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How does a Saturday night in a Texas Honky Tonk lead the intrepid Rv’er to the largest religious grotto in the world? That is the magic of our lifestyle, my friends!! A chance meeting with a transplanted Iowan and subsequent conversation about our visit to the Winnebago factory brought us to the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa.

Shouting over the steel guitar and twang of the Patsy Cline "sound- a- like", Roger told us about this "pile of rock" in his boyhood town. We were intrigued as we had been to Iowa before and this particular site was new to us. The vision of millions of dollars worth of precious and semi-precious in our heartland seemed like a great side trip.

Well sure enough, we had no problem finding West Bend, Iowa and the Grotto of the Redemption. It represents the largest collection of minerals and petrifaction concentrated in any one spot in the world. It’s estimated geological value is over $2,500,000. The beauty of the stones and the Grotto itself is worth the visit, but the story of the builder Father Paul Dobberstein is also important as he alone collected and built the Grotto. For 42 years, the German born priest labored, winter and summer, setting ornamental rocks and gems into concrete. He could be seen day after day, with his rock hammer and trowel, dressed in work pants and a gray sweater, lovingly glorifying the Lord, one small rock at a time.

The Grotto is a composite of nine separate Grottos, each portraying a scene in the life of Christ and His work of redeeming the world. Over 100,000 visitors come every year. There are hourly tours from June 1 to October 15 however the Grotto is open year around. The Grotto is flooded with spotlights for evening viewing.

Donations fund the overnight campgrounds. The facilities include 80 electrical hookups, modern restrooms and showers and RV dumping station. We drove around the campground and found it to be very nice. We could see where it would be a wonderful family trip and a unique way to teach children Bible stories.

A gift shop is on the grounds and large restroom facilities attest to the number of visitors who make a pilgrimage to this special place.

While we were in West Bend we visited the Sod House and the county’s first one room school. These buildings are just a few blocks away from the Grotto and are located next to each other.

So the next time you are in a Texas Honky Tonk on a Saturday night strike up a conversation with the fella at the next table. The road goes on forever and the discoveries never end!

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Clubhouse | Jewels in the Plains

Photographs by Rupprecht