On the home stretch, we first took on the mystery of the Oregon Vortex.
What is a vortex, you may ask? According to the Oregon Vortex folks, it is a spherical field of force, half above the ground and half below the ground, that causes numerous unique phenomena in the area. The most famous of these phenomenon is the claim that nowhere in the circle do you "normally stand erect", instead the visitor "inevitably assumes a posture that inclines towards magnetic north", thus causing the perception that people's heights change relative to each other, depending on where they are standing within the vortex.
We wished that we had brought along our own level, but then again, can you fake a level? Something to consider. They used levels to show that the platform below was indeed level on both sides. I was careful not to move my camera or position between these shots, although it's clear that I wasn't centered between the two. Can you see a difference in the angles here?
We may print these out and paste them on a white background to measure the angles and see what we come up with. It's interesting that they don't allow videography on site, only still photos. We managed to find a video on line from the 90's of the experiment posted above so we'll include that in our examination. We had hoped for more details about the Vortex and how it is measured, as the scientific handbook you can buy in the gift shop lists the different times of day that the Vortex field increases and decreases but the handbook was vague about the forces behind the Vortex and how they are measured. Hmmm.
The house of mystery, a former supply shed, slid off it's foundation and came to rest in this unique position. It has been replicated in many places but is unique because it's the only one within a vortex. The perceptual illusions are truly amazing. You can roll a 2 liter bottle what absolutely looks to be downhill and it rolls back to you. You can balance a broom to stand up on it's own.
Following our closely guided tour of the vortex, we traveled another hour north to Winston, OR, where we waited in a surprisingly long line to tour the Wildlife Safari. People come from all over to see this attraction. Nestled into 600 acres of gorgeous rolling hills, animals from around the world call this place their home. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Wildlife Safari is known around the world for it's successful cheetah breeding program. Normally very difficult to breed in captivity, 176 cheetahs have been born in the park.
This guy looks relaxed! Cheetahs are evidently quite susceptible to stress, so this is a good sign.
Fun to see the hippos out of the water.
In this section of the park you can feed the animals and birds from your car.
It was a lovely drive through the park, and we'd do it again, because you get to see different animals up close each time, as they are free to wander. Here's a sight we saw often on our trip:
That's Mistletoe growing in the trees!
We'll post a trip mash-up and summary tomorrow, but for now:
There's no place like home.
2 comments:
Welcome Home!
Thanks! :D
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