One of the few buildings still standing in Rhyolite is a house made of glass and adobe. A local saloon owner, Tom Kelly, built this house in 1906 using materials he had in abundance: 51,000 beer bottles and mud.
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Bottle House
One of the few buildings still standing in Rhyolite is a house made of glass and adobe. A local saloon owner, Tom Kelly, built this house in 1906 using materials he had in abundance: 51,000 beer bottles and mud.
Oak Alley Plantation
The Oak Alley Plantation is a historic sugar cane plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana.
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| An alley of oak |
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| Touring the big house |
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| Reconstructed slave cabins |
Laura Plantation
The Laura Plantation is a restored Creole plantation along the Mississippi River.
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| The Creole big house was built in 1804 and 1805 |
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| The rear wings of the big house were destroyed by fire in 2004 |
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| The above-ground "basement" provided space for storage |
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| Laura Locoul Gore |
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| Bananas |
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| The slave quarters were occupied until 1977 |
Rip Van Winkle Gardens
On a recommendation from a local, we went out of our way to visit Rip Van Winkle Gardens.
A video about the property is shown in the visitor center. You can watch it here.
First, we toured the Joseph Jefferson Mansion -- an 1870 Southern mansion built for its namesake near Lake Peigneur. Picture-taking was not permitted inside the house, so you'll have to visit yourself to see what's inside.
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| The Joseph Jefferson Mansion (photo by Joseph a) |
After touring the home, we set out to explore the beautiful gardens.
We met a local frog as we walked the gardens. The frog didn't seem to be as happy to meet us as we were to meet it; but it did pose for a couple photos before it went on its way.
From the shores of Lake Peigneur, we saw a chimney sticking out of the water. This chimney belongs to a second house on the property that was destroyed in 1980 when a Texaco oil rig accidentally drilled into the Diamond Crystal salt mine under the lake.
After walking the gardens, we had a bit of difficulty leaving the property. A Jefferson Island resident blocked our exit. Everywhere I tried to drive, this resident walked in front of the car, and stood, and stared at us.
Only after offering him a hug did he move out of the way.
