National Park Pop-Up Trip

One of my favorite birthday presents this year was the America's National Park Pop-Up Book.

The description says:

"The book is a coast to coast journey featuring 18 of our most visited national parks, six as stunning double page pop-ups: Everglades, Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier and Yosemite national parks. Pop-up paper engineering is created by Bruce Foster, designer of 40 pop-up books, including the amazing Harry Potter pop-up book. The pop-up illustrations by Dave Ember are in the style of the WPA 1930s posters..."

I like the thickness of it - it let's you know this isn't really a kids pop-up book. I mean, you can let kids watch you look at it and they might enjoy from afar, but no dirty undexterous hands on this piece:

The back cover claims that the National Parks will come to life! And they do.

Here's the Grand Canyon:

And Yellowstone:

And a tiny book in the corner of the Glacier National Park page opens up to reveal a "jammer":

I loved this book almost as much as I love the National Parks and my National Park Passport. If they wanted any ideas for improvements on the next printing, I'd say they could include a useable human-size fold-out tent of the Ahwahnee Lodge at Yosemite:

I've always wanted to stay there. Imagine: Turn your card table into the Ahwahnee Lodge!  Grand idea. 

Get this book and then get me to the Everglades:

A Swiss Summer

A common theme on the road-trips this summer : Small & Swiss.

Thanks to a recommendation, while we were in Buckhannon on B's academic business, we took a switch-backy mountain drive up to a small swiss village in the WestVirginia hills. It is known as Helvetia. I do mean small - according the 2010 census the population is 59.

The town has a homey restaurant called the Hutte House:

Inside it looks like a lived-in treasure shoppe:

The owner proudly displays her West Virginia Business College degree:

You get a plate of cubed baby swiss as an appetizer and beer is served in giant cold ceramic steins:

After our late lunch we went for a stroll down the street. As in THE street. 

Settled in 1869 by some Swiss folks that just wanted to MYOB!

A beautiful flower bed on a pretty little bridge over a quaint little crick:

The town convenience store and post office - we were told that the woman who owns the restaurant is also the town postmistress:

The reason I love Swiss villages is because most buildings are called HAUS:

On my way back from Michigan I got off the highway after seeing the small hand-painted billboard that touts the quaintness of the swiss village of Berne, Indiana. I'd seen it on my trip a couple times and always wanted to stop and if there is one lesson I can teach y'all after my couple decades on the road - if you want to stop: DO IT.

I'm glad I did especially because my timing was perfect. The mechanical people and glockenspiel in the historic (looking) clock tower were about to do their noon dance!

If you don't have photosynth for your phone - get it. It is the most fun panorama app ever. 

The city center is quite fancy for a town of just around 4,000 people.  Here is a set of swiss arms:

The entertainment began at noon. 

I don't know anyone who doesn't like a good glockenspiel and mechanical figures coming out of a clock at noon. Here's a taste:

And here is proof that there was popcorn:

The tour bus:

In town, all the stores and buildings look like swiss chalets. Even the McDonalds!

Here is the fire station:

If I could have stayed two more days I would have been able to attend their swiss festival. I can only eat so much dense cheese and cheese soups in July. I will just have to come back another time.

The Keys to Frequent Posting

Hello from the longest stretch of non-posting in KayekillA history.  Excuses to come. For now gaze (if you can, I am posting from my phone so can't vouch for quality) upon this collection of keychains I just saw in an art gallery in Oxford. It is nearly identical to one my own mother used to have hanging at my grandparents house. No.Stayl.Ghah.