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By Doug, July 18, 2010 15:06

The "Door to Nowhere" on the Winchester Mystery House

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is a monument to one woman’s obsession with avoiding death. Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester gun fortune, had her carpenters working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year adding to her huge mansion. All of this was because her child, Annie, died in 1866 and her husband, William, died 15 years later of tuberculosis. Greif stricken, and sitting on a fortune estimated at $20,000,000.00, she consulted a spiritualist, like any normal, sane person would do.

The spiritualist, a medium from Boston, convinced her that her family and her fortune were being haunted by spirits of American Indians, killed by the Winchester rifles her husband’s family had invented. Since her daughter and husband had already been taken, naturally the medium convinced Sarah that she would be next. The only way to avoid this horrible fate was to move west and begin construction on a great house. This would appease the “spirits” and as long as construction continued on the house, Sarah would be safe.

Construction on the house continued for 38 years, until Sarah’s death in 1922. What was left is a massive mansion containing 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms and 6 kitchens.

Exploring this weird, wonderful place is a great way to spend an afternoon, or even longer.

Winchester Mystery House

Further reading:

• Museums in Santa Clara County, California: Ames Research Center, Winchester Mystery House, Forbes Mill, Villa Montalvo, New Almaden
• Haunting of Winchester House
• America’s Castles – California Dreamers: The Winchester Mystery House and Scotty’s Castle

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By Doug, July 17, 2010 07:41

Big Red Wagon Sculpture in Spokane, WA.

Located in Spokane Washington’s Riverfront Park and commissioned by the Jr. League of Spokane, this giant wagon is the work of artist Ken Spiering. According to an article from Washington’s Outer Limits:

… artist Ken Spiering’s ideas for a bronze sculpture had dried up – he knew it the instant he drew a sketch of a child urinating in a pond. So, after six weeks of struggling to devise the perfect piece of interactive public art, he gave in. He quit. But just days before the submission deadline, Spiering had another vision. This time, the child was pulling a red wagon. That’s it, he said to himself. A big red wagon. What could be a better symbol of childhood? He quickly devised a plan and submitted it.

We arrived in the middle of George Dubbya’s visit to Spokane for a $1,000/plate benefit for a local politician and all the hubub was just two blocks away from the lil’ red wagon. Luckily, after swimming through waves of protesters and supporters, the wagon was being enjoyed in its intended way – a hoard of kids were sliding and running and yelling and enjoying life at a really big wagon!

Built in 1990 from 26 tons of steel and reinforced concrete, the 12-foot-high, 27-foot-long Radio Flyer Wagon can hold as many as 300 people. Spiering worked six to seven days a week for a year building the $36,000 sculpture, for which he received a $30,000 commission.

Related reading:

• Spokane: A Guide to the Hub of the Inland Northwest (M.E. Buckham) (M.E. Buckham)
• Spokane & the Inland Empire: An Interior Pacific Northwest Anthology
• Vintage Postcards from Old Spokane
• Shattered Silence– The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter

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By Doug, December 20, 2009 15:03

The UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell, NM.

The UFO Museum and Research Center (no, it’s not just your average tourist trap, this place does some legitimate science!), along with all the other UFO-related crap that makes up Roswell New Mexico, is an attempt by a small-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere to capitalize on the mania surrounding the claims of a flying saucer crash in 1947.  Yes indeed, little green (or rather, gray) men from outer space traveled many light years through the galaxy but somehow managed to crash into the desert just as they were about to reach their destination and you can find out all the juicy details at the UFO Museum.

Nobody knows exactly why the saucer crashed but many theories have surfaced including female aliens at the helm “freshening up” their faces in the rear-view mirror, distraction by an intergalactic cell phone call and (perhaps the most plausible) the aliens believing there would be another gas station just up the road a bit (if you’ve ever driven through New Mexico, you can understand their mistake).  There are other theories but if you’ve got a better one, hey, leave it in the comment box below!

Flash forward half a century and little green men are the biggest industry in town.  There’s a UFO festival and the whole town seems to be trying to get their share of the tourists’ money.  The little green man seems to be everywhere!

Roswell is 200 plus miles from any large city including Amarillo, Lubbock and El Paso, Texas, Albuquerque, NM and Las Cruces, NM. A majority of our visitors make a point to come to Roswell to see the museum and be in the city where the best known UFO crash and cover-up occurred. While in Roswell, they in the least buy gas and a soda or they may spend a week learning about the phenomena and Roswell.

The UFO Museum itself starts out with a map of the world where you can place a pin on your hometown.  Next up, various World War II-era black and white photographs of people and airplanes.  But, things start getting good when we get to the room of war-surplus equipment with a model of the flying saucer crash site (think model train layout and a paper plate painted silver).  Naturally, we get to the part of “The Great Cover Up” where we learn how the evil government is hiding all this wonderful technology from us because we just can’t handle the truth.  Then, there’s an entire room full of proof (no, not physical evidence, newspaper clippings!) aliens exist including crop circles, Area 51, etc.  Finally, there’s the big finale:  an ACTUAL alien autopsy mockup!  It doesn’t get any better than this.  No, really, it doesn’t get any better; that’s about all there is to this place.

Now, you’d think the gift shop would be world-class (can you say “My dad was abducted by an Alien in Roswell and I all I got was this stupid T-shirt” T-shirt?) but their stuff is mostly quite unimaginative.  It’s mostly your run-of-the-mill stuff (hats, coffee mugs, key chains, etc.) with “Roswell” and/or the classic alien head printed on it.  However, there is a rather clever T-shirt along the lines of “born to ride.”

Whether you believe in flying saucers or not, a trip to Roswell and the UFO Museum and Research Center is fun and campy.  Be sure to check out their plans for a new museum—it looks like a cross between Seattle’s Experience Music Project and Disneyland’s Space Mountain!

UFO Museum and Research Center

Related reading:

• Messages: The World’s Most Documented Extraterrestrial Contact Story
• UFOs: What Scientists Say May Shock You! (24/7: Science Behind the Scenes)
• Dark Object: The World’s Only Government-Documented UFO Crash
• The Greatest Deception: The Bible UFO Connection

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By Doug, December 4, 2009 21:24

Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska

Ho, ho, ho!  No, it’s not the Green Giant (this time) it’s good ol’ Santa Clause and he’s at his home at the North Pole!  North Pole, Alaska that is.  You (and your kids) can visit Santa, his 50’ plastic statue and some of his reindeer while staying at the nearby, luxurious-by-Alaska-standards, Santaland RV Park! 

Christmas Eve. The sharp, pungent scent of pine. The reflection of twinkling, colored lights in every window and mirror. The scent of gingerbread. Stockings carefully hung. Milk and cookies left for Santa. The joyful anticipation of unknown treasures when morning finally arrived. The temptation to stay up into the wee hours of the night, to catch a glimpse of Santa’s cherry red coat or team of magical reindeer.

If you can’t fly all the way to Fairbanks you can at least send Santa a letter and he’ll send one in return, for about $10.  Hey, those elves don’t work for free!

Santa Claus House

Related reading:

• Jolly Old Santa Claus
• Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years
• Yes, Virginia: There Is a Santa Claus
• Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus

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By Doug, July 12, 2009 03:08

Salvation Mountain

What can you do to make an ugly desert God just plopped down in Imperial County, California look nice? Pile up some junk and clay then paint it, of course! And, Leonard Night is doing just that so we don’t have to look at the ugly desert anymore.

Salvation Mountain is Leonard’s tribute to God and his gift to the world with its simple yet powerful message: “God Is Love.” Leonard’s passion has lovingly created this brilliant “outsider art” masterpiece resplendent with not only biblical and religious scripture such as the Lord’s Prayer, John 3:16, and the Sinner’s Prayer, but also including flowers, trees, waterfalls, suns, bluebirds, and many other fascinating and colorful objects.

Leonard became a Christian in 1967, on a Wednesday, at 10:30 in the morning while sitting in his van. He was 35 years old and had held various odd jobs including fighting the Korean War for 10 days. Leonard went around to various churches trying to enlighten them on how to properly worship Jesus but for some reason met resistance. Moving on, he was then inspired to make a hot air balloon to help spread the Lord’s message and began collecting bits of fabric and sewing them together. That occupied Leonard for the next 14 years but apparently it wasn’t God’s will to have Leonard fly in his balloon to spread the Word as it (the balloon, not the Word) kept collapsing on itself when he tried to inflate it. Although he persisted, eventually the balloon began to rot and Leonard looked for other ways to spread the Word.

Leonard decided to leave California but wanted to spend one extra week in the area to make a small memorial with a half bag of concrete he had lying around. Weeks begat months begat years and after tons of junk, sand, concrete and paint were assembled, Leonard had the 50-foot high creation he was after! Until it collapsed on itself.

Undaunted, Leonard rebuilt the mountain, this time using native adobe clay and straw. He applied paint liberally to keep the elements from washing away his work. Over the years, Leonard has applied well over 100,000 gallons of paint to his mountain of clay and debris as (he hopes) a lasting tribute to God.

If you stop by, bring some paint for Leonard!

Related reading:

• Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience
• Have a Little Faith: A True Story
• The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters
• The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures

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By Doug, July 10, 2009 18:00

Donner's Pass Memorial. The snow level of 1846/47 was as high as this statue is tall.

In 1846 a group of people started out for California. Along the way they met a man who said “hey, I know a shortcut” and so 87 people in 23 wagons headed off on a route that took them through the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert. The arduous trek took three weeks longer than the more normal route and by the time the parties reached the Sierras in November, snow was falling. With Pioneer Spirit and I’m suspecting more than an average amount of stupidity (and perhaps a little whiskey), the party took on an attitude of “hell, we’re almost there, no sense stopping now!” and trod off through the snow and mountains.

After hitting 22-foot deep snow they decided to stop and send 10 men and 5 women for help. Two men and five women eventually found help on the other side of the mountains. The balance of the 15 members became tasty little morsels.

Four waves of rescue parties went after the folks camped out in the Sierras, each wave finding fewer and fewer people alive with those less fortunate once again becoming People McNuggets. Finally, the last surviving man was rescued and taken back to Sutter’s Fort, where he arrived on April 29. In the end, 39 people died and 48 survived. In addition, two California Indians who were bringing supplies from Sutter’s Fort became trapped and also died, bringing the total to 41.

Today, we’ve erected a monument at Donner’s Pass, with the inscription below, to warn others not to try to cross the Sierras in winter without adequate food and supplies lest ye be eaten.

VIRILE TO RISK AND FIND; KINDLY WITHAL AND A READY HELP. FACING THE BRUNT OF FATE; INDOMITABLE, -UNAFRAID.

Related reading:

• Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West
• The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate
• Ordeal by Hunger
• Donner-Reed Tragedy

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By Doug, July 7, 2009 05:10

Gene Autry

Trying to figure out the “begats” for the Museum of the American West is like trying to figure out why a dog likes to stick his head out of a car window while the car’s moving but hates it when you blow in its face. Sure, you can figure it out eventually but you’ll probably need to take a couple of aspirin before it’s all said and done.

The Museum of the American West is part of the Autry National Center of the American West. The other two parts of the Autry Center are the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Institute for the Study of the American West. The Autry Center was formed when the Southwest Museum, the Women of the West Museum and the Autry Museum of American Heritage merged. Not sure what happened to the women during that move but at least the name was dropped for good. So, that’s all I’m going to say about that.

For those who know nothing about cowboys, here’s a little bit about Gene Autry:

Gene Autry’s career spanned some 60 years in the entertainment industry, encompassing radio, recordings, motion pictures, television, rodeo and live performances. He also became a broadcast executive and major league baseball owner.

Known as ‘America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy’, he is the only entertainer to have five stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, one each for radio, records, film, television and live theatrical performance (including rodeo). In his ability to transcend media and in the sheer scope of his output, Gene Autry was unsurpassed as a popular image-maker of the American West.

Born in Tioga, Texas, on September 29, 1907, Orvon Gene Autry bought his first guitar at the age of 12 for $8. By the late 1920s, he was working as a telegrapher for the railroad in Oklahoma. While he was singing and playing in the office one night, Gene was discovered by the great cowboy humorist Will Rogers. Rogers advised the young Autry to try radio, and the rest is history.

But what about that museum, you may ask. Well, I was getting to that.  The museum is located in Griffith Park, California.  Exhibits include art, costumes, firearms and (of course) music related to the American West. But the museum exhibits rotate quite a bit so make sure you look into what’s going to be there when you are or you might end up seeing a whole lot of stuff you really don’t care about. However, if you are the least little bit a fan of the American West, that’s not likely!

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By Doug, July 6, 2009 05:30

Lincoln's Head

Situated between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a giant, bronze head of Lincoln. Built by Robert Russin (an art professor and Lincoln fanboy) for Lincoln’s 150th birthday, the head is a fascinating piece of artwork right there on I-80. You can’t miss it.

Oh, and while you’re there, say “hi” to old Bob, his remains are interred in the thing. How’s that for a grave marker!?

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By Doug, June 30, 2009 10:06

Concrete Penguin

The Penguin in Cut Bank, Montana, is the world’s largest talking, concrete penguin.  It’s 27 feet tall.  And, I guess that’s all I have to say about that.

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By Doug, June 29, 2009 10:10

Tinkertown

Tinkertown is in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  It’s a collection of animated carvings that bring an Old West town to life through fun and humorous scenes.  Some of the creations require a quarter to operate but most of them are worth it.

It took Ross Ward over 40 years to carve, collect, and lovingly construct what is now Tinkertown Museum. His miniature wood-carved figures were first part of a traveling exhibit, driven to county fairs and carnivals in the 1960s and ’70s. Today over 50,000 glass bottles form rambling walls that surround a 22-room museum. Wagon wheels, old fashioned store fronts, and wacky western memorabilia make Tinkertown’s exterior as much as a museum as the wonders within.