Summer has arrived in Montana

This morning at church

Wesley looks to beat the heat behind the sofa

Maybe feet are cooler

It's been getting hotter each day this past week and made it over 100 yesterday and today.  We're doing our best to think cool thoughts!

Annual Conference, wrap-up

Neighborhood watch

With Charles still confined to bed, Belinda concluded our business with the YAC at St. Paul's UMC with a meeting of the Missoula Circuit laity and clergy. Sadly, we missed the closing worship but with Charles needing extra time to maneuver through the room check-out process we thought it best to head home early.

A stop in Missoula on the way home was a must with Cracker Barrel being the place to have a bit a bit of a break before heading home to Wesley!

Annual Conference report, pt. 2

The 47th Yellowstone Annual Conference has already been something of a mixed bag for us and that was just on the first day!

In the clergy session Thursday morning, Charles' conference membership was officially changed from the Great Plains Conference (he was ordained in Nebraska in 1996) to the Yellowstone Conference.  It is hard to describe how it feels to finally be 'at home' in a conference after five years of being a member of one conference while serving in another (first SWTX and then Yellowstone).

Belinda, who is here representing the Stevensville UMC as the lay member of annual conference, has been busy with circuit meetings, UMW functions (including the wonderful conference UMW luncheon), and with being selected to the Conference nominations committee for next year!

Charles has sadly been struck by an acute flare-up of gout which hobbled him all day Thursday.  By that evening he was in the ER due to the swelling and pain.  As a result he's been in bed in the hotel all day Friday, not the way he wanted to spend his annual conference session!

Annual Conference 2015

We're excited to be attending our second gathering of the Yellowstone Annual Conference in Helena!  AC is a combination of family/school reunion, business meeting, and worship services!  

Of course, Charles is happy because at the registration table he got his first button!  Stay tuned for regular updates from Montana's capitol city.

Belinda's Office Picnic Last Week - Part 3

Leona and Kristie - Decorating Hats

Team watching others decorate hats

Colleen Helping Team Decorate Hats

Hat Decorating Team - Sporting Their New Hats

Belinda's Office Picnic Last Week - Part 2

Horseshoes

Picnic Time

Colleen feeding "Lady the Donkey"

Ethan - Playing "Pin the Tail on the (Real) Donkey"

Team Watching Trick Roping Lesson

Belinda's Office Picnic Last Week - Part 1

Jason -- the Viking Grill Master

Irene - Our DJ

Tammy with her daughter Danny

Colleague's Youth - Playing Horseshoes

Last week, Belinda's office experienced a team-building afternoon at the Dunrovin Ranch in Lolo, Montana (just south of Missoula).  Their website is http://www.daysatdunrovin.com/visit/ .

Joining them were Kevin and Kristie from Bethesda, Maryland. 

It was a lovely afternoon together!

Spain trip - return home (pt. 3)

Fishing on the Wisdom River

Idaho looms in the distance

Rangers practice making a teepee

Battlefield site

After 1,911 miles driven (in the USA!), 34 museums (incl. 3 in the USA), 34 churches (incl. 1 in Colorado), and twenty buttons, Charles returned home this afternoon, tired, but grateful for the experiences he had over the past two weeks.

Leaving Butte this morning, he drove south through the Big Hole Valley, stopping for a brief visit to the Big Hole National Battlefield. 

Coming home, Wesley acknowledged Charles but that was about it for the joyful homecoming! Belinda's welcome was much more enthusiastic!!

Spain trip - return home (pt. 2)

Elk antler arch in Jackson, WY

At the National Museum of Wildlife Art near Jackson, WY

Grazing by the roadside were several elk

Also grazing roadside was this bison

Who needs a self-stick?

In another case of "What was I thinking?" Charles decided to take the scenic route back to Stevensville. Yesterday he went from Denver to Steamboat Springs, CO (about four hours) and got one of the last hotel rooms in the city!

This morning, with the idea of driving until he was tired in mind, he set out on a mostly northerly course. Eventually he wound up driving through Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and not finding anyplace to stay, had to continue until Butte, Montana!  

On the plus side today was seeing the National Museum of Wildlife Art (just beyond Jackson, WY), lots of great stuff to see! Then driving through Teton & Yellowstone parks, Charles spotted elk and bison and had to take a selfie at Old Faithful.

Not exactly the bang-up way he wanted to conclude this vacation, but there you go! What started out in the morning as an adventure ended up being an endurance event. Hopefully the final drive back to Stevensville tomorrow will not be as dramatic!

Spain trip -Return home (pt. 1) - Back in the USA

First time on a 747

Snow in the Rockies

A nice end to a long day of travel

After a missed flight this morning in Madrid, Charles had half an idea that he might be stuck in Spain for awhile longer! But the nice people at Luftansa had mercy on him and helped to get him rebooked and on his way home.

Spain trip - Favorites

A short list from the trip:

Best basilica: Hermandad de la Macarena, Seville

Best cathedral: Catedral de Toledo

Best church: Iglesia de Santa Maria de la Alhambra, Granada

Best garden: Real Alcázar, Seville

Best hotel: Palacio de los Velada, Ávila 

Best museum (large): Museo Thyssen-Bonnemisza, Madrid

Best museum (small): Museo Taurino, Córdoba

Best restaurant: Taberna El Porto, Córdoba

Best Teresa of Ávila site: Monasterio de La Encarnación, Ávila 

Best train station: Antequera Santa Ana

Favorite city: Toledo

Spain trip - Final Tally

Charles thought it might be fun to tally up (from the blog) just how many churches and museums he visited on his pilgrimage through Spanish art/history/religion.

Museums & Churches tally:

Madrid - 5 museums & 9 churches 

Córdoba - 6 museums & 7 churches 

Seville - 3 museums & 2 churches 

Granada - 2 museums & 4 churches 

Toledo - 7 museums & 3 churches 

Ávila - 8 museums & 8 churches

Total: 31 museums & 33 churches

Of course... 

There were some cross-over in the count (the Monastery of the Incarnation in 

Ávila

 had a separate chapel and a museum)...

Doesn't count the churches that are being used either temporarily or permanently as museums (Mosen Rubi in Ávila)...

Doesn't count the places he tried to get into but was stymied by the venue being closed (the end of day two in Madrid)...

Or those that he passed by but not before taking a picture (in every city!!)

Spain trip - Ávila, pt. 4

Monastery of the Incarnation

Entering the monastery

Looking back to the walled city from the monastery

Virgen de la Soterraña - Basilica de San Vicente

Royal cloister @ Monastery of Santo Tomas

Charles' last day in Ávila began with a delightful breakfast at the hotel and then having secured his luggage at the hotel, he set off to see the last three of the significant Teresa of Ávila sights on his list.

His first stop was the Monasterio de La Encarnación, the place where in 1535, Teresa had entered the Carmelite order. Charles got to experience a nice museum and, having noticed a special prayer opportunity inside the convent on a poster, he was invited inside. This was a fantastic opportunity to see Teresa's cell, where the cloistered nuns still gather to see the mass through screens, and where St. John of the Cross used to hear confession. It helps to pay attention!

Next up was the Basilica de San Vicente which is built on the site of the martyrdom of three siblings, Vicente, Sabina, and Cristeta. Of interest for Teresa pilgrims is that in the crypt of the basilica is a chapel dedicated and adorned with the image of the Virgen de la Soterraña where Teresa had her vision experience that led to the reformation of the Carmelite order in Spain.

Making his way back across town Charles passed by numerous churches and hermitage sites. The streets of this place are filled with reminders of the impact of the faith and the faithful.

Next was last of the major sites, the Monasterio de Santo Tomas, sometimes called the Monasterio Real or the Royal Monastery. In addition to being a place where Teresa came for confession (when John of the Cross was unavailable), it is where the head of the Inquisition, Torquemada worked, and Pedro de Berruguette was engaged as an artist here.

And there are two museums with the complex. One features artwork gathered by the Dominican missionaries in their work in Asia [Museo de Arte Oriental] and the other of taxidermy [Museo de Ciencias Naturales] likewise sent back from the far-flung mission fields.

With the major places having been seen and a handful of smaller places closed on Monday it was time to head back to Madrid and resting up for the flight home.

It's been an amazing experience!

Final from Ávila: Museums, 9; Churches, 8

Spain trip - Ávila, pt. 3

At the Palacio

From outside the wall

At the Quatro Poste

At Monastery of San Jose

Coming out of San Pablo there was this -
a Zumba gathering in the Plaza!

After lunch, Charles kept up the pace, first visiting the Centro de Interpretacion del Misticismo. The only place in Europe devoted to the understanding of religious mystical experiences (not just Christian).

He retraced his steps to try to get into to see the Convento de Santa Teresa which also has a splendid museum and a reliquary. It was worth making the multiple efforts to get in (couldn't do it during mass or through the throngs in the plaza) as this is a must-see for all Teresa-devotees as this was her birthplace!

Leaving that sacred place, Charles found himself in the Palacio de Superunda, a 16th c. home that currently holds a wonderful collection of works by the Italian artist, Guido Caprotti.

Deciding it was time to get up in the world, Charles took a stroll along a part of the Subida a la Muralla (the Walls) that is open for the public, in this case a 1 km walk. Fascinating bit of civil and mathematical engineering.

From up on the western portion of the wall, Charles could see the Quatro Poste, a place where the young-to-be-saint had an adventure.

Coming back to a change-in-hotel rooms was a nice break in the day. Just long enough to be recharged and launch into the pleasant evening just as the bells of the Monasterio de Santo Jose were ringing the end of mass. He arrived just in time to be able to peek inside the old chapel and the "newer one." Both would have been in use during the saint's life there.

Coming back through Santa Teresa Plaza Charles spotted the doors of Iglesia de San Pablo open. What a fascinating place and a powerful witness of the faith to the culture gathered on a Sunday evening! An ancient building, it looks like it's seen better days and yet people were still coming inside as the priest was setting up for mass.

A few more sites to take in Monday morning before the return train to Madrid.

Spain trip - Ávila, pt. 2

Storks finding creative places to roost

Corpus Christi in Ávila

At San Juan Bautista

In the Cathedral nave

Convento de San Teresa - her birthplace

After a fitful night trying to sleep on a hard, single mattress, Charles held hope that his sleeping problems wouldn't be the defining story of this leg of his trip and he was right!

Among the sites seen today as Charles criss-crossed the walled-portion of town (trying to keep ahead of closings) was:

The cathedral, very nice (but no Toledo!) was first up as Charles just fell into the streams of folk making their way for the festivities. The building is over 950 years old and the carnival atmosphere of Corpus Christi, the excitable children, and the tourist milling about caused a lot of noise! 

Making his was outside, he took in the Capila de Mosen Rubi, one of three local churches hosting exhibits on the 500th anniversary of Teresa's birth. He also got to see the exhibit at the Iglesia de San Juan de Bautista. At San Juan, the baptismal font where Teresa was baptized in 1515 is found, and is till in use. Just as he was coming out of San Juan, the throngs coming from the cathedral could be heard and so he rejoined the procession through the Plaza Mercado Chico as the stream of people made its way through the streets and back to the cathedral.

Remaining for lunch in the Plaza Mercado Chico, Charles enjoyed a local favorite, Judías de El Barco de Ávila (a white bean soup) which was wonderful. But there was more to see, and so, fueled up for the afternoon, Charles set off again!

Spain trip - Ávila, pt. 1

St. Vincent Arch

Basilica at night

Ávila began with a late night arrival following a train delay. Arriving on the outskirts of this historic walled city was interesting since there really wasn't anything unusual about the first mile or so. And then it was there: the famous wall that surrounds the birthplace of Teresa of Ávila!