Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado

Last summer my husband and I finally took a ride up to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado. For years we had seen the statue in the distance on the top of a foothill, that you see in the photo above, from Interstate 70 whenever we returned home from a trip to the Rocky Mountains, and we'd both say: "someday we have to take a ride up there!"  Mother Cabrini, officially known as Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, was well known to us as the "Patron Saint of Immigrants," and was revered in New York City for her work as a missionary sister working to help Italian Immigrants in the late 1800s. In 1889, New York seemed to be filled with chaos and poverty, and into this new world stepped Italian-born Mother Frances Cabrini and her missionary sister companions. Cabrini organized catechism and education classes for the Italian immigrants and provided for the needs of the many orphans. She established many schools and orphanages despite tremendous odds.

You can read more about her on the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus web site--the religious order which she founded in 1880.

Mother Cabrini also loved the mountains of Colorado and the foothills west of Denver held a special attraction for her. During her journeys in 1902 to visit the Italian workers and their families in the Clear Creek, Argentine, and South Park mining districts, Frances X. Cabrini discovered a property on the east slope of Lookout Mountain owned by the town of Golden. No reliable source of water was known to exist on the property at that time, although there were two fine barns and a springhouse built in the 1890s. In 1909-1910, she negotiated the purchase of this property as a summer camp for her charges at the Queen of Heaven Orphanage in Denver, Colorado. A farming operation, with poultry, other livestock, and dairy cows, was established and maintained by three of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart who set up living quarters in the loft of the larger barn. During the summer months, groups of about twenty girls, according to age, would spend several weeks at the summer camp. They enjoyed the freedom of the outdoors and recreational activities in addition to tending the animals and performing farm chores.

Please click on photo to enlarge

Mother Cabrini had established Queen of Heaven Orphanage in North Denver in 1902 to take care of orphans of Italian miners killed in accidents in Central City and Blackhawk.  It functioned for over 70 years.

In 1912 during Mother Cabrini’s last visit to the foothills, she and a builder, Thomas Eckrom, drew up the plans for the Stone House that would serve as a dormitory for the girls.  It was completed in 1914. Upon the closing of the Queen of Heaven Orphanage in 1967, the summer camp became a year-round retreat facility and a place for small prayer gatherings.

Moved by faith this land was bought by Mother Cabrini for the orphans but after her canonization as a saint in 1946, and her declaration as "Patroness of Immigrants" by Pope Pius XXII in 1950, it was also turned into a shrine to honor her.  It is now a peaceful place for people of all faiths to gather and reflect and enjoy its serenity.

To reach the top of the shrine one has to climb 373 steps on the Stairway of Prayer.  There are benches along the way in case you need to rest...

...and there are the 14 Stations of the Cross along the step's path on the ascent.

The stairway follows the path Mother Cabrini, the sisters, and the children took to the top of the mountain.

Each station's picture is made of stone mosaics made in Italy.

As one climbs the steps the city of Denver, can be seen in the distance!

It is quite a view! 

At the top of the hill is this beautiful 22-foot (6.7 m) statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed by Maurice Loriaux and mounted on an 11-foot (3.4 m) base, which was erected at the highest point of the site in 1954.

Inside the base of the statue is a statue of Mother Cabrini

In front of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a heart made of stones enclosed in glass. On her last visit to Colorado in 1912, Mother Cabrini took several sisters and a few of the children from the orphanage by horse and buggy along a cow path to the foot of the highest hill. Leaving the buggy at the base, they climbed to the top where they gathered white stones and arranged them on the mountain in the shape of a heart surmounted by a cross; with the smaller stones, she formed a crown of thorns on the highest promontory, overlooking the city of Denver. Frances X. Cabrini dedicated the hill to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, naming it the “Mount of the Sacred Heart”. Those are the stones still present beneath the glass case and preserved for all to see.

This magnificent statue now looks down on the city of Denver in the distance ...

...and is surrounded by this natural beauty! If you look closely at the photo above or click on it to enlarge it, you can see the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in the distance.  Many people have placed benches at the top in the area around the statue as memorials to their loved ones.

After some prayer and reflection, we walked back down the steps. 

There is a chapel dedicated to Mother Cabrini on the grounds over the water grotto, As you can see by the sign by the altar her birthday is this week--July15th.

At the time the summer house was built for the orphans all of the water needed for drinking and cooking had to be brought up to the summer camp from the stream at the bottom of Mt. Vernon Canyon. In September 1912, the sisters complained to Mother Cabrini that they were dying of thirst and there was no water to be had. She answered, “Lift that rock over there and start to dig. You will find water fresh enough to drink and clean enough to wash.” The spring, which is housed in an 8,000-gallon tank, has never stopped running. Many pilgrims, through their faith, believe the water has brought healing and peace to their lives.  You can see the spigots where this water can be drawn in the photo collage above.

Please click on photo to enlarge

Also, on the grounds is a small museum filled with mementos of Mother Cabrini, including some of her clothes, her writing desk, and some letters.

The work of Mother Cabrini continues in her order.

Last fall my husband and I were invited to attend the 41st Jefferson County Historical Society's Hall of Fame ceremony, as we are members of our community's historical society.  We were pleased to see that Mother Cabrini was one of two "Hall of Fame" award winners for last year, for her good works in Colorado and the fact that her shrine attracts visitors from around the world.  A member of the Legendary Ladies group portrayed Mother Cabrini and told her life story at the ceremony.

This biography of Mother Cabrini and the Hall of Fame plaque will be displayed along with past winners at the Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County Administration and Courts Facility in Golden Colorado.  It is a wonderful and well-deserved honor!

* Edited on 9/30/20 to add that the Colorado Legislature passed Frances Xavier Cabrini House Bill 20-1031 into law, establishing Frances Xavier Cabrini Day as a Colorado State Holiday. The first paid state holiday in the nation that recognizes a woman, Cabrini Day will be observed in Colorado annually on the first Monday in October.

PS: Thank you to all who offered their condolences on the loss of my blog friend, Shelagh, last week.  It was hard to lose a friend who I've known so many years of blogging and who always had a pleasant and uplifting word for me. She will be truly missed!

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Apple Nut Tart

It was our monthly book club meeting and my turn to host. The book we were discussing was A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. A very brief synopsis of the book is that it is a historical fiction book about the life of Christina Olson, who was the mid-20th-century painter Andrew Wyeth's model for one of his most famous paintings, "Christina's World." 

In the book, Christina often makes fried apple skillet cakes for breakfast for her parents and brothers. I wanted to serve an apple dessert to the book club and searched for a recipe that was a little more elaborate than Christina's. I found a recipe for Apple Nut Tart in an older Family Circle cookbook from the 70's that was delicious. I really liked the brown sugar crust and the layer of nuts under the apples.

Apple Nut Tart

Bake at 350 degrees fro 45 Minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 1/4 flour

3/4 cup plus 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

1cup walnuts ( or pecans, which is what I used)

1/4 cup golden raisins

5 cups 1/4 inch thick, peeled quartered apple slices ( 2 pounds) Rome Beauty or Cortland

1.4 cup (1/2 stick) butter melted

1.2 cup walnut or pecan  halves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1) Combine the flour with 3/4 cup of brown sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut in the 1/2 cup of butter and the egg with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one hour.

2) Preheat oven to moderate -- 350 degrees

3) Flatten the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured board to a 12 1/2 inch circle; sprinkle with a little flour, if the dough becomes too sticky. Transfer the dough to a 10 x 1 fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press and pull up the dough, making sure it is level with the top of the pan. (like all sweet crusts, this one is difficult to work with? Press the dough firmly into the fluted side, keeping the dough a full 1/4 inch thick; if the crust is thinner, it may slip down during baking. Place the tart shell in the freezer until it is very firm, for 20 to 25 minutes.

4) Ground the 1 cup of nuts in a food processor for two seconds until they are coarsely ground. Sprinkle the ground nuts and the raisins onto the tart shell.

5) Toss the apple slices with the remaining half cup of brown sugar in a bowl. Arrange the slices in a circular pattern on top of the raisins and nuts in the tart shell. Drizzle the melted butter over the apple slices.

6) Bake in the preheated oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until apples are soft. Cool tart on a wire rack. Remove side of the pan.

If you wish, arrange nut halves around the edge of the tart and serve with ice cream or whip cream.

I also prepared a delicious Whole Grain Banana Bread loaf, using a King Arthur Flour recipe, which you can see in full on this link.  I never prepared banana bread with a whole wheat flour before and I was pleasantly surprised at how the whole grain flour gave it a nutty flavor. 

As you can see from the photo collage above, there are many signs of autumn in our community!  Large pumpkins and sunflowers are fully grown in the community garden, apples are ripened on the trees, and late summer flowers are all a bloom. The new fawns born in early summer are losing their spots and growing almost to full size. Temperatures are dipping down to the high 40's and 50's at night and this morning I heard that there was a dusting of snow on the top of Pike's Peak! 

That does not mean that everyone isn't squeezing in all the summer fun that they can, as you can see by the people floating down Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado.

 (If you want to learn why there is a big letter "M" on the mountain in the distance click on this link to read my blog post about that, and a place that Golden, Colorado is famous for besides Coors!)

It is always fun to stand on the bridge and watch the people float by.

Both sides of Clear Creek in Golden are bordered by walking paths, with flowers and Public Art Work sculptures along the way. It's a beautiful place to walk.

I hope you also enjoy these last days of summer. Do you see signs of autumn where you are?

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North Table Mountain Trail and Park, Golden, Colorado

When I learned North Table Mountain, in Golden Colorado, had trails leading to its top, I became somewhat obsessed with the desire to hike up it one day to see the views from the top. We drove by it often, on our way to visit family, and it looked like a challenge I wanted to try.  (All photos will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

North Table Mountain is actually a mesa, formed about 60 million years ago by lava flows. At the 6,555 feet, (1,998 m) summit of the mesa is North Table Mountain Park.  The park is rimmed with fifteen miles of trails and is home to prairie dogs, deer, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks that nest in the cliffs, and rattlesnakes.

My husband and I parked our car in a lot at the base of the west side of the mesa, on State Highway 93, just north of Pine Ridge Road.

The trail up is a wide gravel path and is about a mile long.

It is hard to judge from my photos, but it is a very steep trail--almost straight up in climb.

I had to take it slow and rest often to slow my pounding heart, as the 400-foot elevation ascent was a challenge for me, but those who were younger, and obviously in better shape, were able to run, bike, and climb without resting too often.

Stopping along the way enabled me to take some photos of the volcanic rock formations and look for nesting raptors.

The south portion of the mesa had particularly prominent cliffs.

The last few hundred feet were ahead to the summit...

...and then a look back at where we climbed from the bottom when we reached the top! I made it and was happy to finally be on flat ground again.

Unfortunately, clouds were quickly gathering and we could see the weather was going to change, but we hoped to see as much as we could on the summit before that happened.

It was exciting to be on the top of a mesa and the sheer size of it became apparent right away. We saw trail markers and had to decide which way we would hike.

We decided to hike the Lichen Peak Trail, a narrow "hikers only" trail that traverses through "Lichen Peak Garden," which is a hardscrabble area composed of many basalt rocks covered with various forms and colors of lichen.  Lichen is formed by a symbiotic relationship between single-cell algae and fungus.  The end of Lichen Peak Trail is the highest point on the mesa, at 6,575 feet (2004 m), and offers a panoramic view.

Please click on to enlarge it.

Lichen can survive in some of the most barren and severe regions on earth, but they are also susceptible to destruction if trampled on, so we stayed on the trail to admire it. We were surprised to see some early wildflowers blooming in April when we made this walk.

There was a fascinating array of different colors of lichen growing on these rocks!  Lichen grows at a slow rate of 1mm. per year, so a quarter-size patch could be as much as 25 years old.

The views from the end of the Lichen Trail, which ends in a slight promontory, are amazing! this is the view south.

Facing east we could see the city of Denver, resting a mile high on the distant plains.

Facing south west we saw residential areas of Golden, snugged up against the foothills...

.... and facing north we saw antenna towers dotting the mesa top.  Look closely under the lone tree, by clicking on the photo to enlarge it, to see deer resting in the grasses.

 We walked back along the Lichen Trail to return toward the North Quarry climbing area.

We walked up the stone steps to the top of the North Quarry part of the mesa.

Looking back from this point one can look down on the trail that leads up from the parking lot at the bottom, and it gives a good perspective of the steepness of the climb.

Walking south towards the end of the mesa...

 ...where we came upon the "Sea Cliffs" a shiny gorge of basalt rock

Another view looking down at the gorge.

We reached the end of this part of the mesa, and I could look down on some of the town of Golden.  Notice the "M" near the top of distant Mount Zion? That is a symbol for the Colorado School of Mines University--a highly rated engineering university located in Golden. I blogged about their Geological Museum on this post.

As we walked back towards the trail heard we could see rain and virga--rain that evaporates before hitting the ground-- on the horizon, and approaching fast, so we picked up the pace...

...and in a fine mist, we walked back down North Table Mountain.

Driving away toward home, I took one last look back and one last photo--amazed that I could finally say that I made it to the top of North Table Mountain!  

I might never have the chance or ability to walk up a 14er, as the natives call Colorado's fifty-eight 14,000-plus-foot mountain peaks, but any challenge is a good one, don't you think? I know I'll return to hike more of North Table Mountain one day in the future.

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