Rudolph Grotto and Wonder Cave

 

Today OK Cap drove Jilly Moose, Anna Banana II, Richard Bonomo, and me up to Stevens Point, where we had lunch at Bullheads on the Wisconsin River. We sat at a wonderful table in the shade from which every one of us had a view of the river. I bought OK Cap a dessert in lieu of gas money, and then all the Rosary Ladies ended up getting dessert, either carrot cake or lemon cake. Here's a photo of our view.

Then we went to Rudolph, where a priest even more energetic than the one in Dickeyville had built a garden and grotto. There were lots of flowers everywhere, and it was lovely. Here are some photos of things built of rocks.

In a tiny, musty museum, I found this uber Catholic setup:

There was a two-story "Wonder Cave" full of lit-up pictures like these:

This one had palm trees on it, so I had to take a picture.

We came out on top of the two-story "Wonder Cave" and immediately found this sundial. Rich noted that it was in Standard Time, and I retorted, "That's because it's REAL time!" and he said, "I knew you would appreciate it!"

It was quite a workout going through the Wonder Cave, and it got us four flights of stairs, but not enough steps, so we stopped for a walk at Little Plover River Park and found... the river? a creek? Here I am with Anna Banana II, OK Cap, and Jilly Moose, standing in front of it.

And here we have swapped out me for Rich.

Several of us had bought new rosaries at the grotto gift shop (because of course it had a gift shop, but they don't take credit cards), so we prayed with them on the long ride back to Madison. Once in town, we sat out on the patio of Waypoint and had dinner. The walleye is outstanding! Here is a photo Rich took of me so that you can see the water (and the Beltline!) in the background.

Our waitress took a photo of all of us, with the stone wall in the background.

Speaking of our waitress, when our bills arrived, they said her name was "Extraterrestrial." Since I remembered she had introduced herself as Ellie at the beginning of the evening, I asked if that was short for Extraterrestrial. She sighed and said because her initials are E.T., her supervisor had put her into the system as "Extraterrestrial," and she was unable to change it. That reminded me of the order for Toe Knee, which led to me creating a new dance craze that will surely sweep this nation. It's called the Extraterrestrial, and it couldn't be easier: You holler "Toe!" and touch your toes, you holler "Knee!" and touch your knees, then you wave your hands in the air and holler, "Togo! Togo! Togo!" Now try it with me: "Toe! Knee! Togo! Togo! Togo!" You sing it to the tune of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Grotto."

Famous Hat