My husband works at ScienceWorks near Melbourne, Victoria. So we thought we would visit Science Works in Ashland, Oregon.
I kept calling the Ashland one the “shadow” ScienceWorks. There were quite a few similarities between the two. Many of the exhibits were quite similar and were presented in similar ways.
The Shadow version just had its 10th birthday, the original just had its 21st.
The original is also quite a bit bigger, however the shadow version was doing pretty well with what it had.
Seattle is known as the Emerald City. As in the book, the emerald city looks pretty, but has some secrets.
Seattle has the worst homelessness problems I have seen on this trip. Nearly every corner has someone who looks desperate and is asking for money.
Seattle itself also does not seem genuine. It seems like it is trying too hard to be alternative or edgy. The result is just frustrating and pretentious.
My total score for Washington out of 50 is 31.
Categories out of 10
Home comforts Quality of food, accommodation, etc. Score of 6. We had quite a nice hotel, although places to eat were a bit limited.
Attractions The quality of the attractions and generally how fun and interesting they were. Score of 6. I found the activities in Seattle a bit disappointing. The seemed o lack depth.
Natural Beauty The aesthetic vistas of the state which make the drive easier. Score of 7. Nice mountains, if you can see them through the cloud and rain.
Culture Historical and cultural sites and interactions with the locals. Score of 6. Lots of cultural activities, but nit a lot of history.
Value Financial value – bang for your buck, so to speak. Score of 6. Quite expensive for what you get.
My total score for Idaho out of 50 is 32.
Categories out of 10
Home comforts Quality of food, accommodation, etc. Score of 6. Nothing too exciting to eat in Idaho (although I didn’t eat any potatoes).
Attractions The quality of the attractions and generally how fun and interesting they were. Score of 6. Again, lack of anything too exciting.
Natural Beauty The aesthetic vistas of the state which make the drive easier. Score of 7. Nice trees next to pretty waterways.
Culture Historical and cultural sites and interactions with the locals. Score of 6. Everyone was very nice to talk to.
Value Financial value – bang for your buck, so to speak. Score of 7. Good prices, but less value.
My total score for Montana out of 50 is 35.
Categories out of 10
Home comforts Quality of food, accommodation, etc. Score of 7. Food and accommodation was pretty average, not terrible, just not great.
Attractions The quality of the attractions and generally how fun and interesting they were. Score of 7. A few things to do, but nothing too exciting. A few events which are pretty fun.
Natural Beauty The aesthetic vistas of the state which make the drive easier. Score of 7. Nice mountains and trees.
Culture Historical and cultural sites and interactions with the locals. Score of 6. A few reservations, but native culture is not as prominent as it is in other states.
Value Financial value – bang for your buck, so to speak. Score of 7. Pretty affordable.
Wyoming is old Skool cowboy country, horse riding, wildlife and adventure sports. Running rivers, snow covered mountains, rolling hills.
My total score for Wyoming out of 50 is 47.
Categories out of 10
Home comforts Quality of food, accommodation, etc. Score of 10. We stayed at the Spring Creek Ranch, which has open fires, beautiful vistas and free cookies! We also had great Chinese food here.
Attractions The quality of the attractions and generally how fun and interesting they were. Score of 10. Eco tourism in the flesh. Horse riding, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking.
Natural Beauty The aesthetic vistas of the state which make the drive easier. Score of 10. We saw buffalo, bears, deer, birds and all in the amazing Yellowstone national park.
Culture Historical and cultural sites and interactions with the locals. Score of 7. Everyone is really nice and talkative and passionate about Wyoming.
Value Financial value – bang for your buck, so to speak. Score of 10. We paid $95 for horse riding and whitewater rafting and $11 for lunch and dinner!
Portlandia is a statue located in Portland, Oregon and is positioned above the Portland Building. The statue is very popular in Portland and is iconic for the city.
Portlandia is also an extremely funny TV show based in the city of Portland. The show plays on the alternative nature of Portland and that the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland. If you haven’t seen this how, it is fantastic and does seem to capture the nature of Portland.
The concept of the EMP Museum in Seattle is very interesting. It is a museum dedicated to popular culture, including movies, music and narrative.
There were a range of interesting exhibitions when we visited today.
My husband is a fiction writer, so we were very excited to visit.
The Fantasy: World of Myth and Magic was presented very well. There were pine needles on the floor, a dragon and a range of small spaces to present different information.
The exhibition includes costumes from a range of influential movies, such as the Wizard of Oz, The Princess Bride, Pan’s Labyrinth and Labyrinth. The detail in the costumes is amazing and it was great to see the wedding dress worn by Princess Buttercup in the Princess Bride, one of the most quotable movies of all time.
There was also information about key contributors to the genre, such as CS Lewis, Lewis Carrollq, Tolkien and George RR Martin.
There were also a number of props from movies such as the US movie versions of the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which is not as good as the definitive British TV version.
There was also a section on role playing and included an original edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
The next exhibition was focused on Icons of Science Fiction which lead to an interesting discussion on what science fiction is, and how it differs from fantasy or horror. There were a number of interesting props and costumes from Star Trek, Star Wars and the Matrix. There are also a number of interviews with science fiction authors and film makers.
There was also an exhibition of the lure of horror films. Lots of props and costumes from a range of horror films, both old and new. There was also a fun, interactive “shadow wall” which creates shapes based on your shadow.
There were also exhibition on Jimi Hendrix and a discussed the Seattle music scene, with an area dedicated to Nirvana
The exhibits were all presented very well. However, there were some gaps in the exhibitions and an over emphasis on others. There was also a lack of context in the items, such as how these movies and novels influenced popular culture and what, if any, was important about them. Seeing the shirt from Shaun of the Dead is great, but it would be better to learn about how that movie impacted on popular culture, of the horror genre.
Walking ghost tours are hard. How much information do you present? Do you present only straight history or do you include some theatre to make it more interesting. How much information do you need to have in hand to answer questions?
I have not been to a tour which has gotten all of these components right, and this includes the Spooked in Seattle tour which we saw this evening.
The tour was sold as a factual tour held by paranormal investigators. While there was some information presented in a factual way, much of it was also embellished. We often heard that the ghost could be this person, or that, or another group entirely. Some historical information was presented, but it was not detailed or little known.
Also, there were far to many people in the tour. Much more than about 15 people and any walking tour becomes a sprawling mess, where everybody tries to position themselves to hear. This tour had twice that many and the problem was exaggerated as the tour also had a number of photographs and audio clips. So we all had to wait while the tour guide slowly panned the iPad around to everyone in the group.
A large number of references were made to TV shows which had filmed in Seattle. You may bet better to watch those. At least you want have to go into a less than sparkling part of Seattle.
The Battle of Little Big Horn also known as Custer’s Last Stand is one of the most controversial battles of American History.
Firstly, there is the morality of the Great Sioux Wars. After all, theTreaty of Fort Laramie was not being honoured by the American Government and that the Sioux had rights to the land they were occupying.
There is also the myth that had grown around George Custer particularly in relation to his “last stand”. While Custer was literally the golden boy of the US Calvary, he had certainly done questionable things in relation to his treatment of the Cheyenne and was despised by the Cheyenne and Sioux. Following the battle, a story of the last stand developed which cast Custer and his men fighting bravely to the last bullet before being overwhelmed with savages. Recent archeological evidence has shown that this story is inaccurate. The Calvary was quickly overwhelmed by opposing forces, with the tactical command breaking down and soldiers retreating across the hills.
The Little Bighorn battlefield manages these complexities quite well. There is a small museum which provides information about both the US cavalry and Native American sides. There is also a 25 minute movie which provides information about the issues leading to the battle.
The battlefield itself is quite well maintained. there are a number of walking tracks and text panels to provide context about what you are viewing. Throughout the battlefield there are a number of markers for both Calvary and Native Americans to show the approximate place at which people fell. There is also a memorial for both sides.
The gift shop offers a CD which provides a car tour of the battlefield. This is partially narrated by the archeologist who found the evidence of what occurred during the battle. The tour provided a great deal of information about the battle, and how the evidence was obtained. This narration was very interesting and well worth the money.
We visited Yellowstone National Park today. The park has the largest collection of geysers in the world, including the most famous, Old Faithful.
We fist went to see Old Faithful, which was scheduled to erupt about 45 minutes after our arrival. This gave us plenty of time to pop into the gift shop and then get a good spot in the viewing area. The viewing area has a large number of benches situated safely around the edge of the geyser. Old faithful started with a few small spurts and a large amount of steam over about 10 minutes and then erupted high into the air. The eruption lasted for well over 5 minutes. The eruption was an amazing sight and many people who have seen many eruptions said that it was one of the most impressive eruptions for 20 years.
We then visited Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the parks largest hot spring. The spring was extremely active and was spewing so much steam it was difficult to see at times. The pools were gorgeous colours and it was great fun to stand in the steam. It was also great to see the mineral water join the river below.
We also visited artist paint pots and saw a large variety of volcanic activity. There was one small geyser which was erupting continuously, several crystal clear pools of spring water and traditional mud pools which were constantly bubbling.
Lastly we saw the mammoth hot springs which is a set of very sculptural formations and steps created by thermal activity. The formations are very beautiful and watching the water flow down the terraces is mesmerising.
We were extremely lucky yo see a wide variety of wildlife, including several varieties of water birds, deer and chipmunks.
One of the highlights however was being able to see a herd of buffalo which had stopped very close to the road. There were a number of calves in the group, including one who was very frisky and was contesting himself by running around in circles and kicking the air. We also saw a group of adolescent males who had stopped beside the road to eat and scratch themselves in trees. These animals have a great deal of wisdom in their big eyes and it is a humbling experience to watch them eat and play.
We were also able to see a bear up in a clearing near the roads. The bear was eating near a stream and we watched him for several minutes before he made his way back into the woods. Bears are amazing creatures and it was an amazing experience to see one in the wild.
50statesofyay 