One-Line Adventures [July 10]

Our team at Atlas Obscura is always exploring the overlooked and unexpected, whether in our own backyards or in far-flung locales. In the new One-Line Adventures feature, we send out some quick dispatches of recent discoveries.

“After years of visiting my family on holidays in my home state of Maine, I finally made it out to the International Cryptozoology Museum, where I learned that, according to ‘earwitnesses,’ Bigfoot surprisingly sounds like small game birds.” 
— Michelle Enemark [Graphic Design, Video Production]

“Nothing has ever made me bellow the words ‘Pull Over!’ like this sign on the I-80 through Oakley, Kansas — sadly Prairie Dog Town was closed for the day, and there was much sorrow.” — Rachel James [Editor-in-Chief, Places]

“Road trip through Wisconsin lead to the Kovac Planetarium, the world’s largest mechanical globe planetarium, featuring every visible star of the Northern Hemisphere, carefully plotted with glow-in-the-dark paint — a breathtaking work of art and science!”
— Erin Johnson [Field Agent, Los Angeles]

“Though the whole day was one unexpected adventure after the next — hiking to a white sand beach on the Mississippi, bridge clamoring, echo chambers, trees crashing down around us in a summer storm — this was the moment I’d patiently waited years for: holding my best friend’s six-foot long python, Eva Longoria, as she coiled around me with all her muscly weight.” — Sarah Brumble [Tumblr Editor]

“The weather was wet and the coastal live oak forest draped in Spanish moss was infested with mosquitoes, but it added to the macabre ambiance on a recent trip exploring the Old Sheldon Church ruins located in South Carolina. The church was built over 260 years ago and the inside was gutted right after the Civil War.” — Robert Hemedes [Field Agent, Los Angeles]

“Earlier this week I introduced a friend who is new to the area to Sutro Baths. The heavy fog put everything into soft focus, but could not lessen the raw beauty of one of my favorite spots in San Francisco.” — Beth Abdallah [Field Agent, San Francisco]

“Wandering around the gardens of the Greenwich Royal Observatory in London, I stumbled upon these remains of a very old tree. It had a natural hollow inside large enough to accommodate a seat bench large enough to fit 15 people. Where else can one find references to a space used both for kingly escapades as well as temporary jail? Local rumor purports no small number of shenanigans were associated with this tree: from Henry VIII enjoying the private confines with Anne Boleyn, to it being used as a lockup for people who broke park rules. Planted in the 12th century, this solid English oak lasted until 1991 when a heavy rain weakened the soil supporting its long dead root base.”
— Douglas Worley [Field Agent, San Francisco]

“Dead Horse Bay is the Holy Grail of trash and treasures. Every tides bring back on shore litter from another era — etched bottles, bent cutelery and myriads of antique objects covered by shells. At the time of my last visit, the shore also morphed into a horseshoe crab graveyard. Anthropod carcasses were absolutely everywhere, adding to the surreal atmosphere of the beach itself. I usually refer to this exploration as ‘The Dead Horseshoe Crab Bay’ field trip.” — Laetitia Barbier [Contributor/French Correspondent] 

“All I want to do when the summer weather creeps into the 90s is become a recluse, but I decided to spend this past blistering NYC Sunday at the Cloisters instead, where the museum formed from old stone abbeys was the perfect respite.” — Allison Meier [Editor-in-Chief, Articles]

“With a few hours to kill near Budapest’s main station before getting an overnight train to Krakow, I wandered over to Kerepesi Cemetery a few blocks away. Canopied paths criss-cross one another, the monuments are placed sparsely and erratically, and ivy has crept up many of the memorials. The whole place feels wild and overgrown in the best possible way. The only thing marring the tranquil, timeless experience is the giant new shopping mall towering over the northern wall.” — Ella Morton [Head Writer, Book Team]

One-Line Adventures are snapshots of some recent explorations from the Atlas Obscura Team. Click here to see more >