2018 05 24 Blue Lake Campground, Churubusco, IN 2018 06 04 Lehman's Lakside RV resort, Marengo, IL

24 May 2018 - Blue Lake Campground, Churubusco, Indiana 

Just a short stay to get through the Memorial Holiday weekend. This little town is just outside Fort Wayne, is nicknames "Turtle Town".

The mascot of Churubusco, Oscar the Turtle. The oldest continually held festival in Indiana is Turtle Days, from a legend of a giant snapping turtle that lived near Fulk's Lake in Allen County. Many people tried to catch the monster who was said to be the size of a small car. Oscar sneaks away through the lakes and ponds around Churubusco which are connected by a series of channels and streams and even underground tunnels. Even the draining of Fulk's Lake did not turn up any evidence of Oscar but many of the townspeople insist they have seen this beast.

28 May 2018 - We stopped at this campground to rest up before heading towards Chicago. It was peaceful with a lovely moon rise. The Blue Lake attract a full crowd for the holiday weekend but even with all those people they were very respectful of others. Overnight quiet time was adhered to and even during the day there were no loud parties. There was a lot of golf cart traffic which stirred up the dust and left our truck coated. 

31 May 2018 Lehman's RV Resort, Marengo, Illinois

Sun reflection off clouds looking east, towards Chicago and Lake Michigan.

1 June 2018 - Union, Illinois. Our day at the Illinois Railway Museum which houses America's largest collection of rail cars. 

We did take a ride on an electric trolley. 

Our motorman gave us a thorough history of Chicago Interurban cars, Rapid Transit and Streetcars. 

Eight barns with all the different types of trains displayed. Trains are designated based on the Whyte Wheel Arrangement. During the steam engine days, there were many different types of layouts adopted, each wheel being optimized for a different use. So this engine would be numbered by the wheels as a 2-4-2 engine. The notation counts the number of leading wheels, then driving wheels and finally, the trailing wheels. Then the engine is given a specific name. The above engine is a Columbia engine. 

Wow. That wheel is taller than Bob so over 6 feet tall. 

An old ticket counter. 

Many of the train cars have or are being restored like this one. The cool thing about this car is that the seat backs swing forward so passengers can always travel facing forward. 

A well known Chicago to Gary to Valparaiso to South Bend line. 

"Mr. E.H. Harriman, of the Union Pacific Railroad himself gimme this job". What movie is this line from? (Answer: diK ecnadnuS eht dna ydissaC hctuB) 

We were too early for a Day Out with Thomas. It was a very long day and our puppies were glad to see us.

Dogs decided to walk themselves for a bit. Looking toward the tree lined entrance of the Campground so it is safe from other dogs.

This is one of our neighbors who came in for the weekend. Guess they are kind of Chicago Cubs and Bears fans. 

2 June 2018 - Lake Defiance, Moraine Hills State Park, Illinois

Great Blue Heron feet and all. 

Nesting wren standing guard at his nesting box.

Lake Defiance, Moraine Hills State Park

2018 05 17 Mohican. 05-18 05-23. Adventure Bound Camp, Van Buren, OH, and Toledo Area

Loudonville, Ohio - 17 May 2018

 Last day at Mohican State Park. Several rain showers has raised the creek several inches but the trees have almost completely leafed out. 

Mohican State Park has pull-through sites but they are right off the main road. Our site was shaded but a little short for both the RV and the truck to be parked.

Van Buren, Ohio, Adventure Bound Campgrounds - 17 May 2018

Bob completed installation of fold away clothes dryer that Kristen and Dave had given me a couple years ago. I have always like to dry clothes on a line outside but campgrounds do not allow lines as hazards to people walking around, children playing and damage to the trees. Bob attached the wooden rack to a TV wall mount so it swings back into the basement for storing.

19 May 2018 - Time to celebrate on a BIG slide.
They don't make them like this any more. The Van Buren State Park was right next to the campgrounds.

 Toledo, Ohio - 23 May 2018

Toledo is not more than 30 minutes away so before leaving we took a day trip to the Botanical Garden. 

An 1837 cabin built for an American fur trader and wartime scout, Peter Navarre, who was instrumental in Commadore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory over the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, near what today is Put-in-Bay. He lead 70 Kentucky sharpshooters through British and Indian lines to reinforce Perry's forces before Parry and his ships cast off to engage the enemy. 

A woodpecker (right) continued to hang around in a tree in front of the cabin leading us to suspect a nest in one of the trunk holes. A lovely grouping of white iris.

The running stream had become clogged with silt and the sides were washing away. Dredging of the creek bed allows the water to flow more freely while the addition of the rocks slows the flow and increases the oxygen in the water. 

We saw many examples of things we had planted at our house in Ohio, like this wysteria in front of a stone wall garden feature.

Pretty purple blooms hang from the vines that have wrapped around the wooden pergola. I am watching a dozen or more carpenter bees digging holes in the wooden supports.

We always wish there were more labels for the specimens that we cannot identify like this heavily blooming shrub. 

Perspective #1 of tree sculpture.

Perspective #2 of tree sculpture.

This is the beech section. From afar, the dark leaves reminded us of a King Crimson maple so we were surprised to find several different beech trees.  

Under story azalea bushes. 

Lunch at the local diner - 23 May 2018

Established 1948, Schmucker's (not Smucker's, that's in Orrville, OH) serves classic comfort food and over 20 kinds of home-made pie. Family owned and operated, the fried chicken and tenders were thinly coated and fried golden outside and juicy inside. The creamy, graham cracker crust, strawberry cheesecake was delicious and the Dutch apple pie was full of not-too-tart apples.

Menu with the street sign that is still outside in the parking lot. 

The Historic Church of St. Patrick

Cornerstone laid in 1892 and the first mass was celebrated on Christmas, 1900. The challenge was to find laborers in the Irish community who were busy constructing the Miami and Erie Canals and were more interested in saloons than churches. When we arrived just before 3pm, we found the doors locked. There were some volunteers at the Food Pantry who volunteered to give us the "5 minute" tour. One of the first things we learned was that the steeple has been hit four times by lightning, all causing some degree of damage. The strike on 9 Sep 1980 destroyed the 240 foot steeple and falling debris damaged the roof and other portions of the structure. In 2006, Parishioner Margaret Tank, a local teacher who seemed almost destitute after she retired, bequeathed funds at her death in the amount of 6.5 million dollars for the steeple reconstruction and other upgrades, including the sanctuary's organ.   

St. Patrick's is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. The exterior is constructed of Amherst blue sandstone and the interior contains 10 red granite columns. 

From the Choir. The three altar pieces are hand-carved oak. The interior has an ornamental groined ceiling supported by ten soft red granite columns, 22 feet high with richly carved capitals of white marble. 

The pulpit with it's fan. Very unique.

All of the stained glass windows were created by a New York firm in 1898. This transept window, one of six, are 14 feet wide by 40 feet high. 

New outside shatter-proof coverings replaced the plexiglass that had yellowed and turned cloudy reducing the amount of light coming through the windows. The new coverings are clear to maximize the light but still protects the windows from damage. 

From the altar toward the Choir with the organ's pipes on the back wall.

The terrazzo floor inlaid with shamrocks. Our guides were so gracious and that 5 minute tour ended up being more like 30 minutes. We also found out that one of them is the official bell ringer for Sunday mass. Before we left, they encouraged us to make a visit to...  

Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral

While it may not have the history of St. Patrick's, the Cathedral is as extraordinary, just in a different way. 

This is the only Spanish Plateresque style Church in the United States. Ground was broken in 1925 and the building was structurally complete in 1931 but interior decoration and dedication wasn't finished until October 1940. 

The exterior is covered in Massachusetts granite and Indiana limestone. The cathedral is 285 feet long and 215 feet wide. The bell towers reach 96 feet high and each contains a bell cast in the famed Gillett and Johnston Foundry of Croydon, England. That is me standing in front of the doors craning my neck to see all the carvings surrounding the European cypress doors. The Children's Rose Window above the doors was donated by the children of the Diocese through a "penny campaign" and depicts scenes from the life of Mary.

The front door has a statue of Mary over the center, Peter to the left and Paul to the right. Additional statutes of Saints are incorporated in the multilayered arches surrounding the door.

The bell tower sides are open and while I waited for Bob several small hawks flew into the lower windows seemingly to feed their chicks while a Peregrine falcon perched on the top. The side doors also have various statues of Saints carved in the archways.

Interior from the back looking towards the altar. The main aisle frescos painted on the ceilings depict 28 Old Testament prophets and kings. Above the sanctuary is the sacrifice of Jesus that established the New testament. 

The Crucifix above the altar is made of European walnut with the figure of Jesus caved from a 250 year old bleached oak. It is 8 feet wide and 12 feet long. Enclosed in the cross is a letter written by the wood craftsmen of the August Schmidt Studio which was not discovered until late in 1990 when the cross was refurbished. 

The Children's Rose Window has an image of Mary and Jesus in the center with scenes from Mary's life. Arching over the Rose Window the mural depicts the Creation from the book of Genesis. 

One of several Confessionals crafted of Wisconsin oak. Each door is decorated with a biblical scene of repentance and mercy. 

The pulpit is carved of white oak from the Black Forest of Germany and is highlighted with delicate carvings. In the canopy are sculptures of four Latin Doctors of the Church, Saints Gregory, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose and St. John the Evangelist. 

One of four side doors.

The stained glass windows are made of Norman Slab and English Antique Glass. They were crafted by the Angelo Pitassi Studio of Pittsburgh, PA. The large panels depict the various "orders" of the church, for example St. Peter - the Papacy; St. Vincent de Paul - Priesthood; St. Roch - the Laity; St. Joseph - Workers, etc. The interior walls are covered with limestone quarried in Domremy, France. Lining the nave below the large windows are shields that bear the titles of shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary throughout the world.

The side aisle ceiling frescoes depict the mysteries of the Rosary and were painted by Jan de Rosen. Each panel is divided and displays the New Testament event and a related old Testament event. 

Close up of a ceiling fresco, designed by Felix Lieftuchter, a native of Cincinnati, and rising 83 feet above the floor. 

The intricately carved marble Baptismal Font is octagonal, a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ on the "Eighth Day," and has suspended above it a forged aluminum cover, embossed with numerous Christian symbols. It is crowned with a statue of John the Baptist. A system of weights and pulleys allow the 130 pound cover to be easily raised with one hand. 

The baldachino, a canopy of honor commonly placed over the altar, consists of various marble types. It now highlights the baptismal font located beneath it.

Most of the information presented was detailed in the Self-Guided Tour brochures we picked up at each location. These pictures and descriptions do not do justice to the incredible architecture, paintings and carvings. The Rosary Cathedral is very grand in scale, intimidating in some respects, and is certainly capable of taking your breath away. The more intimate interior of St. Patrick's Church is so astounding and its history and "rough around the edges" neighborhood it feels more personally alive as a parish church.