YOUR SUMMER VACATION AWAITS!

By Kelly Milner Halls

Summer is just around the corner. So why not plan for a very special vacation—a totally weird vacation. We’ve gathered some of the weirdest travel stops in Washington State to help you think outside the box—with one from Oregon and one from Idaho featured at the end, just for good measure.

Washington

Cat Tales Wildlife Center https://www.cattales.org/

Many states have no laws against keeping big cats and other exotic animals as pets. And because baby animals are so cute, people gleefully buy them. But when they grow up to reveal razor sharp claws and murderous teeth, their owners often regret the purchases. That’s where rescues like Cat Tales Wildlife Center in Mead, WA come in. When exotic animal owners realize their mistakes, Cat Tales steps in to provide the animals a safe home for the rest of their lives—at great expense and professional effort.

You can visit the animals for a fee. The ticket prices help fund the care and feeding of lions, bobcats, tigers, cougars, servals, caracals, lynx, leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, and ligers—hybrid lion/tiger crossbreeds. Other exotics including coyotes, foxes, wolves and bears are also offered sanctuary when room and budgets permit.

A visit to Cat Tales is a truly amazing opportunity to see these beautiful animals— one that won’t cost you a pound of flesh a few years later.

Washington

The Hobbit House https://www.brothersgreenhouses.com/

Visit Port Orchard, WA to explore a house straight out of the Shire. Built in 2015 by Marylin Davis and Cheryl Pelkey, it was inspired by author J.R.R. Tolkien’s body of work. Nestled behind the Brothers Greenhouses at 3200 Victory Drive SW, it offers visitors the chance to enter via a round door to a working fireplace on one side of the tiny house, a wooden chair and lamp on the other. Both are perfect spots for Hobbit photo ops.

Outside you’ll find seasonal blooms available for purchase at the nursery, and a delightful fairy garden any Hobbit would be proud to admire. You can even take a class on how to create a fairy garden of your own.

Washington

Marsh’s Free Museum https://www.marshsfreemuseum.com/ Head to the oceanside community of Long Beach and park near 409 Pacific Avenue to explore the museum one website called a “sprawling peculiarium.” Pose for pictures with Jake the Alligator Man—a mummified half gator/half man known as the town’s cherished mascot. Pet the two headed calf. Gaze at a jar filled with tapeworms. It is wall-to-wall weirdness from top to bottom.

The museum’s creators originally had an ice cream shop in Long Beach. But when the ocean liner Admiral Benson went aground near Cape Disappointment, they decided to cater to the curious onlookers. Since then, it has been the place to go to see or purchase weird things you never imagined you’d desire.

Idaho

Oasis Bordello Museum https://www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com/ Wallace, Idaho is a sleepy little town, but its history is quite daring. The turnof-the-century mining town was host to a bevy of bordello beauties, celebrated at the Oasis Bordello Museum. The working girls serviced miners with money enough to buy companionship.

The bordello continued to offer affection until it suddenly closed in 1988. The ladies left their personal items behind—from groceries to clothing to furniture. When a business man purchased the building from its former madam, he opened it as a surprising museum. Documented details from the bordello’s history are on exhibit in a tasteful, all ages manner.

Washington

Ape Caves https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/ape-cave/

This 2000-year-old geologic wonder in Skamania, Washington (near the south side of Mount St. Helens) was formed when lava escaped the volcano, forming lava streams down the mountain. As it cooled, an outer crust formed, but the inner flow continued. Hollow tubes formed, creating the chance to take one of the most surreal hikes you’ll ever experience—inside the tubes.

The 2 ½ mile trail includes stalactites, stalagmites, very narrow passages, dripping ceilings and puddles formed by those drips. It sits at a chilly 42 degrees, year-round and light can be scarce, so bring flashlights and extra batteries when you mount your exploration.

Reservations are required to make the hike from May to October only. And there are restrictions. No pets, no food, no smoking, no rock collection and no touching the slimy walls.

Oregon

Enchanted Forest https://www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com/

This bizarre cross between an amusement park and a expansive folkart exhibit is located near Salem, Oregon on I-5. Local artist Roger Tofte created the attraction for his own delight, but visitors of all ages turn out after March 24th each year to admire the forest filled with castles, fairytale characters, and a gigantic witch’s head that is the wicked entrance to a usable slide.

Washington

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop https://www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com/

Seattle is filled with sensational vacation destinations, including Ye Olde Curiosity Shop at 1001 Alaskan Way, Pier 54. Founded at another location in 1899, it housed a massive collection of artifacts and oddities amassed by Joseph Standley. He died in 1940 and passed it down to the next four generations.

Today, it holds a collection of Ecuadorian shrunken heads, a three tusked walrus skull, a narwhal tusk, Medical Ed (a preserved cadaver head), a vintage slot machine called “Black Bart,” a Feejee mermaid, World War II War ration booklets and a pair of human mummies named Sylvester and Sylvia.

Trinkets for sale fill the main body of the shop, but there are weird wonders a plenty waiting to be discovered along with souvenirs.