Adventure Saturday: The Bizarre Edition

I have been to some admittedly weird places in my life. Tickertown or Tinkertown or whatever that bizarre place in New Mexico was called. The City Museum in St. Louis. The fantasy forest of Blarney Castle. I'm sure there are more...

But, I'm not sure what compares with the Walter's Ferry Museum south of Melba, right next to the Snake River. Also known as Cleo's Ferry Museum and Nature Trail. At the site of the original Walter's Ferry crossing, it became the home of Dr. Sam Swayne and his second wife, Cleo, who essentially spent 30+ years putting together this place. Guys, I'm am a loss for words to figure out how to describe this place. There were there kitschy gatherings of garden gnomes and figurines and ALL OVER THE PLACE these birdhouses with cheerful messages on them. There were a few closed up houses built of stone (fascinating architecture though!) that were locked up, including a museum, Cleo and Dr. Swayne's former home, a chapel, and Cleo's barn. Also, for some inexplicable reason, there was a replica of the Church of the Nativity... because why not? 

While it was difficult to figure out what exactly was the "museum" part of this place, the nature walk path was VERY clear. You literally just followed those inspiration mailboxes. "Have the Merriest Day!" "Keep a Smile on Your Face!" "Listen to the Birds!" "I'm Not Making These Up!" As you walked along the path, every few feet you came across another gathering of gnomes, African mammals, a moose head, weeping angels (not really but close!), trolls, ceramic animals, and whatever other bizarre thing you could imagine. There were also some incredibly well done, beautiful bronze sculptures of children playing games, exercising, enjoying the sunshine and watching parades. These were my favorites. We also can't forget stumbling across a recreation of Jesus' tomb, with the added bonus of the stone that was rolled away from the entrance. This was right next to the serenity garden, complete with a little fountain, fake swans and ducks, and more creepy angels.

Also there were several benches with bronze sculptures of Lincoln, Einstien, Ben Franklin, Shakespeare and Mark Twain. Because again, why not?

Up on the top of the hill, which you got to after a short hike, there was a large rainbow (let's not be fooled though- it was DEFINITELY there to remind us of Noah's ark and certainly not to remind me to be inclusive to any certain groups of people....) and three large crosses. The best part though was the incredible view of the river. So gorgeous.

                                       

Guys, I really can't tell you what I think about this place. The entire time I was there, I kept saying to myself "this is so bizarre!" But at the same time, it was somewhat delightful. Maybe a little over the top at times, but delightful nonetheless. Right down by the river, close to the white "piggy bridge", there was was covered picnic table where I sat and did some Italy planning and some reading and it was so quiet and peaceful. You couldn't really hear the cars crossing over the bridge and you could hear birds and crickets and frogs.

However, it was time for some normalcy after an afternoon at the "museum"... So I crossed over the river myself and drove along the river through Marsing. The water was so calm and clear and and the reflections of the mountains were gorgeous. I parked down at the bottom of Lizard Butte after crossing back into Canyon County and scrambled up to the top to see the views. Again, just gorgeous. And hot.... so hot...

So I finished up the afternoon at Ste. Chapelle. There were plenty of seats outside so I bought a bottle of moscato and did some Italy planning. Adventure is good for the soul- take advantage of it and go find some of your own!