Roadside Oddities...International Car Forest!

Random Acts of Art in the Desert!

CarHenge!

On New Year's Eve we took a drive on Highway 95 seeking for roadside oddities.  Our goal was the little town of Goldfield Nevada, home to the "International Car Forest of the Lost Church"...or as we called it, "CarHenge."  On a snowy and wind-swept hillside we found a collection of abandoned vehicles...cars, busses, and vans buried in the ground like they were thrown down by a giant child in the midst of a giant temper tantrum.  There was no sign on the highway directing us...we later found the sign propped up on a junked car at the entrance to the site.

I've never been to the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas on Route 66, but I know that the designs on the painted Cadillacs are constantly changing...would-be taggers are encouraged to bring along their spray paint and their artistic ability...or lack thereof.  I was amazed by some of the artwork on the vehicles at the Car Forest.  I would like to share a few of the photos I took with my new camera...thanks, Santa!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

 I loved the colors and patterns on this car!

Modern Art?

Nite Owl Truck...

Owl eyes were everywhere....

Watching us...

Here...

Limo hitches a ride on a Meadow Gold Truck...

 Owl Eyes there...

What's holding up the bus?

The Art of the Spray Can...

Bizarre and oddly beautiful...

Is that Alice in handcuffs?

Strange faces with eyes that follow you...

These were just a few of the images that I liked the best.  I hope if you ever travel that stretch of highway north from Las Vegas that you will stop and maybe get out your spray cans and indulge your inner artist.  Maybe you will be the next Banksy.

Playing around with effects on PicMonkey.

This gate is on a parking lot in Beatty, Nevada.

It has it's own story that I will tell you some time!

Thanks for joining me on this Vintage Vacation!

Vintage Vacation "Fairy Garden"...Yellowstone!

Yellowstone!

I have been in love with Yellowstone since I was a little girl. My memories of the family vacation we took there are like an old post card... worn on the edges, a bit faded and in soft focus. Yellowstone was the topic of my first Vintage Vacations that I posted on this blog.  The link is on the sidebar under Featured Post if you would like to travel there again.  There you will find some of the post cards and vintage souvenirs I have collected over the years.

Currently, my favorite things to make are Fairy Gardens...those fun and magical miniature landscapes found all over the Pinterest Galaxy.  My versions, however, don't use live plants and aren't found in my back yard or garden.  Because I cannot be trusted with living plants...they would die of neglect! So I use quirky containers and fake flowers and greenery to create little vignettes.  Last spring about this time I made my daughter Sascha an Alice in Wonderland fairy garden in a giant teacup and saucer.  Find it here: Alice's Merry Un-Birthday!  

Yesterday I came across this plaid Ohio Arts lunchbox that was a gift from my friend Tammy.  I had used it for a Christmas vignette, but like a bolt out of the blue I "saw" in my mind what it could become.  I am so grateful for these kinds of moments...my "crafting mojo" has been a bit on the fritz.

Who knows... if you like this one, maybe there will be a series of vacation fairy gardens in the future.

A Miniature Vintage Vacation!

Yellowstone Fairy Garden.

The trailer and chairs were a gift from my daughter Missy!

I used a post card graphic to line the inside of the lid.

A rustic pole gate is the entrance to the camp ground.

Side View.

I found the trees at Hobby Lobby on the aisle where they sell train miniatures.

They have quite a variety of trees, plants and greenery.

Back of the lid is a collage of Yellowstone graphics.

I prop the lid open with a rustic "log."

Don't Feed the Bears!

This little bear is one of a pair of souvenir shakers from Yellowstone.

He seems sad to find that sign on his favorite tree stump.

View from above.

It doesn't take much to create this simple vignette.

Fairy Garden Wreath

Fairy Garden Wreath from a Walmart wreath.

The mossy wreath was covered in pretty good fake succulents.

I added a few flowers and a rustic "measuring tape" ribbon.

It only took a few minutes to glue a little fence to the back.

Then I added dotty red mushrooms,  Seven Dwarf cake toppers and a wee bunny.

I adore these little fellows.

Circus Cloche

Circus cloche.

My crafting group made chicken wire cloches to put over plants.

Mine showcases a circus elephant.

The cloche joins the summer circus that will be on display for most of the summer in my living room.

Hope you enjoyed this miniature Vintage Vacation!

Route 66...A "Novel" Approach to a Vintage Vacation!

My Favorite Vintage Vacation Road Map

I just finished reading a fascinating detective novel.  I love murder mysteries that take place in interesting settings with a flawed, but fascinating protagonist.  The setting of the book,"Find Me" by Carol O'Connell, takes place along the Mother Road, Route 66, starting in Chicago, Illinois and Ending on the Santa Monica Pier in California.  Mallory..."just Mallory"...the detective, is following letters written by her long-vanished father who left clues like breadcrumbs for her to follow as she retraces his many trips down that fabled highway.  Her journey parallels a caravan of desperate parents following a man who has convinced them that they may find the graves of their missing children somewhere on that road.  Somehow, their quest becomes linked with hers.  Along the way, Mallory makes a pilgrimage to the landmarks in the letters.  Is she trying to find her father or clues to who she is?

Along with her father's letters...Mallory may have had a beat-up old travel guide.

This one is from 1947...older than hers would have been.

Mallory's Landmarks...

Route 66 started on the corner of Michigan and Adams in Chicago, Illinois.

Gemini Giant...Wilmington, Illinois.

"Tall Paul" located in Atlanta, Illinois.

Moved from original location in Cicero.

Our Lady of the Highways... Raymond, Illinois

Meramec Caverns...Stanton Missouri,

Famous for its many advertising barns and as a hideout for Jesse James.

Mickey Mantle Boulevard...Commerce, Oklahoma.

Blue Whale Slide and Arrowood Trading Post in Catoosa, Oklahoma.

The U-drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas...inspiration for Ramone's in Cars.

Avalon Theater in Mclean, Texas

Phillips 66 Station...Mclean, Texas.

You're Half-Way There!

Mid Point Cafe...Adrian, Texas.

Club Cafe...Santa Rosa, New Mexico.

Clines Corners...New Mexico.

El Rancho Motel...Gallup, New Mexico.

Stay in rooms named after old movie stars who once stayed there.

Black Cat Bar in Seligman, Arizona.

The part of the story dealing with the serial child killer comes to a head somewhere near Mallory's Black Cat landmark.  There are many...even more famous...sites to be seen along Mallory's route, but these are the ones that held special meaning for her father. I hadn't even heard of most of them. Mallory will finish the trip with only one final landmark before the story ends...End of the Trail.

They say the road didn't really end at the pier, but somewhere near the intersection of  Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards.  I think it's more poetic this way.

 The End...