|
Henry and I decided to visit the two attractions housed under the same roof; Ripley's Believe It Or Not! and Louis Tussaud's Wax Works, in downtown Newport, Oregon. We began with Ripley's. Ripley's is a totally unique exhibition filled with an arty, bizarre, macabre and downright weird collection of oddities and curiosities. The Ripley museums were founded by Robert Ripley who traveled the world seeking out artifacts to add to his weird and wonderful collection. His passion for the mysteries of the world eventually lead to the creation of a newspaper feature in New York at the turn of the twentieth century called "Believe It Or Not!" Due to the extent of Ripley's collection and the public's growing desire to see it, Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museums sprang up all over the country. I would buy Henry the annual book of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" every Christmas as he had been hooked ever since visiting the Ripley's museum in San Francisco when he was 8 or 9 years old. He loved the shocking pictures, questioned the reality of some of the artifacts and poured over the narratives trying to weed out fact from fiction. He was fascinated. Henry and I are both drawn to the strange and the imaginative, so Ripley's travels, explorations and mysteries delighted us at every turn. Though it was little creepy in places. We enjoyed some wonderful artwork made of burnt toast, buttons, bottle caps, and trash. We measured ourselves against the world's tallest man and the world's largest boot. At 6' 4" tall, Henry and his Nike dunks were dwarfed by them. We saw a display of shrunken heads, animals with two heads, a footballer with three legs, twisted costumed creatures with violet eyes, historical artifacts, and an array of other unbelievably strange things. A highlight was The Star Room where we immersed ourselves in the sensations of floating in space surrounded by twinkling stars. We even had the opportunity to complete a space walk. It was all out of this world. We then moved on to Louis Tussaud's Waxworks that leaned towards superheroes, science fiction, scary movie characters and fantastical beasts. I enjoyed Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter duelling in an exhibition of Priori Incantatem from the movie 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.' Voldemort was screaming the green killing curse, 'Avada Kedavra,' and at the same time Harry was screaming the red disarming spell, 'Expelliarmus.' The two spells collided, the twin cores of the wands became intertwined and the rare effect of Priori Incantatem occurred. It was magical to see it happen! My favorite exhibit of the day! Henry enjoyed sitting next to Sheldon Cooper, placing himself on the set of Stranger Things (apt!) and kicking his legs up on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office in the White House. We also enjoyed all the movie references and marveled at the artistic waxwork recreations. Everything looked very real! An astonishing day out in every way!   
16 Comments
We spent a restful day at the trailer after our arrival in Crescent City as we had spent the entire previous day traveling through Humboldt County, through Eureka and then up the northern Californian Coast to Crescent City. Kim was tired. We were all tired. Refreshed, the next day we set off to explore the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Jedediah Smith of "Night at the Museum" movie fame. Haha! We headed out on our friend the US101, skirted past the Kings Valley Golf Course then took the twisty turny road to the US199 that ribboned through tree tunnels of towering, ancient Californian Redwoods. These humongous trees seemed so much older and wiser than the Redwoods we had seen previously in Felton, just outside Santa Cruz. They were somehow taller, straighter, more watchful, a little greyer and bearded with tangled mosses of greens and browns and greys. Your mouth couldn't help but drop open in sheer wonder at the magnificent beings. Our first stop was at the Simpson-Reed Trail, just off the Walker Road. We were genuinely stunned and humbled by the Redwoods. It was a short 1 mile trail but it took us well over an hour as we stopped and stared, photographed, breathed in the intoxicating scent of the dense wood, and hugged the red giants. We even stopped and watched a wedding photographer take some bridal pics at one point on the trail. It was magical to stumble across a fairy princess in the forest! We could hardly believe our eyes! There was one tree with a knobby base that felt like it was at the heart of the trail. It was especially tall and especially ancient. I felt it had stories to tell. I leant in really close with my ear gently pressed to the fibrous husky outer bark so that I could hear the tree whispering to me. I heard stories of longevity, the close ties of beloved family within the grove that were all taken care of and nurtured in the most beautiful community of love and reciprocity. Most of all I heard the whispers telling me to trust nature, its indomitable spirit and its unerring will to survive. Jeff Probst himself would be impressed with these magical trees and their ability to outwit, outplay and outlast. Survivors to the impressive core. I left feeling like a load of worry had been taken off my shoulders after listening to the trees. The tribe had spoken.
We returned to the truck then continued through the thick Redwood forest until we came upon the delightful Smith River which we followed as it snaked its way through the trees. We stopped at the Hiouchi Visitor Center for cancellation stamps and a toilet break and then set off again crossing over the Smith River then back tracking, heading towards Howland Hill Road and the Stout Grove Trail. Winding our way through the giant trees, with the sun weaving rays of light down to the dirt road, was unbelievable. It was a drive I will never forget. Once we arrived and parked at Stout Trail, we set off under the shady canopy of the Giant Redwoods. As soon as we began the trail, a kind of hush came over us all as we moved intrepidly down the path. Some trees had been toppled and we got to see the surprisingly shallow root system that entangled and tethered each tree both to the earth and to its family of trees nearby. Once again we breathed in the glorious scent of the Redwoods. It reminded me a little of a cross between Pine and Yew trees, but honestly, how can you accurately describe a an intoxicating smell? The trail was again only a mile or so, but it took us a long time, as we continually just stopped and stared up at the giants, mouths open in awe and respect. Every now and again, we would stop and silently hug each other. It was a seriously spiritual experience. We lost ourselves in time. We completed the trail in awe and eventually circled back to the truck. We began the off-road journey along the rest of Howland Hill Road through the Grove of Titans and past the Boy Scout Tree, kicking up dust behind us. The road was so narrow and the trees and roots so close to the truck that we had to tuck in the wing mirrors. We all held on to our collective breaths and shrugged our shoulders in tight to make it through the tree gaps. It was a "clench your bottoms we're in for a bumpy ride" moment, a bit like Harry Potter's journey on the triple decker Knight Bus in the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was magical. I did manage to get some video footage and as impressive as it is, it still does not do the journey justice. This was a treasure of a day that will be ingrained in my mind and lodged in my heart forever. Unforgettable.
|
AuthorLaura Barnes is a retired educator. Mostly she loves books, travels and mischief. She dabbles in writing. 
Archives
March 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed