What's Behind the Third Door?

Holy Cross Abbey is a beautiful place to visit. The self-guided tour is interesting with signs describing the various rooms as well as giving certain directives.

I do not possess the necessary "skills" to venture beyond this point, but, boy, would I ever like to know what lies down around the bend.

This door was not wearing a sign of any sort and was located in the main hallway.

The best part of this photo is that I caught my mom's reflection; there's not enough of mine to be incriminating. While sitting on a handy bench, we had a very short discussion about the right or wrongness in opening the door. Yes, my fingerprints would be on the doorknob. We would never have guessed what was on the other side . . .

Quite a relic! The stool obviously has held up many ... bodies .... as they held their various conversations.

One interesting conversation took place in May of 2000. A woman had attended the 7a.m. Mass, as was her daily routine. She decided to stay a while longer to reflect, meditate, and talk with God. It was a warm day so the chapel doors had been left open. She became aware that a large dog had entered the chapel; however, as this dog processed down the aisle and turned its head to look around, the woman realized she was in the very sacred company of a mountain lion. Scarcely daring to breathe, she watched as the regal cat continued to the altar. After a emitting a low, contented growl, he plopped down under the pews where the monks sit. The lady made her exit, closing the door behind her. The Colorado Division of Wildlife arrived to find the lion sound asleep. They further sedated the cat so they could safely do a relocation act. I would post the newspaper article, but I find it pitiful to see the photo of that big cat being carted off. Rest assured that this is indeed a true story - - no "lion".

Another Exclamation Point

First, a nice view of the monks' chapel. Simple but ornate. I would really like to have a guided tour of this monastery. There has to be some good history behind the altar pieces, the stained glass work, just all of it.

After leaving the chapel, there was a semi-dark hallway begging me to enter. About halfway down, there was this sign ... complete with the exclamation mark ... in red...

Resisting two exclamation points in one day was too much. Plus, the door was open. Plus, doesn't that look like a ghost in the distance? So I stepped inside, a little bit inside.

Boring! However, forgetting to tell the flash not to go off made me jump as though I were a guilty person, or something. I was back on the proper side of the restricted area in a flash, so to speak.

This holy water font was in the (dark) hallway and needed the flash. I was wondering how old it was, and why it was placed in this hallway rather than closer to the entrance to the chapel when I heard voices. Really. Muffled voices and somewhat nearby. I was curious.

This hallway was behind the chapel's altar! There are two doors for the priests to use. I was peeking through the door, into the chapel, and there were two people sitting and talking. Take another look at the chapel photo above; there are the two doors. I love the zoom feature on my camera!

Thankfully, I did remember to set the camera to "No Flash". The little grille openings were a challenge - forget setting up a clean, straight shot. And that is not a ghost way in the back.

This is the sculpture in the back of the chapel. It is titled "Love of Jesus"; the sculptor is D. Edward of South Park, Colorado; and you may purchase it for $50,000.

Stepping Up

After ... well, a while .... it seems like a good idea to get back and finish what I started. So here I am, visiting the historic Abbey and have made it to the monks' chapel.

 

I do love to see where stairs might lead me, providing they will hold my weight. It became more intriguing as I crept around the corner.

No one was around except my mom. Should I? The worst part about these do not enter signs was the exclamation mark. So I did not enter . . . I just  s t r e t c h e d  to the top step and took a look via the camera.

Pretty cool, huh? So I did a little zoom....

My curiosity (almost) satisfied, I turned around to leave. Sweet little chapel.

Once back down "where I belonged", I turned to take a look up. Wouldn't it have been a hoot to see a monk glaring down at me?

Later, back outside, I tried to figure out which window I had sneaked a peek at.

This wasn't the only peeking around that I did. I hope it doesn't take me another two years to show you what else I found.