6 Wild Wisconsin Facts

1. 17% of the state's area is water. Only Alaska, Michigan, and Florida contain more water than Wisconsin.

2. Wisconsin is called the Badger State mostly because early miners, who took shelter in the holes they'd dug, were called "Badgers." That's also a reason the state animal is the badger.

3. Overcharging and deforestation led to a shift towards dairy farming from other agricultural endeavors. The North Country area of the state, which was formerly an industrial area, has become a vacation destination.

4. The state motto is "Forward," and the state song is "On Wisconsin."

5. The state has no official nickname.

6. Settlers from New England established Congregational churches in the state during the mid 1800s, while German, Irish, and Norwegians started Lutheran and Catholic churches.

West Virginia Churches in the southwest and northeastern corners

St John Episcopal Church, Bolivar

St John Lutheran, Bolivar

Bolivar United Methodist Church

Caretta Methodist Church

St Peter's Catholic Church, Harpers Ferry

Methodist Episcopal Church, Harpers Ferry

Tabernacle of Faith, Caretta

We found ourselves wondering who wants us to stay out of church

3 days of Florida panhandle churches

We were on Florida's panhandle for the better part of three days. There were a lot of churches along the Gulf Coast!

Here are 6 of them (along with signs about two more):

7 churches (and some other things) seen in Louisiana

Though the French Quarter of New Orleans doesn't have many churches (we counted five), Louisiana does. Here are some we saw from the road or the street. 

Basilica St Louis, New Orleans

Not a church, but we saw two different places for jazz funerals in the French Quarter

Former Carmelite monastery, now a charismatic Catholic retreat center

Sign near the Basilica St Louis, New Orleans

Seen from the freeeway in Louisiana

Also seen from the freeway in Louisiana

Another religious influence in New Orleans

St Augustine's Church in the Treme, New Orleans

Quiet zone in Pirates' Alley

Inside the Basilica St Louis, New Orleans

Kenner has churches, too

Also seen from the road

10 more churches in Arkansas

In yesterday's post, we threw in a few bonus photos of big, downtown churches. Don't be concerned, though! Those aren't the only churches we saw in Arkansas. Here are others we saw, primarily from the road.

10 Missouri churches as seen from the road

cornerstone at Evangel College

Church buildings in the parts of Missouri we saw appeared to be less standardized than in some other states we've visited so far, ranging from dramatic to extremely plain, gothic to storefront. Here's a sampling, from Hannibal to Kansas City to Springfield to Mansfield; city, prairie, seminary, and Ozark roadside.

City on a Hill, somewhere in the Ozarks

Catholic Church in northern Missouri

First Church of the Nazarene in northern Missouri

in Grandview, Missouri

Colonial Presbyterian Church, Kansas City

Holy Trinity Lutheran, Grandview, Missouri

Church of God, 7th Day, somewhere in Missouri

Holy Rock Church, Springfield, Missouri

This isn't the church, just the chapel 

for Country Club Christian Church, Kansas City, Missouri