All my life I have won things.When banks wanted to encourage customers to us ATM banking, Pittsburgh National Bank randomly awarded cash prizes for withdrawals.I won $20.My essay on citizenship submitted to the American Legion took top prize.The veterans awarded me a trail bike and my high school English teacher received a $25 U.S. Savings Bond.As a frequent flier, the photo I submitted of my grand-daughter Brianna sitting in my suitcase won an American Airlines “road warrior” recognition.Now, this week, I have learned that one of the many photos that I posted on www.igougo.com is winner of the 2009 U Go! Awards.This photo won the Best of Nature Photo in the Frames of Flora Awards.How cool is that?
When a long journey ends, a warm welcome from family and friends can make you feel so good! And, that is exactly how we felt arriving in Kansas City.On Friday night, our “bus nut” friend Sean opened his house to us and gave us a place to park the coach.By Saturday morning, Suzie and Matt arrived at Sean’s house with hugs and happiness knowing that we’d be in Kansas City for awhile.
Ed and I have traveled over 28,000 miles during our two year road trip that began in September 2007.Four times Sean met us on the road – first in Marshall, Missouri ; then in Albany, New York; once in Pharr, Texas and finally in Fulton, Missouri.It only seems fitting that our final mile ended at his front door.
And, when we look at the map charting our travels, there’s a thick series of lines passing behind a photo of daughter Suzie.Many of our routes no matter what the destination went through Futon and St. Louis where Suzie has lived while studying at the university. I know she and her boyfriend Matt will be happy to have Mom close by – only four hours away, no more wondering “where’s Mom?”
To celebrate our coming to Kansas City, Sean grilled burgers and mushrooms stuffed with crab. Suzie mixed the seasonings for some dippy bread. And, I made a family favorite perogies and corn-on-the-cob too. What a feast!
We celebrated the ties that bind us.We celebrated a safe, extraordinary journey through the US and Canada. We celebrated my new job.
On September 1st, I begin a new career as the Director of Development and Marketing for a Kansas City non-profit organization.Sheffield Place empowers homeless mothers and their children to heal from their trauma and move toward self-sufficiency.When I am not out asking for money to fund this worthy program, I’ll be a tourist in my own town – Kansas City – and I will put the finishing touches on my book about our road trip.
Our journey maybe ending but more experiences will unfold. Expect the unexpected from me and more stories to entertain. This is a new beginning!Welcome to Kansas City!
“So you are on the sinners and saints tour,” laughed Rhonda.You could draw that conclusion.While passing through Iowa, we parked the coach for two nights at the Wild Rose Casino.From the Casino, we drove our Toyota to visit the Grotto of the Redemption.Gambling and a Grotto – what an odd mix!
It happened because of a mere mention of my agate hunting adventure along Lake Superior. This conversation with a manager of the Wild Rose Casino prompted her to recommend a nearby attraction. “If you enjoy agates or stones in general, you must visit the Grotto of the Redemption.”We had seen the roadside sign along Highway 18 earlier and passed it.Now on this hot summer afternoon, I reconsidered.The temperature in the coach was rising and my casino budget was dwindling.The time seemed right for an outing. My expectations of this attraction were low.Little did I know that visiting the Grotto would leave me feeling like I hit the “jackpot”!
Often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and a “Miracle in Stone, the Grotto of the Redemption spans a full city block in West Bend, Iowa.It is the largest religiously inspired grotto in the world. The Grotto is actually a composite of nine separate Grottos; each portrays a scene spanning the life of Jesus from His birth to His resurrection. The highest point of the Grotto rises forty feet.This mountain commemorates the 13th Station of the Cross – Jesus is taken down from the cross.His limp body lays cradled in Mary’s arms in a sculpture patterned after Michelangelo’s famous Pieta.This is just one of the many Italian Mosaic and Carrara marble statues that adorn sacred place.
More than its size, more than its lifelike statues of the Holy Family and other Biblical figures like Adam & Eve, Moses, and heavenly angels, the minerals and stones used to construct the Grotto make it a geological wonder.One man – Father Paul Dobberstein (1872 – 1954) started construction of the Grotto in 1912 to fulfill a promise he made to God.For 42 years, Father Dobberstein labored setting the rocks and gems into concrete.
According to Rhonda Miller, Director of the Grotto, Father used materials considered to be “junk” at a time. Farmers and landowners were happy to have Father haul the stuff away.That “junk” represents a vast collection of minerals and stones – petrified wood, stalactite and stalagmite, malachite, jasper, quartz crystals, sea shells, and other gems invaluable today. An entry on Wikepedia sets the value of the Grotto gems at $4.3 million.In reaction to that number, Rhonda commented, “Bill Gates couldn’t build it. We can’t rebuild it. The materials aren’t available. The Grotto is priceless.”
The Grotto is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its geological value is world renown for rock hounds and artists. Architects study its construction. The non-religious visitors find it a “peaceful place.” The Faithful visitors move closer to Christ after they experience the Grotto.Rhonda Miller says she annual visitation to range between 25,000 – 30,000 people. Guided tours are available May through October, and anytime by appointment.I caught part of a tour but spent most of my time looking at the dazzling minerals and stones, each one unique, each one crafted by the hand of God.
In this sinners and saints tour, I took a gamble visiting the Grotto.It paid off big time!
Usually if you are waiting on a train, you plan to get aboard.No so for the many people who gathered along the tracks in Trempealeau.They waited in anticipation.They followed tweets on Twitter. They clung to cell phones calling friends spread geographically along the track. Some stood, Ed sat.All hoped to get a photo, a video, a glimpse of the world famous steam engine SP 4449.
The Southern Pacific Daylight no. 4449, manufactured in 1941, was among the last mainline steam locomotives to be built.Coming out of retirement, SP 4449 is traveling across America on an Amtrak sponsored trip hauling passengers on a rare excursion.
Just by luck, Ed and I stopped in Trempealeau, Wisconsin on the morning of Saturday, July 18th as we traveled along The Great River Road.A train enthusiast told us about engine SP 4449. He’d driven for more than 2-hours from his home to be trackside.With each rumble of the tracks, he and others jumped with excitement.These false-alarms were diesel engines hauling industrial cars on the tracks across the Mississippi River.
More waiting. Someone got a call! “The train just breezed through Cochrane,” he announced to anyone wanting a progress report.Serious calculations began – time and distance – guesses about arrival time rumored through the waiting crowd.
Soon we could felt the vibration of the ground and glimpsed the puff of steam.The engine approached without slowing at all. Someone with a stopwatch clocked 62 mph.SP 4449 thundered past then faded as quickly as it appeared.
"The only thing better than telling old stories is creating new ones."
Some call it wanderlust. Others say my lifestyle is counter-culture. For two years beginning in September 2007, the journey began aboard our Prevost motor coach,bus conversion. We logged over 28,000 as I chronicled this extraordinary journey filled with experiences on this blog. Then in 2010, a new bold journey began - living in Switzerland and touring Europe.
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