This is a gonna be a big one. Despite near-constant thunderstorms and tornado watches, we packed in a ton today. Our main destination in Cullman was the Ave Maria Grotto, but it’s outdoors so we waited out the first rainstorm at the Clarkson Covered Bridge a few miles away.
It was originally built in 1904 and closed to motor traffic in the 60s. But you can still host your own Lawless-style bootlegger shootout here.
We were blessed with about an hour’s rain reprieve just as we got to the Ave Maria Grotto - thanks, Patron Saint of Not Getting Rained On! Ave Maria is a truly special place. Even if you’re not religious, it’s got so much history and charm and attention to detail you can’t help but be enchanted. It’s a collection of miniatures made by a Benedictine monk from Bavaria who came to the newly founded monastery in Cullman, AL in 1892. He permanently and seriously injured his back soon after, making him ineligible for his dream of priesthood. The monastery allowed him to be a Brother and shovel coal instead, because what better work for a bad back than back-breaking labor? Amazingly, in his spare time, Brother Joseph Zoetl managed to instead build his legacy by constructing hundreds of miniatures of historic places, biblical scenes, and saints’ shrines out of cemented stones, jewelry, household items and assorted bric-a-brac. The collection eventually attracted so many visitors that the Main Monk Guy kindly asked him to chill with the mini-making, bro. Luckily it was eventually decided to instead move the collection to a dedicated garden where tourists could visit it without interrupting the daily routine of the monastery. It was completed in 1934. I could have posted a billion photos from this place but I’ll try my best to keep it to the best ones:
Little gondola in Montserrat
The main Grotto
Li’l Crypt
I don’t remember this version of the Hansel & Gretl story but it looks exciting! There’s a dragon in a cave!
Brother Zoetl made sure he was chained up, though, so visiting children wouldn’t be scared for poor Hansel & Gretl
Statue of Brother Zoetl looking over his kingdom
The tiny crane lifting rocks to the top! The “Tower of Babel” signs in different languages!
Don’t you just wanna shrink yourself down and swim in this pool?
We almost didn’t see this cat because it was so perfectly still watching a chipmunk in the bushes. Sadly it succeeded in its stalking. Circle of Life, ya’ll.
Two more somber displays... the monastery’s cathedral also operates a school, and each white cross represents a graduate who died in WWII.
And a replica of the Peace Church in Hiroshima.
And Just a few of the beautiful patterns and textures in the sculptures:
After the Grotto, we had lunch at a regional fast food chain called Jack’s, which promised a Fried Green Tomato BLT (BLFGT?) but it turns out all Jack’s outlets had SOLD OUT OF FGTS! We drowned our sorrows in FCBLTs (Fried Chicken BLTs) instead. Sorry, no pictures.
I got Walmart Selfie #2 in Cullman from the Murphy gas station, which counts no matter what Dad says because they’re “primarily located in proximity to Walmart Stores” per Wikipedia.
Then we headed back to the Boondocking site and packed up and headed west.
The living room in Road Mode when the slides are pulled in.
A bit down the road we saw signs for the longest Natural Bridge east of the Rocky Mountains, so we had to stop and fact check this wild claim.
It was quite impressive, and more like a huge cavern with skylights than what we imagined. It’s actually several “bridge” segments cross-crossing.
The beautiful forest around the Bridge and what has been deemed “Indian Face Rock.”
The lady who was running the admissions for the Bridge was ready to get the hell outta there because a tornado watch had just been issued, so we got back on the road.
We passed Splunge Road, which takes you to the town of Splunge, a town so unfortunately named that it has a variant name of Lannsdale. Wikipedia doesn’t say why but I think it’s fairly obvious.
116 miles from our start in Cullman, we arrived in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
Tonight we’re staying in a Corps of Engineers Campsite at Blue Bluff Recreation Area. Our spot is right on the Aberdeen Lake section of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The views are gorgeous and the sky cleared just after we pulled in and set up!
Two geese and their goslings glided straight across the water towards us and pecked around in the grass just a few feet away.
We watched the sunset from the dock just behind our site which is for general use but practically feels like our own private dock.
Mom gussied up some leftovers for dinner (we are big leftovers connoisseurs) and another Frozen Banana Deluxe for dessert. Tomorrow we continue west into Arkansas!
