...actually
four churches!
To cap off the Thanksgiving weekend last Sunday I decided to go on the 5th annual Painted Churches ride with the South Austin Area Motorcycle Enthusiasts (SAAME). The route took us southeast of Austin to some spectacular 100+ year old churches built by the local farming communities. These churches were, and still are, the heart and soul of the surrounding areas serving as not only the church, but as community centers, rec centers, voting centers and sometimes schools. When built, the local folks could not afford expensive stone masons and artisans, so they painted them. Today they stand as reminders of an era long gone, and yet still somehow with us. The combination of the folk art and history surely links us to our Texas roots.
The day started with the temps in the low 40's with the winds gusting well into the 30's. Turn out was low with six bikes and seven riders. (Thirty something riders had originally signed up for this ride!) Our first stop was the Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ammonnsville established in 1890...
Inside...
We then headed over to the Sts. April & Methodius Catholic Church in Dubina established in 1856...
Inside rivals the beauty of that Valkyrie...
From Dubina we rode over to the Austrian - Moravian settlement of High Hill to find the St. Mary Roman Catholic Church establish in 1860...
This was the biggest church of our little tour...
We then headed to lunch at Frank's in Schulenburg. My family and I used to stop here on the way to and from our deer lease every weekend during hunting season thirty something years ago. It has not changed much! Not far away is the St. Mary's Church in Praha...
Though going under extensive renovation on the outside, the inside was really beautiful...
This was a really great ride through some beautiful country I don't normally visit. I plan to make it again this spring when the flowers are out!
Oh, and something I found out too late: This is
not a water cooler left out for visitors to get a drink...
Here's a link to plenty more pictures of these fantastic churches...
http://photobucket.com/paintedchurches112711
