"But wait," you--my devoted readers who track my progress daily with a golf pencil and protractor--surely protest, "Why did you suddenly dip 20 miles south when you're clearly heading for the South Dakota border?"
Glad you asked.
While passing through a tiny little town called Ventura, and enjoying my characteristic bad luck finding a soup, sandwich or salad not riddled with pork fat, I received a tip from a woman named Vivian at a tiny ice cream shop (where, for the record, I abandoned my hope of a nutritious lunch and settled for a characteristic grilled cheese sandwich and side of fries) that there's one thing I MUST see before leaving Iowa: the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend. Since up to that point I honestly hadn't seen ANYTHING in Iowa, and since it's obviously Christian-themed, I was all ears.
In a nutshell, this site should be considered one of the top 20 man-made wonders of the world. It's the largest grotto on earth and an almost unparalleled display of one pastor's faith and lifelong devotion to an unthinkably ambitious work of art and engineering.
Of course, I have no images to share--yet--since I'm reduced to stealing Wi-Fi from a closed public library in another miniscule town, but I spent hours there and took about
3,000 photos, so you'll have to ask me very nicely not to post them all.
Seriously, this place blew my ever-lovin' mind.
Sal,
ReplyDeleteSounds awesome! Just one question: how is it that the largest grotto on Earth fits in a nutshell? I'm thinkin' that's one darn impressive nutshell and should itself be considered a Wonder of the World!
Literal Chris
Sal,
ReplyDeleteWow! I can't wait to see the photos.
Literal Chris,
ReplyDeleteThe nutshell was definitely over the top. Father Dobberstein was a bit of a hot-dogger.
(There, that should give you at least two things to mull over.)
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI know you'd really appreciate this place. A friend tells me
it's actually the 8th man-made wonder of the world.