One of the wonderful things about traveling is stumbling upon an unplanned tourist attraction, like finding some money when you are taking a walk or realizing that there is one more donut left in the bag. That's what happened to us while traveling one year down Interstate 40 in Groom, Texas. We could spot it 20 miles away.
As we got closer, we saw signs for the large cross, and went to see what it was all about. There was a large parking area so we had no problem with our truck and trailer. We found an exhibit of the 14 stations of the cross, the huge cross, a gift shop, and a small building which held an exact replica of the Shroud of Turin, thought by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus. There was no charge to view the exhibit.
Here is the cross. It is 19 stories high (190 feet), 11 stories wide (arm span - 110 feet), and weighs 2 1/2 MILLION POUNDS! It is the Second Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere. (The largest is in Effingham, IL, which, by the way, we've seen, also!)
The Fourteen Stations surrounded the base of the cross.
This is the First Station: Jesus is condemned to death. (All the bronze statues are life size.)
Second Station: Jesus carries his cross.
Third Station: Jesus falls the first time.
Fourth Station: Jesus meets his mother, Mary.
Fifth Station: Simon helps Jesus.
Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time.
Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross.
The exhibit is open 24/7, 7 days a week. In the evening all the exhibits are lit up. I bet that lighted cross is something to see in the dark of night!
18 comments:
This must be quite an exhibit to see in person. The cross is amazing.
☼ Sunny
The cross is BIG and the rest of the exhibit is very realistic, I wonder how many could look at it with an easy heart?
wow. that is some awesome statuary...
that's really interesting. your picture of the cross is amazing. i'd imagine it would make me feel sad to see this in person (plus i'd worry about the cross falling over... it's so HUGE.)
you see so much in your travels....
perhaps a book is in your future?
you could call it "Travels Across the US w/ Pat, Jim & Big Blue!."
Wow. Thanks for sharing!
Amazing! Thanks for the tour.
I bet it was awesome to see it in person; the pictures are great to see but I know they don't do the exhibit "justice" so to speak. I wonder who runs it because you know it had to cost a bit to put it all together. Makes me want to travel to Texax just to see this. Now that I think of it, withthe Stations of the Cross, it is more than likely a Catholic type of ministry that runs it. But still absolutely amazing! thanks for sharing it
betty
Wow! That is amazing.
amazing...really brings the story to life.
amazing workmanship.
I agree that that is totally amazing. What is more amazing is that the ACLU hasn't tried to have it removed! Our country was founded on faith in Christ so these are more than expressions of our faith but also of our history. Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Pat,wow!that is something to see.How wonderful to travel and discover new stuff!
Have a good weekend.
I love that place! We've been there several times but since no one in Ron's family lives out west any longer, we don't ever drive that way. I don't know if it's still there or not, but they used to have a building with a replica of the Shroud of Turin. It was quite fascinating.
LOL - I should have read more closely. I totall missed the reference to the Shroud. Sorry... Oops!!!
I've seen those GIANT crosses all over the country.
This is the first time I've seen the stations of the cross statues. When I first saw the pic of the one with the Roman soldier leading Christ to Calvary, I thought it was a Native American leading him and went, "SHIT! That's some kind of Mormon bullshit."
WOW. I have seen this before on blogs or emails. I was so impressed when I first heard of it. Imagine the talent and devotion to create all that? What a magnificient display to honor God. I would love to see it one day. I agree, I bet it is utterly goose pimply at night!
Amazing statuary, Pat. Thanks for sharing it.
Your fall template is awesome as well.
Have a great weekend!
B xx
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