The Garden of Eden
+ Small Town Cafe's, Timex, and more
Hello my friends!
I love roadside America. I’m always fascinated by the unusual attractions I am lucky enough to see on my travels. That’s the great thing about driving. You can take the country back roads and stop in a heartbeat when your heart goes pitter-patter for an oddity.
Art in the middle of the desert. A house made from glass and bottle caps. World’s largest thermometer. Smiley face water towers. Mystery spots. Giant Paul Bunyon and his blue ox. Crazy Horse. Drive-thru trees. Ghost towns. Theme towns like Christmas and towns where the only residents are Psychic Mediums. Giant stuffed cows. Giant coffee pot. Giant dinosaurs. Giant Alligators. Giant anything.
The list goes on and on.
And all these crazy, unusual, useless roadside attractions make me smile. It’s like a giant unseen hand reaches inside my flesh, touches my soul, opens my heart and my eyes so that I can see with wonderment, like a child does.
The Garden of Eden is one such attraction. One I have never visited and one I just learned about yesterday when I was going through my postcards.
It sits in a tiny town with a population of about 500. Lucas. Kansas. The whole attraction is made from cement. It started with a log cabin but not made with logs. It took two years to construct the cabin which Samuel Dinsmoor started building in 1905 at the age of 62. Once the cabin was built, he began giving tours of the home. For the next 22 years, he added more sculptures that represent the creation of the world, political happenings and such.
It’s a fascinating story if you want to learn more.
Postcard from Spirit
For those of you who are new to my newsletter, occasionally, I will draw a card from my oracle deck, Postcards from Spirit. I usually only pull a card when I am guided to do so. I believe that the message is more authentic that way. There’s a whole process I go through when pulling a card. I cleanse the deck with selenite, I set an intention, say a protection prayer, and ask for guidance and help in choosing the right card for the day’s message. I shuffle until one card falls out.
Without further ado, here’s today’s message.
This message really resonates with me today. I was going to leave the house and do something fun for myself. And then, I sat down to write this newsletter, because it had been a while, and I felt guilty and obligated, and now I feel like I didn’t get moving fast enough and it’s late afternoon and that stresses me out because I didn’t go have any fun or get anything done around the house. But I suppose I did enjoy writing this piece today.
Here’s another postcard website that’s really cool. It’s Blue Lake Mercantile Company. One of my favorite things on the website is an interactive BOLO MAP. They’ve done a lot of research that shows which towns across the United States sells for more than $20. You look at the map, click on the area and you will find loads of postcards to be on the lookout for.
Noteworthy Reads:
I came across a video a couple of days ago about a man who made the news because of his collection of real photo postcards of his hometown, Seward, Nebraska. Watch the news clip.
I love small towns. They usually have quaint little shops in their downtown area. Small towns are almost always older towns with historical buildings which make it interesting. Jackson, Michigan is one such town. Its population is just over 31,000 according to the 2020 census.
Some of my favorite postcards to collect are those of restaurants and cafe’s. If you enjoy those types of cards too, I came across an online article that will please your visual senses.
Vintage Postcards showcasing Jackson, Michigan Cafe’s.
If you are feeling sentimental and have a longing for times gone by, you only need to look through old postcards for a sense of nostalgia to rise up within you. Or you can wear one of Timex’s new nostalgic watches inspired by vintage postcards that feature National Parks.
I haven’t been listing as many postcards on eBay as I want to. But I’m gradually building it up. I currently have 2,661 items listed.
I am grateful that I made a little bit of money. It’s not much, but it certainly helps.
Enjoy the rest of your day, you’ll hear from me soon.
XOXO
~JarieLyn~