Weird things in the woods

by Jamie Rhein on

The website for hunters www.ifish.net has a page devoted to weird things hunters have found in the woods. Browsing the comments where people describe what they’ve found on their outings reminded me of the cow bone in our freezer.

I think it’s a cow bone. My son saw it on the side of the road in Montana between Anaconda and Philipsburg. He popped out of the car to get it while we were waiting at a road construction site road block for our turn to pass. It’s in a plastic bag in our freezer until we do something with it. Bleach it?

Once I found a cow skull in New Mexico when I was hiking with a friend who said he knew where to find cow skulls. I was looking for a skull for my brother, although, I can’t recall exactly why.

Bones aren’t all that can be found in the woods or elsewhere in the middle of nowhere. One person wrote on the weird things page that he found a bathtub filled with dirt nailed to a tree. He suspected it was for growing “wacky tobacky.”

Another person found $100 tucked in a pair of women’s underwear. That’s something. Someone else found remains of a moonshine still.

One of my great uncles once told me to be careful when I was visiting him in Knott County in southeastern Kentucky where he lived. I was heading out on a walk in the woods so he warned me about not coming upon a place where people are growing pot. According to him, pot was growing everywhere in those Kentucky hills. My uncle was a bit of an alarmist so I’m not sure about the accuracy of his statement, but it stuck with me.

Sometimes one can find the remains of hunters in the woods. Not the hunters, actually, but what they’ve left behind. Near where my father lives in New York state, there are two hunters’ cabins that are in the process of decay. Each summer when we visit, my son insists that we head through the woods to access the progress of ruin.

The roof of one of the one-room structures is almost all gone, and the floor has broken through in places, but the stove is still there with a pan still on it. I always wonder who used it and why did they stop coming.

This topic of weird things in the woods is one that could bring about a spine tingling novel or a short story. When we come across a thing in the woods like a bone or two –or a shoe, or a cheap plastic comb, we wonder about the story that happened before we arrived. “What happened here?” we ask. In the above photograph, this abandoned Navy bus is rotting in the woods near Bangor, Maine. The text underneath the photo also begs the question, “What in the world is it doing in the woods?”

Lonely Planet names top 10 “weird” cities

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Top 10 lists are the lifeblood of blogging. How else, dear reader, can we quickly inform you of all you need to know about a topic in a format that is quick to read and simultaneously entertaining? The end of the year is fertile ground for top 10 lists, providing an opportunity to take a look at the previous 365 days and gaze at the marvelous things that have come to pass.

With this in mind, travel publication extraordinaire Lonely Planet has published their 2008 list of the “world’s top 10 weirdest cities” as part of their book, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2009. Here’s a few of their picks:

  • Tokyo, Japan – I don’t think anyone is going to argue with this one
  • Las Vegas, Nevada – true only if you find $5 all-you-can-eat lobster tails to be eccentric
  • Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – a country with flaming holes and an eccentric dictator definitely qualifies in our book
  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands – whoa, cannabis and sex shows. So weird!
  • Guanajuato, Mexico – I had always thought of Guanajuato as a charming Mexican colonial city, but that’s wrong. Apparently they have mummies. Mummies!

Anyone interested in checking out the full list can find it here. You have to wonder who was in charge of compiling these cities, but considering that Gadling might some day want to publish their own book of top 10’s, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

What do you think of this list of top 10 weird cities? Think it’s a load of crap? Have any cities you think they left out? Leave us a comment below and tell us about your favorite weird city.

Off-beat travel experiences people actually pay for: 6 worst vacation ideas

by Jamie Rhein on

When it comes to yard sales, there’s an adage “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” When it comes to vacation experiences, you might say the same thing.

Some folks can’t seem to get enough of a Disney theme park, while others wouldn’t step a foot in one. Being willing to fork out cash for Disney–or not—is a run of the mill vacation choice. Here are other options that fit the unusual to the downright weird.

Tom Barlow, my pal over at Blogging Stocks and Wallet Pop sent me this link to the “6 Worst Vacations People Actually Pay for” at Cracked.com. Jason Moore’s round-up includes one experience we’ve written about here at Gadling.

Jason lists a stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden as his number two worst vacation idea option. Frankly, I’m with Jason on this one. I’m sure it’s fascinating and beautiful, but too cold for a relaxing night of slumber. Ruben Laguna, who snapped this pic has several others which gives me the impression I could be wrong. Still, it does look too cold for my taste.

Jason’s number one choice of bad ideas is the one where people shoot farm animals with rocket launchers. WHAT!!! Isn’t there a grim film called, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? In this case, horses aren’t on the menu, but you can shoot chickens and cows. The place is near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Here’s a link to that weirdness.

Moore’s other bad idea choices are:

  • Tour the sewers of Paris
  • Illegal Border Crossing Experience
  • Ghetto Tours
  • Crossword Puzzle Cruise

The Paris sewer tour does sound interesting to me. The crossword puzzle cruise? Not so much. Check out Jason’s post for more details on each option. You can find decide for yourself what’s trash and what’s treasure.

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.


Zero Star Hotel opens in Switzerland fallout shelter

by Annie Scott on

Oh, Switzerland.

In a subterranean fallout shelter in Sevelen, Switzerland, the Null Stern Hotel, biliing itself as “The World’s First Zero Star Hotel” is preparing to open its crappy, crappy doors.

“Null stern” actually means “zero star,” which is a little relieving. They’re being clever, not insane. Normally, this is a cultural misunderstanding we have with Norway. Maybe we’ve misjudged Switzerland.

The Null Stern Hotel will cost between 6 and 18 euros per night, and includes former bomb shelter facilities, no daylight, slippers, earplugs, communal bathrooms and showers, and a butler (there was one in the photo shoot, I’m not sure he’ll be there when you show up).

We don’t know why they get earplugs.

The Null Stern hotel will open in early 2009, but recently opened up to volunteers for a test run. See the photos here.

What to do in Sevelen? I don’t know. But at least you know there’s a bomb shelter where you can stay. If you can read German, here you go.

Bishop’s Castle: You have to see it to believe it

by Jamie Rhein on

Here at Gadling, we love suggestions that come our way from readers. As much as we travel, we can only go to so many places–unless you’re Jerry or Grant, and then the question is, when are these guys ever home?

Bishop’s Castle came our way through Bill Volk who used to write home improvement/construction type posts for DIYLife. He follows Gadling faithfully–or so I hear. Considering that Volk seems like he could build a castle himself, I can see why this building caught his attention. Built single-handedly by Jim Bishop out of stone and iron over the past 40 years, the castle, located near Rye-Bullah, Colorado, is still a work in progress. Nonetheless, it has become a roadside attraction that people drive out of their way to see.

Funky doesn’t begin to describe it. Bishop, who has used 1000 tons of rock so far, and is still adding details, describes his efforts as a “monument to hardworking people.” I’ll say.

His hard work has finally gained him status as an official Colorado tourist attraction. In the article Volk sent our way, Bishop was still getting snubbed. People who go see his castle are welcome to tour at will, although, there is a guest book adults must sign to absolve Bishop of any mishaps. Climb around at will, but don’t blame him if you fall.

Perhaps when Bishop’s finished with this astonishing piece of handiwork, or even before, he ought to contact Jonathan Borofsky, the artist who makes Hammering Man sculptures as tributes to hardworking folks. One of Borofsky’s kinetic sculptures would fit right in.

If you go here, you can cross one of the 101 Places You Gotta See Before Your 12 off the list. RoadsideAmerica.com describes Bishop’s Castle as being “in the middle of nowhere.”