Radha Madhav Dham- Chase Ossenkop

During the summer of 2013, I spent almost every weekend traveling throughout the United States on fun road trips. During one of those road trips, one where the destination was Salt Lick Barbecue near Austin, Texas, I came across this Hindu temple. It was a hidden gem to come across, as I would not have known it was there without the road signs on the way. I decided to check it out.

When you turn into the property, you drive along a tree-lined path that is absolutely breathtaking. After a minute or two, you see the top of the temple. Eventually, you drive up to the main temple, and it was huge. Before I got there, I did not know what to expect. But, there was no way I could have prepared myself for what I saw. It was beautiful. The main building was absolutely gorgeous and the detail was amazing, and the grounds were covered with wildlife and small shrines. There were also peacocks walking around everywhere. The building had all stone tile, and shoes were not allowed to be worn inside. There were shoe cubbies on the outside wall.

Upon walking inside, it reminded me of my home church. There was a sanctuary, a kids' area, a receptionist desk, etc. The only differences were the Hindi paintings and statues around the building. I walked around for a while and fell in love with the architecture and the beauty of the building. I am so glad I took the backroads on that road trip, otherwise I would not have seen this beautiful building.