Holy Family Shrine

At Gretna, Nebraska, between Omaha and Lincoln is the Holy Family Shrine. Located beside Interstate 80, the shrine was built by the Catholic Church as a place for pilgrims to have a spiritual experience. Regular masses are held at the shrine and people may schedule special masses. 
The glass encased shrine sits on a small knoll overlooking the stark Nebraska Prairie. 


In front of the shrine is a large crucifix. According to the shrine's web page information HOLY FAMILY SHRINE including the pedestal the shrine stands forty-feet over the prairie.  It weighs 2,820 pounds and is welded from stainless steel tubing. Michael Montag made the over eight-foot figure of Christ with a lost wax process. The  crucifix, alone, is forty feet, representing the forty days of Lent.  
I thought it particularly appropriate to have this post during Christian Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter.


My next post will take us along the Platte River to see Sandhill cranes.

Wyoming Windmills

A gentle breeze blows softly across the back of my hand.

There’s power in that hand. 

It may accomplish much,

or nothing at all.

Hands, through the ages, have hammered, sawn, pulled levers and knobs;

building cities and towns.

Hands have harnessed the breezes.

The power of wind.

But wind, that unseen force refuses, to quit, to submit.

A timeless breeze continues.

It chafes my hand in passing.

A whisper of strength.

Wyoming Windmills

Iowa

Traveling 800 miles a day is too many.  The world goes by as a blur through the window, This is not the same as experiencing it.  By the second day of our trip, our legs hurt and we were becoming restless. Gas usually costs $4.00/gallon discouraging us from taking this U-Haul truck very far off Interstate 74 or 80.  Also, we were only allowed a specific amount of miles from West Virginia to Nevada.  We didn't want to go over that  number.  So onward we drove . . . and drove.
Towns rushed by our window: Peoria and Davenport, Illinois. Then we crossed the Mississippi.  
It is a long way across Iowa.  I am sure Iowa is a nice place to live.  The people are probably plenty nice, but they aren't real friendly. To me a friendly person can look you in the eye, might say, "hi." and will  give more than yes/no answers in  response to attempts at conversation.  Probably Iowans would better be described as "reserved" rather than "unfriendly."  
In two trips, nobody was ever mean to me in Iowa but once I was unable to get a conversation started with a bartender when there were only 4 people at the bar.  Not rude, just not "friendly."  But remember, I have spent most of my life in or visiting southeastern United States which sets a high bar for friendliness. 
Finally we reached Council Bluff, Iowa. Near the end of our trip. 
Council Bluff is/was the starting point of the Mormon Trail.  Until the 1860's most wagon trains gathered here before heading west toward California and other newly settled lands.  Transcontinental train travel slowed the wagon trains down but they continued intermittently until the the late 1800's.  
Today, though Council Bluff is known for other things. Along with Omaha, Nebraska, it is part of a large metropolitan area. It is also home to some well-known Bridge Art. 

Like many new art installations, this one comes with plenty of controversy.  The "hands" have been blamed for at least one car accident and have brought Council Bluff plenty of insults and compliments.  I believe they are supposed to represent the modernity of Council Bluff. 
Some travelers have thought more of the hands of Edward Scissors Hands.
In the Mid 1800's the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy exploration party crossed the Missouri River at what is now Council Bluffs to blaze a new trail to and through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In our rented truck, we followed mostly the same route now known as Interstate 80. When I thought about the struggles of those pioneers on the trail, traveling for weeks, trudging across America, I almost feel guilty for complaining. I said, "almost."
For now, like those Pioneers, we crossed the wide Missouri still driving west.