Rod oranges, from Redlands, California! Does this count as a chance meeting of someone from home?

We camped at the Caverns of Sonora RV Park under a huge sky. That night it rained buckets along with thunder and lightning!

The peacock was proud to show us his beautiful plummage. We had never been up close to one and heard the accompanying sound of shaking feathers. It sounded eerie!

The sheep were right outside our door and taking care of their little spring lambs.

Big Bend National Park is astounding for its immense size, beauty and hidden secrets.

We climbed a small hill to watch the sunset over the Rio Grande.

The sunset was reflecting off the mountains as a surreal backdrop.

Of course, the picture doesn't do it justice, but the colors were spectacular. We didn't want it to end!

The entrance to Boquillas Canyon, a 1500 foot deep crevice carved by the muddy Rio Grande. Jacob threw a rock over the water into Mexico!

The wildflowers were everywhere, bringing yet another array of colors to the desert.

The park gets its name from the "big bend" in the Rio Grande river.

The rock formations are so intricate, you could stare at them for hours and still see something new.

Jacob and I rock-climbed to the top of Appetite Peak, a small "mountain" near Chisos Basin. It was big enough to get our adrenaline flowing!

This is the view back down from Appetite Peak. It was a lot easier going up, but as you know, "what goes up must come down."

Besides the reward of conquering the climb itself, this was the spectacular view out "The Window."

There are several abandoned ranches in Big Bend National Park. This windmill is on the former ranch of Sam Nail and is still pumping water today, keeping the cottonwoods green.

Sarah poses by the remains of the adobe walls of the Nail Ranch.

The arrival of spring in Big Bend brought color in the most unexpected places!

Here are the local residents at the Appache Trading Post in Alpine, Texas. In case you can't read the name cards, they are (left to right): Smart Ass, Dumb Ass, Sweet Ass and Lazy Ass.

Van Horn, Texas, is the home of Fancy Junk. I certainly agree with half the name!

The resident artist at Fancy Junk collects all kinds of desert cast-offs and turns them into his dream creations.