Notre Dame Cathedral - The Rock Garden

 

Notre Dame Cathedral

No, we did not 'fly' to Paris ... it was only a 9 mile drive to the other side of Calhoun to "The Rock Garden", located behind (and associated with) the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  

Entrance to The Rock Garden

The Rock Garden is free to visit, although there is a donation box at the end for those who wish to help support this exhibit.  The parking lot of the church is paved, but the parking lot of the Garden is gravel, with around 20 parking spaces.  "IF" full, you can always park in the church parking lot and walk down to the Garden, less than 1/10th of a mile away.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

The first Rock exhibit after you enter the Garden is the O Little Town of Bethlehem exhibit.  The impressive thing about the Rock Garden is that although it has a spiritual theme, not all of the exhibits are of religious items.  

Close up portion of 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'

The detail put into each of these exhibits is just amazing.  (If you click on any picture you will a larger version of the picture...the picture above is even larger.)  The Garden is the inspiration of Dewitt Boyd, also known as "Old Dog", and his wife Joyce, who joined in on the action later.  For more info on how and why The Rock Garden was made, check out Wikipedia or do a Google Search.

Prayer Garden Bench

On the other side of Bethlehem is an enclosed area with a canopy of greenery where one could sit and contemplate, meditate, or pray.  It is very serene.

Prayer Garden looking back to Bethlehem

Although around a dozen people were in the Rock Garden, I could hardly hear anything in the Prayer Garden area...it was very peaceful.

Along the pathways, there are little unnamed castles, or in some cases, towns. 

There is a brochure which includes a map of the Garden, including the names of prominent features.  Up to this point, the pathway was fairly ok for Marcia's GoGo or walker...but unfortunately ... 

... the pathway gets narrow, VERY narrow.  I was by myself, telling Marcia that "IF" it was ADA accessible AND if it was worth the return visit, I would bring her to it.  Well, it was good she stayed in the motorhome.  Too bad it is not accessible, and as a 'Religious Site' it does not need to be ADA, (religious entities are completely exempt from Title III of the ADA).  It is too bad that they did not think about people with disabilities when they put this together.

Dover Castle

With over 50 Castles, I can't share each and everyone of them...for one thing, I did not take a picture of each little Castle that was just along the pathways.  Below I will post some of the larger exhibits with their names.

Lighthouse

Castle of Rejoicing

Martin Luther Monastery

Castle of Angels

Church Hill Castle

Castle of my Heart

Notre Dame Cathedral

 

The Cathedral above shows the detail that is put into all of these exhibits.  Below is the inside of the Cathedral.

Inside Notre Dame Cathedral

Camelot Castle & Bridge to Nowhere

Children's Castle

Coliseum

Coliseum

Jerusalem (exhibit unfinished)

The Cross (outside the gates of Jerusalem)

I hope this gives you an idea of just how intricate and detailed this entire collection of exhibits are.  If you are ever in the area, it is worth the hour or so to enjoy looking it over.  It is located behind the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Highway 53, just southwest of Calhoun Georgia.

Note:  Our faucet head came in today...fit like a charm.