Rimrocks and The Tree - Fri., June 9, 2017

Our third day of the AVA (American Volkssport Association) Convention started with a walk. Many Volksmarchers are early risers as evidenced by the fact that at 6:30 a.m., walkers were already lined up for the 7:00 a.m. bus that would take us to our starting point. 

The day was going to be warm and sunny, with no shade on the trail. An early start keeps you cooler in the beginning of the walk.

The Swords Rimrock Trail at Boothill Cemetery was the start point. The bus arrived, opened its doors, we zipped out, and we were on our way. Boothill Cemetery got its name because so many of its occupants went to their deaths with their boots on. This cemetery was the burying ground for Coulson, a Yellowstone River town existing from 1877-1885 on the edge of what was to become Billings. H. M. (Muggins) Taylor, a scout who took news of the Custer Massacre June 25, 1876, from the battle area to Bozeman, is the most famous person buried here.

Boothill Cemetery

Trail through the cemetery

From the cemetery, we hiked
up to the rimrocks that line Biliings.

View of the rimrocks that line the opposite
side of the Yellowstone River in Billings, MT

The rimrocks trail

We had a bird's-eye view of downtown Billings

The trail was essentially out and back along the bluffs. As you can see there is not a cloud in the sky. The early morning temperature was 74 degrees and it just got hotter as the morning wore on.

I always enjoy looking at wildflowers on the walks. Plants are so amazing. In the middle of the rocks, wildflowers grow out of cracks in the rocks.

A grand view

Walkers from Buffalo, WY

The instructions for our walk turn-around point were quite clear. After we went 1k past a parking lot with restroom (the only one on our walk), we were to go past a paved trail on the right leading to a concrete picnic area; just past the picnic table, turn around at The Tree. There was only one tree in that whole area. A number of walkers had gone way past the tree and other walkers were following along blindly, not bothering to check their instructions. 

A heated discussion broke out amongst some of the walkers who insisted we had to go farther. I, and a couple of other people, turned around and went back. I turned around and looked back after a while and some people were still 1k back discussing what they should do. Everyone eventually made it back, but some did way more walking than they needed to!

Back at the hotel, we had a little free time before lunch. At 11:00 a.m., they served us box lunches with sandwich, fruit, chips, and cookies. 

After lunch, we had time to bid on silent auction items. I had my eye on a gift basket from the Nebraska Volksmarch club with eclipse goodies in it. There was Eclipse gum, two bottles of wine (Morning Star and Moon Shadow), two bottles of Super Nova ale, Cheddar Rocket Crackers, Starburst candy, two plastic wine glasses with white stars on them, Shooting Star Cookies (sugar cookies coated in chocolate with pop rocks in the chocolate), gold star napkins, a gold star backpack, an eclipse walking weekend T-shirt, a pair of men's rocket man socks, a star scarf, and a candleholder with an L.E.D. light. All in all, a pretty clever gift basket. [More on this in another blog.]

The Convention General Session started at 2:00 p.m. with a speaker. Business included voting on a new roster of officers, selection of our 2019 convention city, election results, closing remarks, and closing ceremony. The final session ended about an hour early. That gave us time to get ready for the Out of Bounds Dinner Bash on Friday night. 

Silent Auction bidding wrapped up Friday afternoon. By the time of the banquet, results had been posted and I won the Eclipse basket. I intend to share it with Susan and Darren to thank them for driving their van on the trip. Susan Medlin also won her silent auction bid for lodging and walk package at this summer's IML (International Marching League) walks in Washington, D.C.

The banquet speaker was Christine Handy, a wife, mother, previous model, and breast cancer survivor who wrote the book, "Walk Beside Me." The dinner and the talk were good. We had a great showing of San Antonians at the Convention...I wasn't able to get photos of everyone.

Kathy and Mike

Darren and Susan

Susan and John

Ellen and Mike

Me (yet another Susan)

Some thank-you gifts were then given to our volunteers. 

Susan, Darren and I left when the music for dancing started. We plan a very early start tomorrow for our post-Convention Volksmarch in Red Lodge, Montana. 

Travel Bug out.

Drink and Walk - Walking the Brewery District - Thurs., June 8, 2017

Day two of our AVA (American Volkssport Association) started out with morning workshops. Attendees could take up to three workshops with topics ranging from the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin to the History of Billings, HQ Operations, Trailmaster Training, Nordic Pole Walking, and more. 

I opted for two classes: News Media Relations (since I'm the Publicity Chair for our club), and Taoist Tai Chi for Walkers (because I've been curious about Tai Chi for a while). Both classes were worth taking. 

In News Media Relations, we learned to make sure we know who is in charge of the department where you want to publish your Press Releases, talk to editors of papers, find out if your local Chamber of Commerce sends email blasts with events and club meeting times, look into putting our events into AARP, and PBS/NPR local calendars, and send out press releases for every event.  

The Taoist Tai Chi class was held outdoors in the courtyard of the convention hotel. Our instructors, Joel and Lisa, were great. They had us doing the poses of Tai Chi that help with balance and posture, increased strength and flexibility, improved circulation, calmness and peace of mind. The little bunnies by the platform where we practiced Tai Chi stole the show. 

About 12 people participated in our class. The movements reminded me of Kung Fu Panda martial arts moves, performed in a slower, more controlled manner. The Tai Chi class was very enjoyable . I want to take more classs when I return to San Antonio. After class, Joel and Lisa joined us for lunch. 

Joel and Lisa of the Taoist Tai Chi Society

After lunch, we had a Convention General Session. The meeting included a credentialing report, Treasurer's report, the introduction of the 20th AVA Convention Committee, selection of an AVA mascot (the AVA voted not to have a mascot), distinguished achievement awards, AVA Hall of Fame, and President's Award. Our guest speaker was Kevin Kooistra, Executive Director of the Western Heritage Center in Billings. The General Session ended at 4:00 p.m. which gave us two hours until our President's Walk, a Brewery Tour in downtown Billings. 

AVA Convention General Session

IVV (International Federation of Popular Sports) banner

At 6:00 p.m., we were taken by bus to the brewery walk start point in front of the Western Heritage Museum. Darren, Susan and I decided to do the 10k (6.2 mile) walk. The unofficial "brewery district" includes six breweries and two distilleries.

We saw quite a few murals painted on buildings in downtown.

Darren, Mike, and Randy from
San Antonio Road Runners Club

One restaurant really wanted us to remember their name...Ten.

We hadn't eaten dinner yet, so 1/2 hour into the walk we stopped in Guido's 1st Ave Pizza/Pug Mahon's Irish Pub for dinner. Susan and Darren ordered pizza and I had a meat pastie from the Irish Pub. Darren had a beer, Susan and I did not.

After we finished the brewery district, our walk took us through residential areas, the downtown core, and by a couple of parks. It was a very-well thought out walk. We finished the walk at dusk and a bus was waiting to take us back to the Red Lion Convention Center.

Below are more impressions of our walk. The Moss Mansion Historic House Musem was closed, so we could not look around there. The next three flower photos are in the gardens at Moss Mansion.

Peonies

White clematis

Double Delight rose in honor of my dad

Moss Mansion Historic Park Museum

Prettily painted city utility box

Cute bunny in someone's front yard.

As soon as we returned to the Red Lion, I made a quick change and headed to the hot tub. I was able to soak and bubble for 15 minutes before they closed it for the night. The hot tub really helps my aching feet and legs. Day two of the convention came to a close.

AVA Convention Begins - Wed., June 7, 2017

What's the first thing you do at a walking convention? Walk, of course. 

Today's walk was supposed to take us around Norm Schoenthal's Island in the Yellowstone River. As we all know, sometimes plans have to be made in Jell-o. Such was the case this morning. You see, with all the snowmelt, a number of places on the island were underwater because the Yellowstone River was quite high.

Trail underwater on the island

But I'm getting ahead of the morning walk. The walk started from the convention hotel. We walked through a neighborhood, then headed into beautiful park spaces along the Yellowstone River and beside a lake. 

This adorable bird was sitting in the nest box

Bridge to Norm Schoenthal's Island

 You can see we have another gorgeous walking day.

The trails on the island looked good to begin with. Susan, Darren, and I were going to walk as far as we could, then turn around and leave the island. We came to a place in the trail where there was a little water over the trail. It was easy to get around. Susan decided she didn't want to go any farther on this path, so Darren and she turned around. I decided to stay on this trail until the water was too deep to continue.

On the island

Uh-oh, we found the deep water over the trail.
This is where this group turned around.

We went back to another trail and followed it until we again had deep water, and then we all left the island to continue with the rest of the walk. The Yellowstone River was raging alongside our path. 

Yellowstone River through Billings, Montana

Yellowstone River

Pretty, peaceful trail

Red-winged blackbird

Red-winged blackbird

Ruddy ducks have blue bills

 As we walked around the lake, a gaggle of geese walked around our group. You can see lots of "teen-age" birds.

Watering the park

Well-behaved goslings

After looping the lake, we headed back to the convention hotel. I was walking with other people because after Susan and Darren split off at the beginning of the walk, I didn't see them again for the rest of the day.

Unknown (to me) Volksmarchers

Once back at the hotel, I took my aching body (especially my feet and legs) to the hot tub and spent about 20 minutes letting the bubbles soothe my aching muscles. I went back to the room for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, we had an opening Meet & Greet dinner out in the courtyard. From my room, I could see the line for the buffet. When the line subsided, I headed down for dinner. The San Antonio contingent was seated by the buffet line so I sat with them for a while. 

Darren came down to let us know Susan was exhausted and crashed out in the room. We'll reconnect tomorrow.Travel Bug out.