Today we drove down to the southwestern corner of Wisconsin to enjoy the countryside and to see some of the sights along the way. We pulled off at a "scenic overview" below Spring Green that had an intriguing view of part of The House on the Rock, the so-called Infinity Room (pictured) that extends out over the valley below. The we stopped off to see a bit of Pendarvis, part of an 1840s village settled by Cornish miners who had come over to work the lead mines. There are tours, but we would have had to wait too long for one, so we will probably visit it again sometime when we have guests to entertain as well.
From there we went on to see the first state capitol of Wisconsin. Notice capit-O-l, not capit-A-l. The building in what was then Belmont, near what is now Belmont, was where the legislature first met, but Belmont was never designated the capital (city). That was designated as Madison by the legislature meeting in Belmont, but the legislature met in the building at Belmont, making it the first capitol (building). The fun part is that they also met at what is now Burlington, Iowa, meaning that the second capit-O-l of Wisconsin was in Iowa. (Wisconsin Territory included much more than what is now Wisconsin State.) [Okay, Rick, I know the Iowa reader(s) will enjoy that, but one might say that this means Iowa's first capit-O-l was in Wisconsin, so we won't push it.]
We stopped off in Platteville for lunch. Travelers' Tip: The Lighthouse Inn in downtown Platteville has a Sunday brunch. It is a lovely place and the waitstaff is attentive and friendly. Don't eat there.
Our next stop was at the Grotto in Dickeyville. The photo is of the entrance. The entire effect is almost indescribable, so I stole this from another website:
Father Matthias Wernerus built a Crucifixion Group in a corner of cemetery of the Holy Ghost Catholic Church Parish in 1920. In 1925, he built the Eucharist Altar. From 1925-1929, he worked on a much bigger project: the Holy Ghost Grotto (also known as the Grotto of the Blessed Virgin).Apparently the foundation for this was dug by the parish schoolkids, who were given 10 cents, a cookie and a glass of wine a day for their efforts. What is amazing is that this is a fairly tacky place, but years of devotion and effort went into making it, and between 40,000 and 60,000 people a year are said to visit it. Tom and I were two of them today.
The Holy Ghost Grotto is 25' high, 30' wide, and 25' deep. Thousands of colored stones, molten glass, gems and jewels are embedded in cement. On each side of entrance is a pillar bearing a flag – one for religion, one for patriotism. The altar inside has statues of angels, the Virgin Mary and Child.
The Grotto was actually a community project. Concrete was poured into slabs or modeled around metal forms and then studded with bits of glass, tiles, crockery, stone, shells, costume jewelry and other materials donated by parishioners.
In 1929, Father Wernerus began another shrine entitled "Patriotism in Stone", a tribute to Columbus, Washington and Lincoln. While gathering materials for another work, Wernerus caught pneumonia and died in 1931.
ON the way back we drove along the Wisconsin River and enjoyed the hills, the valleys and the river views.
A full day!
PS to the Brooklyn Broccolos - including Kirstin: We will show you some of the more local sights when you visit. November weather may not make a trip to southwestern Wisconsin all that good an idea. On the other hand...
1 comment:
We are down for whatever! I remember Wisconsin as a kid and I thought it was beautiful...although I don't remember what time of year it was. We are wearing shorts in the photos we have from that trip. That was the first time I ever stepped foot in a Catholic church. I will never forget how beautiful I thought it all was.
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