A presumably unintentional contradictory message seen on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, August 5, 2004.

Bizarre ceramic flower pot seen in an antique store in Wisconsin Dells, July 31, 2004.

I spent the last few days at a family reunion in Wisconsin Dells (you’ll find it listed in the dictionary definition for “tourist trap”). One of the stranger things I saw there was an attraction called “Top Secret,” shown in the photo above. It looks exactly like the White House was dropped from the sky. Upside down.

What it is, I don’t know. We were not quite curious enough to pay the hefty admission fee to find out. Supposedly, you have to promise not to tell anyone what’s inside so as not to spoil the surprise (or the disappointment, possibly). Among the typical themes in the Dells (lumberjacks, pirates, Mount Olympus, the Carribean, etc.) it was disconcertingly Dada-esque, and therefore kind of cool. It almost doesn’t matter what’s inside.

Part of the sculpture park at New York Mills, Minnesota. Photo taken June 28, 2002.

Old clocks seen in an antique store. Photo taken June 28, 2002.

Some very laid back hand-painted Friz Quadrata. Photographed in St. Paul on February 3, 2003.