After stuffing our faces with hot dogs at Connie's, we moved on to Bald Knob Cross in Alto Pass. It wasn't far from Anna-Jonesboro, and none of us had seen it in person. You can see the cross from quite far away, you'll see it on a hill to your left long before the road winds you around to the cross itself. It was completed in 1963, and when lit at night you can see it from 7500 square miles. It's in pretty bad shape right now but different groups have raised a large sum of money and are lobbying to get it repaired. Even as it sits, its quite spectacular. The base of the cross is made of Illinois marble and the upper portion is covered by reinforced steel porcelain panels. The cross can withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour. It is hollow, and visitors were originally able to go to the top. This was discontinued at some point before 1982. There are several panels missing and you can see the stairs inside of it. I wish we would have been able to see it at a time when you could still travel up to the top, even just standing at the base, you can see for miles and miles, I can only imagine what it would be like from the top of it's 111 feet.
Theres a long story as of how the cross came about, but the short version is that Bald Knob is the highest point around, and a few men decided it would make prime real estate for sunrise Easter service. after several years of this and many crosses later, they decided to erect a permanent cross and got to raising money. a few miracles later, Bald Knob Cross was built. you can learn more here:
www.friendsofthecross.net
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