First day in Dyersville, IA

This morning we left Amana, IA and drove to Dyersville.   A friend in Belle Plaine, MN told us about this little town, and it sounded like something we'd enjoy.   We are camped in a county park called New Wine Park about 6 miles from Dyersville.   Our first stop was the movie set of Field of Dreams which was filmed in 1988 and released in 1989 and starred Kevin Costner.    The baseball field and the lights are still here; believe it or not, there's no charge to visit the set!    The location was chosen because the studio wanted corn fields around it; an older white farm house, and a long lane.    They estimate that 65,000 people visit per year.   While we were there, there were cars from Indiana, Illinois, California, and North Carolina (us)!   The visitors from the longest distance were from Australia and Japan.

From Field of Dreams we went into Dyersville and visited the beautiful St. Francis Xavier Basilica.   The church was built in 1887/88.   The new church was dedicated on Decembr 3, 1889.  An estimated 6000 people were in attendance, many coming on special excursion trains.   It was  the 12th church in the US honored to be named basilicas.  Pope Pius XII declared it a Minor Basilica on May 11, 1956.   It is one of only 77 basilicas in the US.  Some stats:   The height of each spire is 212 feet.   The crosses on top of the spires are 6'8 in wide and 14 feet high.   The original construction cost was about $100,000.    The church is beautiful!   You can search St. Francis Xavier Basilica on the web and see info and exterior pictures if  you are interested in seeing it.   Both places were well worth our trip, and we have some museums to see tomorrow!