We decided to visit the Cathedral of St. Helena before leaving town this morning.
Our timing was perfect; we heard organ music coming from the cathedral and followed the sound.
I'll have trouble describing the cathedral adequately. It is so beautiful in an ornate, old Europe way, with every detail like a little treasure. Turns out the design was inspired by a cathedral in Austria. All the stained glass except for the very front window is from Germany. The windows depict the life of Christ and Catholic church history.
We were the only ones in the sanctuary except the practicing organist, a man painting some wood protectant on one of the confessionals, and the cleaning lady, Kim, shown here reluctantly posing by one of the holy water receptacles.
Kim does all the cleaning for the cathedral, including the vast downstairs rooms where meetings are held. She's a 30-year resident of Helena and says it's not so cold. "Oh, there are a few days where it is 30 below but it really doesn't feel that cold." She wore longjohns the first few winters, but now she doesn't find it necessary to wear them.
Kim told us the cathedral is decorated throughout with 24-karat gold leaf. It seats 800 and is so popular for weddings you have to book it a year in advance. There are 250 families in the parish, and many of the priests come to St. Helena from nearby Butte, which according to Kim was settled by the Irish, giving St. Helena many priests of Irish descent. Besides St. Helena, the area contains 4 or 5 other Catholic churches, so obviously there's a large Catholic population.
Just then, the organist began playing Bach, so we settled in the pews as the sublime tones washed over and through us. Thrilling. I would have loved to have stayed for the noon concert - all Bach!
As we left, Kim pressed some brochures on us ("not for just anyone"). Outside the cathedral, I took lots of photos of the saints and figures and the crow's nest in one of the alcoves. Arrrgg- I was so overwhelmed by the Bach I'd forgotten to reset my camera for sunny outside photos. They all came out blurry. But it was a wonderful experience, the kind that can happen when you slow down and spend time in one place.
Moving on, we headed to Couer d'Alene, Idaho. At a rest stop enroute I saw my first prairie dog.
At tiny mining town Wallace, Idaho (in the Silver Valley - guess what they mine there?) we found a cool silver ring with elk ivory for John. It was mined, smelted, and crafted in Wallace.
In Couer d'Alene we stayed at a brand-new Holiday Inn Express which featured free BBQ and beer from 5-7PM. Here's John going out to the car for the THIRD time for something I forgot. What a guy!
We've had a great time, but I am sooooo ready to be done with driving all day. Tomorrow we head home to Seattle!
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