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Osage

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2018

The trip that bit me with the travel bug: I did my first real traveling when I went on my first cross-country road trip in the summer of 1961 at the age of six in a brand-new red Pontiac Catalina convertible with my brother & parents. We began in Columbus Ohio and traveled to see my grandparents in Santa Barbara California, by way of Yosemite, & the Painted Desert, traveling a lot on old Route 66. While passing through Yuma Arizona we were caught in a flash hailstorm that came out of the blue and only lasted 20-30 seconds yet left 1.5 inches of hail just a bit smaller than a golf ball in a layer all over the road. Being in a convertible, my dad had to do some quick thinking and swerved into a gas station that had a 'wing' triangular-shaped roof canopy supported by steel poles over the gasoline pumps. Only my father's quick thinking and the fact that there was an open space at one of the pumps, saved the convertible top, the front and rear windows and our vacation trip. Other cars around us were not so lucky - I saw many that had cracked or broken windshields as Dad pulled back out onto the road. Still today, I clearly hear in my mind, the loud popping sounds of the hailstones breaking under the tires as he pulled out. It was not long before the clouds disappeared entirely, the sun came out in full fury and the hailstones were history; small rivulets of clear water headed for the sides of the road. Within minutes there was no sign of them, including no moisture left on the pavement! While in California we saw the redwoods and visited relatives in Bakersfield and Shell Beach. In New Mexico we stayed one night in an air-conditioned concrete[!] tipi at a small motel. I recall my uncle Raymond who was the sheriff of Santa Barbara County at the time [or at least that's what he told us kids], taking my brother and me on a ride in his police car while on duty and he even pulled over someone with lights & siren! I have a few B&W photos from that CA trip that have survived all these years. Funny, the ride home was not as memorable, maybe because we were all tired and grouchy and I just wanted to be home again sleeping in my own bed! Hey, I was six years old! I've loved to travel, especially to wild and natural places, all of my life.

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Living quarters

Azrou, Morocco

Tioumliline Monastery

Set up in 1953, abandoned in 1978, and became a movie set in 2009.

Iglesia El Rosario

San Salvador, El Salvador

Iglesia El Rosario

Padre Delgado, a leader in the fight for Salvadoran independence, is buried in this stunning Brutalist cathedral.

The bedroom of Frey House II.

Palm Springs, California

Frey House II

With beautiful views and every detail perfectly considered, one of the geniuses of modern architecture built himself the perfect home.

This axe-wielding heroine bravely defended a French town.

Beauvais, France

Jeanne Hachette Statue

A monument to the “other Joan” who bravely defended the town of Beauvais with an axe in hand.

The Sky Railway in Santa Fe.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sky Railway

The railroad turning train travel into a cinematic, highly immersive experience has a fascinating connection to Game of Thrones.

The 10-foot-tall monument.

Galveston, Texas

1900 Storm Memorial

This memorial and the seawall that it stands near are powerful symbols of the island’s resilience.

Michelangelo never completed this masterpiece.

Rome, Italy

Arco dei Farnesi

This unassuming bridge is most likely one of Michelangelo's unfinished masterworks.

Colman's temple as it is today with original public toilet building on the right.

South Shields, England

Colman's Seafood Temple

Eat fish and chips in a striking Neoclassical building that once hid a public lavatory.

Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park and Museum

Globe, Arizona

Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park and Museum

The remains of a large pueblo village constructed by the Salado culture, who occupied the region more than 600 years ago.

Mary Anning Statue

Lyme Regis, England

Mary Anning Statue

A beautiful bronze statue of the greatest fossil hunter of the 19th century.

This 30-foot tall brick tower is occupied by a flock of Swiss goats.

Windsor, Illinois

Tower of Baa-Goat

A 30-foot-tall goat tower in central Illinois is home to a herd of Swiss ungulates.

Houses in the Cement City Historic District

Donora, Pennsylvania

Cement City

A neighborhood of houses made of poured concrete through a process invented by Thomas Edison.

Entrance to Jons Chapel

Hasle, Denmark

Jons Kapel (Jon's Chapel)

Local legend says a monk brought Christianity to Bornholm through his sermons in a cave inside this free-standing rock.

Bulgandry Man

Kariong, Australia

Bulgandry Art Site Aboriginal Place

Aboriginal artists carved these unique figures into sandstone.

The original location is a designated historic landmark.

Paris, France

Debauve & Gallais

Marie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte were fans of this 200-year-old French chocolatier.

Reached via a relatively easy mile hike, Balanced Rock is a perfect adventure for those with just a short time in the park.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Balanced Rock

This gravity-defying rock formation is one of Big Bend’s natural wonders.

Up close view of the castle during the summer.

Kenora, Ontario

White Otter Castle

This log house sits in the remote Canadian wilderness, and holds a mysterious tale of the trapper who built it.

Kastellholmen wreck in 2013

Stockholm, Sweden

Shipwreck of Kastellholmen

At low tide, you can see the remains of a 17th-century ship just off a Stockholm island.

Agia Solomoni Catacomb

Paphos, Cyprus

Agia Solomoni Catacomb

Beneath an ancient wishing tree lies an underground chapel with 12th-century frescoes and catacombs dedicated to a lady saint.

Byward Tower Hand

London, England

Byward Tower Hand

A mysterious suspended hand greets unsuspecting visitors at the Tower of London.

Opalsøen (The Opal Lake)

Allinge, Denmark

Opalsøen (The Opal Lake)

Once a granite mine, this beautiful lake is the perfect place to cliff jump and zipline in Denmark

'Fideicommissum'

Knislinge, Sweden

'Fideicommissum'

A bronze, peeing self-portrait protests unequal inheritance rights.

Belleair, Florida’s historic Belleview Inn dates back to 1897.

Belleair, Florida

Belleview Inn

This historic hotel has hosted the likes of Babe Ruth, Jimmy Carter, and the Vanderbilts.

The World's Largest Corn Dog is a 30-foot-long fiberglass structure on the roof of the Original Pronto Pup.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon

The Original Pronto Pup

Ride a mechanical corn dog at the alleged birthplace of America's favorite deep-fried wiener.

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