Yes, I'm a day behind again but it isn't Moms fault this time, we couldn't get good wifi so there was noway uploading any photos. The rule here in Yellowstone is that you can't park and sleep for the night anywhere in the park and if you do the rangers can take your pass and make you leave. So playing by the rules we drove out on the East side of the park this time. There were very few campsites open and the ones that were, had no room since they're booked for weeks at the time, and most are huge fifth wheelers or RVs we were forced to take what we can find and that was this super expensive fake log cabin. It was filthy and I found a pill on the floor that I chewed on, but Mom quickly took it away from me.

they advertise that this is Buffalo Bills hunting lodge

but before we ended up here we spent the previous night at the west entrance of Yellowstone and was back on the road early dawn. Mom said all animals are early risers ......I beg to differ? but it's ok because I go back to sleep as soon as we get into the car.

This morning was super exciting because Mom spotted a black bear and parked in the middle of the road to get a picture. She didn't let me out to see him tough.

 om wished he would turn around but was afraid to call his attention

Yellowstone has three loops, and the first day we only made the North loop.

It's a big park and we're stopping often to admire the fantastic scenery and for me to take a leak and sniff everything

When we left there were no coffee places open but inside the park, we found a gas station with fresh coffee and Mom got a muffin............yes I had a treat too but was mostly interested in these curious little critters. They kept looking at me but as soon as I tried to say hello they disappeared underground

so far we have seen a Black bear, bluebird, hummingbird, Bald eagle, elk, coyote, bison, prairie dogs, and chipmunks...

if we only got to see a wolf too........

Bisons was on the road again and the are huge.............this one kept walking right towards us and I was wondering what will happen? but he avoided the car slowly 

we had lunch at a place called Silver Spring and we met this lady, Her name was Diane and she was an artist who paints nature. we sat here for a very long time since she and Mom seemed to have a lot in common, She too was driving and sleeping in a car. I kissed her a lot

Se claimed that this lodge across the street was Teddy Roosevelt's hunting lodge, but Mom tried to google to makwe sure it was facts, but couldn't find it?

The restroom at this place was very "rustic" and a couple of pillows on the floor if you felt like meditate ???

Continuing on we stopped many times to take pictures. The speed limit is mostly 45 throughout the park and many times even slower because of many sharp bends.

Mom is afraid of heights, so she decided we should drive the Beartooth highway?

The Beartooth Highway is the section of U.S Route 212  It traces a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks, along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 ft (3,337 m) high Beartooth Pass in Wyoming. The approximate elevation rise is from 5,200 ft (1,600 m) to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) in 12 mi (19 km) in the most daring landscapes............sounds just like the kind of road she's scared of.............I don't get it? but who am I to question her? That's why I'm the best travel companion she says

One of the most fascinating sights you’ll see along the way is a near-perfectly carved pyramid rising up between the granite mountains. It almost looks as though someone picked up one of the great pyramids of Egypt and placed it among the Beartooth mountain range. Carved exquisitely by glaciers, its unique shape led the Crow Indians to name it “bear’s tooth,” which is how the mountain range and highway got their name.

The road was amazing and the views incredible, Mom became mute and that's never happened before trust me......not sure it was because she was scared amazed or concentrated on the road.............all three Mom said,

It was so windy on the top I wasn't let out of the car because mom thought I blow away.

Anyway, she let the window open so I called out to this little guy, and he came running and we had a chat, I'm sure he wanted to make friends but Mom didn't think so. She said she didn't even know what it is? He looked sad when I left...........bet he doesn't have too many friends up there 

There's a motorcycle rally in Red Lodge so there are billions of Harleys everywhere, and these three bikers we met at the badlands last week..........great people, we may see them again.

at one of our stops on the way down, the bikers were feeding chipmunks sunflower seeds...........aren't they ruining the tuff guy biker image when they do that?

MOm wanted to do that too and begged for some seeds.........the little buggers didn't even care that I was there hoping it was a treat that  I like too.......but noo. I noticed they didn't eat the seeds, the just filled up their faces which got bigger and bigger, so I decided to back off before they blow up....(Mom made me)

Here's the last stretch back to the valley

Before we left the park I met a park ranger, That's like a cop for the forest Mom said, I really liked her and tried to get her mask off to kiss her face. She loved me too so we smooched for a long time, while Mom visited the ladies room.

we passed this sign a few times too 

so now my story is back to where I started and that was the expensive lodge at the east entrance. 

again we left early to head to Old Faithful and then the Tetons but I'll tell you all about that tomorrow,

Right now we're at a campsite south of it all, we drove quickly through Jackson which was too crowded and super expensive.

I think town we're in is called Greys river

sleep tight..............

As we're sitting in the swing on the porch I heard a noise I never heard before, I stayed alert in case I have to defend Mom from whatever owns that moo grunt sound?

I know Mom heard it too but didn't seem one iota concerned so I decided to stop worrying about it but as we're leaving in the morning Mom stopped and rolled down the window and said: this is what made that noise last night.

Wow, those puppies are BIG, not sure I could have defended me against those giants. They gave me the shakes

On March 1, 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park for all to enjoy the unique hydrothermal and geologic wonders. From their energetic sounds and interesting aromas, mud pots and fumaroles provide some of the richest experiences for the senses.  

we entered the park at the North entrance and the first stop was at Mammoth Hot Spring. We are now at 5314 ft(1620m) 

No dogs were allowed on the boardwalks and that was fine with me because that water is hot. I watched the car (took a nap) while Mom climbed those stairs.

the first town we came to was Norris, and there had been a fire at a restaurant the day before and it was still smoldering and town smelled like smoke

we took a quick walk to look around but nothing was open because we were too early...as well I thought we don't need all the souvenir trinkets anyway.

A river ran through the town and we walked out on the bridge a bit, 

since we couldn't camp inside the park we drove to the west entrance to spend the night. As soon as it get light in the morning we'll be going back into the park to make another loop and hopefully see Old Faithful.

This park is big but we only made the upper loop today which is only 70 miles (113km). Still, it took all day because Mom drove slowly so we don't miss anything and we made at least 100 stops........I didn't go out on all stops I felt perfectly fine where I was laying. 

I definitely didn't go outside when Mom stopped for these beasts,,,,,,,

at the last waterfall, I did take a walk and met my cousin...

more pictures from the park

We did go for a walk in the town we are in now, but again, it's stores are wall to wall tourist trinkets Tshirt Time to rest so we get going early says Mom 

Good Night

I know I'm a day behind now, but if Mom doesn't get too sleepy I'll try to catch up. We were in Yellowstone all-day today and it's gorgeous. I'm not allowed on the boardwalks and trails but it's ok because the view from the window is pretty good too. A few times Mom left me alone for a few minutes to take pictures and I'm ok with that because it doesn't get too hot in the car now.

Yesterday morning we left a town named Livingstone, which Mom thought was about 1 hour from Yellowstone. She was wrong it was more like 2,5 hours.

Anyway, it's so crowded here and most campsites are closed due to the virus so you have to make reservations even for a tent spotMom called a place called Paradise (sounds pretty good right?) The lady that answered took a while and said: yes I have ONE spot left, so Mom said we take it. Lady wanted Moms name and that's when it got really difficult 

Lady didn't get it, so Mom started with Edvard, Victor, Adam Lenny, and so on, the lady still didn't get it and Mom looked at the GPS that it was 14 min away. She told the lady we'll be there in 15 min.so please keep the spot........she didn't. She said she couldn't save the spot without a credit card??  Mom was too tired to argue so we got a cabin instead. It was cute but no bedding, only a mattress with thick plastic, our car is more comfortable, Anyway, it was 42 F (6C)when we woke up so we quickly continued our travel and MOm said Halllelujaaaaa for heated seats.

this was the view from the porch

and the campsite was next to a beautiful river, these boats had no engine, and kind of rough stream Mom wondered how they planned to row upstream, 

a little birdie entertained us

we thought it was about an hour to the entrance of the park, but it turned out closer to 2 ...with all the pitstops for pictures and tinkles 

we are getting closer

Mom loved these lawn ornaments and wish she could bring them home to our house...........sure that'll go over real well with our HOA I say.... haha exactly she said .............??

It's 5,30 and we are going out in town to find something to eat...................I hope MOm will have the strength to help me continue our travel story when we get back...........she's been awfully tired at nights lately...

Later alligtor

Yesterday .................early morning as usual and this fella was having his breakfast munching away on the green grass

first stop today was Devils Tower It is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet (265 m) from the summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet (1,559 m) above sea level.

Devils Tower was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt The monument's boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres (545 ha).
The Tower is sacred to several Plains tribes, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Kiowa. Because of this, many Native American leaders objected to climbers ascending the monument, considering this to be a desecration. The climbers argued that they had a right to climb the Tower since it is on federal land. A compromise was eventually reached with a voluntary climbing ban during the month of June when the tribes are conducting ceremonies around the monument.

There are many great legends regarding the tower and the unusual looking columns that bear a striking resemblance to claw marks. It’s no surprise that both the stories, from the Lakota Sioux and the Kiowa, involve a similar narrative. In the Lakota Sioux legend, six girls were out picking flowers when they were attacked and chased by bears. The Great Spirit felt bad for them and raised the ground beneath their feet. The bears gave chase and attempted to climb the newly formed tower, but they couldn’t get to the top. The bears fell off, clawing the sides of the monolith.

Deer gracing here too

Continuing Northwest we were driving the Warrior Trail Highway 212 and it's miles and miles of hills and tall grass. We are on a prairie and can't help thinking of the Pioneers and their wagons, how they must have struggled

We are comfortable but it's nothing but grassy hills as far as we can see. Mom is getting sleepy and needed to stop for a minute and we found a store that supposedly was located on Custer's last camp. The owner was friendly and had many stories to tell. Mom got ice for our bucket and then we went for a walk.

the ATM machine looks out of place here

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which resulted in the defeat of U.S forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25–26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana Territory.

there was no dogs allowed here either? It is sacred ground ................sooo god doesn't like dogs huh?

The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull. The U.S 7th Cavalry, a force of 700 men, suffered a major defeat while under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were annihilated and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (six died later from their wounds)

we continue west and an occasional bar pops up in the middle of nowhere.................

there were millions....no billions of grasshoppers here......................

more saloons

we are now in a town named Billing, and Mom can't decide what way to go?  we can make the loop north to Missoula and then loop back to Yellowstone, or ???

I don't get involved in the navigation Mom will go wherever she thinks there's something interesting to see, and I'm fine with that. That's why I'm the best travel companion Mom says

  Getting ready to continue our adventure...............see ya in the morning

  sloppy kisses for ya'll

We got up really early so we could beat the crowds at Mt.Rushmore, but forgetful Mom didn't charge the batteries to her camera overnight like she planned. We did get to the mountain around 9AM and found out the "No Pets" policy again. Stupid stuff but it didn't matter because we had a great view of the faces anyway.

Keystone was a town to stop at on the way, but we are too early for anything to be open but it didn't matter since it was mostly some touristy stuff except this chainsaw carvers work, which is quite impressive we thought.
Mom wanted "real" breakfast bacon and eggs but all she could find was sweets and vine which could have been ok at a different time.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a massive sculpture carved into the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Completed in 1941 under the direction of Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, the sculpture's roughly 60-ft.-high granite faces depict U.S presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln

 

A lifesize portrait of the Polish American carver Korczak Ziolkowski

Leaving the monument we drove along a very nice and fun road, we stopped to look at the profile of one of the presidents.

At the Crazy Horse park, they didn't have any issues with a dog, so I was happy to go for a long walk and getting so much attention from so many people................I think I'm a star

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

This is a model on how it's supposed to look when it's done, it'll be huge.

Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S Federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people. His most famous actions against the U.S military included the Fetterman Fight (21 December 1866) and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (25–26 June 1876). He surrendered to U.S troops under General Crook in May 1877 and was fatally wounded by a military guard, allegedly while resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present-day Nebraska. He ranks among the most notable and iconic of Native American tribal members and was honored by the U.S Postal Service in 1982 with a 13¢ postage stamp that is part of its Great Americans series.
Crazy Horse resisted being photographed and was deliberately buried where his grave would not be found. Ziolkowski envisioned the monument as a metaphoric tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse and Native Americans. He reportedly said, "My lands are where my dead lie buried." His extended hand on the monument is to symbolize that statement.

there's a lot of controversies about this carving too,..............

The memorial master plan includes the mountain carving monument, an Indian Museum of North America, and a Native American Cultural Center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain, on land considered sacred by some Oglala Lakota, between Custer and Hill City, roughly 17 miles (27 km) from Mount Rushmore. The sculpture's final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet (195 m) long and 563 feet (172 m) high. The arm of Crazy Horse will be 263 feet (80 m) long and the head 87 feet (27 m) high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S Presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet (18 m) high.

The monument has been in progress since 1948 and is far from completion. If completed as designed, it will become the world's second tallest statue, after the Statue of Unity.

Henry Standing Bear, an Oglala Lakota chief, and well-known statesman and elder in the Native American community, recruited and commissioned Polish-American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to build the Crazy Horse Memorial. In October 1931, Luther Standing Bear, Henry's older brother, wrote to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who was carving the heads of four American presidents at Mount Rushmore. Luther suggested that it would be "most fitting to have the face of Crazy Horse sculpted there. Crazy Horse is the real patriot of the Sioux tribe and the only one worthy to place by the side of Washington and Lincoln." Borglum never replied. Thereafter, Henry Standing Bear began a campaign to have Borglum carve an image of Crazy Horse on Mt. Rushmore. In summer of 1935, Standing Bear, frustrated over the stalled Crazy Horse project, wrote to James H. Cook, a long time friend of Chief Red Cloud's, "I am struggling hopelessly with this because I am without funds, no employment and no assistance from any Indian or White.

On November 7, 1939, Henry Standing Bear wrote to Korczak Ziolkowski, who worked on Mount Rushmore under Gutzon Borglum. He informed the sculptor, "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too. Standing Bear also wrote a letter to Undersecretary Oscar Chapman of the Department of the Interior, offering all his own fertile 900 acres (365 ha) in exchange for the barren mountain for the purpose of paying honor to Crazy Horse. The government responded positively, and the U.S Forest Service, responsible for the land, agreed to grant a permit for the use of the land, with a commission to oversee the project. Standing Bear chose not to seek government funds and relied instead upon influential Americans interested in the welfare of the American Indian to privately fund the project.

In the spring of 1940, Ziolkowski spent three weeks with Standing Bear at Pine Ridge, discussing land ownership issues and learning about Crazy Horse and the Lakota way of life. According to Ziolkowski, "Standing Bear grew very angry when he spoke of the broken Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). That was the one I'd read about in which the President promised the Black Hills would belong to the Indians forever. I remember how his old eyes flashed out of that dark mahogany face, then he would shake his head and fall silent for a long while.

Elaine Quiver, a descendant of one of Crazy Horse's aunts, said in 2003 that the elder Standing Bear should not have independently petitioned Ziolkowski to create the memorial, because Lakota culture dictates consensus from family members for such a decision, which was not obtained before the first rock was dynamited in 1948

She said:

They don't respect our culture because we didn't give permission for someone to carve the sacred Black Hills where our burial grounds are. They were there for us to enjoy and they were there for us to pray. But it wasn't meant to be carved into images, which is very wrong for all of us. The more I think about it, the more it's a desecration of our Indian culture. Not just Crazy Horse, but all of us.

After these two attractions it was time to drive a scenic loop .........narrow without guardrails, I could hear my Moms heart beating of fear and her hands was all sweaty despite AC.
Too bad there weren't enough places to pull over to take pictures, so many of them are taken while driving and the glare from the window shows...........My question to Mom is: how scared can you be when you drive with one hand while taking pictures with the other?

we squeezed through several tight spots where only one car at the time fit, good thing no-one was in a hurry

this was called the eye of the needle, pretty cool to drive through, 

Views are absolutely spectacular but Mom is scared of heights and can't drive too close to the edges so it was difficult to pull over to the side. She says she feels dizzy looking over the edge...The high altitude may also have something to do with it?

Black Elk Peak, which rises to 7,244 feet, is the range's highest summit.(2 200m)

we stopped in a town named Custer and had lunch. another typical town for tourists selling Tshirts and the usual trinkets. We didn't stay long and we soon continued west to next goal. We made it just over the border to Wyoming.

Bars do not want gunslingers in their establishment.............wonder why ?

Lots of painted bulls in this town too

Yesterday I didn't have very good wi fi so I'm a day behind in my story................we are very close to Yellowstone now............but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow morning because I'm sleepy from driving so far today..................HA says Mom: you, can't be tired from napping in the back most of the time.. She's considering teaching me how to drive so I can take over when she gets so sleepy.

Good Night kisses Ya'll..............

After a good night's sleep, we are back on the road again continuing west towards Mt.Rushmore.The closer we got the closer the billboards got. There were so many you couldn't read them all but the kept repeating over and over for miles 

The landscape has changed no more corn the miles and miles of green we see is food for cattle. We drove through some gorgeous green hills, so green and so smooth it looked like velvet. Mom wishes there were somewhere to drive off the road to really take it all in, but noooooo................everybody is in a rush. the speed limit is 80mph (130km) so traffic is moving along good

Next, we entered the Badlands park and we stopped to look at the prairie dogs. They have become so used to tourists to feed them so they were like pets.

It's 96F (35C)so it looks like this little doggie passed out, we should have brought him water, but I wasn't allowed to get

close

Entering the park was like driving in a different world, but no pets allowed on the paths, fine with me, who wants to go out there in 96-degree heat and risk your life fighting rattlesnakes anyway? I see everything just fine from here, and Mom agreed.

Badlands National Park is located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe.

a big part of the park as a designated wilderness area, and is one site where the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered mammals in the world, was reintroduced to the wild.The South Unit, includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances, a former United States Air Force bomb and gunnery range.

warnings about loose rocks don't climb.............but there's always just THAT ONE guy 

and then is the guy that's posing his Hawaiian girl doll...........and taking selfies together ????

Authorized as Badlands National Monument on March 4, 1929, it was not established until January 25, 1939. Badlands was redesignated a national park on November 10, 1978. Under the Mission 66 plan, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center was constructed for the monument in 1957–58. The park also administers the nearby Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Movies such as Dances with Wolves and Thunderheart were partially filmed in Badlands National Park.

This was a great experience for both of us, loved every second............and as usual, there's no way to capture the amazing size of it all in a picture

On the way out of the park, we spotted these guys but they had no interest in any kind of introductions.They just turned their backs

One of the billboards that kept repeating was about a Wall Drug? must be a new kind, but is it legal to advertise like that? Turns out it's a town known as aTourist trap , so off we went

It wasn't super crowded and we found a parking space in the middle of it all,

they claim artifacts handcrafted by natives. Not so at all, the same tourist trinkets and Tshirts in every store. A few gold shops but Mom have no interest in jewelry so we pretty much made a quick walk through the town which felt very fake

At one end of town the biggest silos I've ever seen...........or whatever it is?

These look at me cars passed us on the road later

ok I remember a story about this guy in a different town we visited? guy get around

Mom! I'm just a puppy............................. I'll be one next week though 

Here's a guy that's as tough as I am ......................

Tomorrow we are going to look at more rocks

Good NIght,,,,,,,,,,sweet dreams

The morning routine has become Mom looking for a nice park and today was my lucky day because we visited two dog-friendly parks.

 Falls Park is a public park located in north-central Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounding the city's falls. Through it runs the Big Sioux River, and it includes a café, observation tower, and the remains of an old mill

This park and falls are gorgeous so we spent a couple of hours walking around. Sun is beating down and shade is hard to find, The spray from the fall felt good 

a kind soul left this guy a drink..........well needed from sitting in the hot sun

In the evenings there's a very impressive laser show which lights up the falls in all the colors of the rainbow.....we didn't

stay but there are YouTube pictures of it, and there are also pictures from their Christmas lights which is truly impressive...........

The grass is so soft and cool on my paws, I wish I was loose to run 

The second park we visited was Palisades state park 

The Park is considered one of the most unique areas in South Dakota. Split Rock Creek, which flows through the park, is lined with Sioux quartzite formations varying from shelves several feet above the water to 50-foot vertical cliffs. 

I don't think I have to worry about Mom breaking this law about jumping off the cliffs

The water is muddy brown, so not very inviting to swim in and I thought nothing can live in this mud? but these two ladies were fishing for catfish and said they taste delicious.

sometimes I have to run ahead and clear Moms path............or drag her up steep stairs............I always have to wait

sweet green grass and cool shade, I could take a nice nap here..............

This is how I like to lay while Mom drives. and she thinks that's weird when I have the entire bed in the back, and my own comfy seat in front ............ this is exactly in between.........and I like to be close..

Tomorrow we're going to the badlands??????????? What's up with that ??????? I want to stay at Goodland

See ya in the morning 

Good Night

Friday morning and Mom feels I've been such a good boy so I deserve a nice run in a park, so before we left Pella she asked the maplady for the closest park. It was a gorgeous park but not fenced so I could run loose(which I prefer)but Mom wasn't comfortable to let me loose in unfamiliar places.We did take a long walk all alone except birds chirping

Next, the maplady sent us through field after field with corn and beans I thought it never end........all of a sudden she had us turn on to a dirt road? This couldn't be correct? but Mom said she trusts her to 100% after learning the hard way for not follow instructions on other occasions

Our car fits in much better with a layer of dust....a windmill park

  .

A tiny sign that we almost missed told us we are in Minnesota now? and that surprised Mom because it wasn't in the plan, but after a look on the map, we will just skim the southernmost part before we get to South Dakota tomorrow.

We stopped and spent a few hours at The Grotto of the Redemption a religious shrine located in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, the Grotto contains a large collection of minerals and petrifications and is believed to be the largest grotto in the world

No pictures could do this justice, no matter how hard Mom tries.No charge and no dog restrictions..........

It is also "considered to be the world's most complete man-made collection of minerals, fossils, shells, and petrifications in one place. The total value of all the rocks and minerals which make up the Grotto is over $4,308,000 Over 100,000 people visit the Grotto each year

Father Paul Dobberstein was a German immigrant ordained in 1897. He became critically ill with pneumonia and promised to build a shrine to the Virgin Mary if she interceded for him. After his recovery, he began stockpiling rocks and precious stones. Construction of the grotto began in 1912 and continued year-round for 42 years.

Father Dobberstein used the knowledge and skills gained during the construction of his first grotto honoring Our Lady of Lourdes while training at St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin. His method was to set fancy rocks and gems into concrete. In 1946, Father Louis Greving began helping Dobberstein with the construction. The grotto covered an area the size of a city block when Dobberstein died in 1954. Matt Szerensce helped work on the grotto until his retirement in 1959. The Grotto has been maintained by Deacon Gerald Streit since 1994

photobomb..................we are at Adrien campsite now and the wifi is so slow so we're using the car's wifi which is super fast bad thing we have to keep the engine running

time to turn in for the night 

Good NIght