Dickeyville Grotto

While driving around rural Wisconsin last week I passed through the small town of Dickeyville and spotted the Dickeyville Grotto.

Stained glass restoration at Holy Ghost

The Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines were erected on Holy Ghost Parish grounds by Father Matthias Wernerus, a Catholic Priest and Pastor of the Parish from 1918 to 1931. His handiwork in stone, built from 1925-1930, is dedicated to the unity of love of God and love of Country.

The shrines consist of stone, mortar and bright colored objects from all over the world. These include colored glass, gems, antique heirlooms of pottery or porcelain, stalagmites and stalactites. How do you collect all that stuff?  Donations?

Look closer and you'll also see sea shells, starfish, petrified sea urchins and fossils, and a variety of corals, amber glass, agate, quartz, ores, such as iron, copper and lead, fool's gold, rock crystals, onyx, amethyst and coal, petrified wood and moss.

The rain was starting so I just made a quick lap through the gardens.  If not for the rain maybe I would have inquired about the stained glass work they were doing at the church.

No rain today, sunny with a high of 82 and cooler temperatures on the way for the rest of the week.  I'm hanging around home, at least until Friday.  Wayne goes on Thursday to start another series of epidurals to help control his back pain.

No rain today means we're hoping to get the outside of the RV all washed up for his big cross country dash in 10 days.  All the way to Maine, then on through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to catch the ferry to Newfoundland with stops for lobster dinners with Cory along the way.  Me?  I'll take to the skies a week later to join them.  Can't wait!