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Washington State

THE TRULY ODD AND UNUSUAL

Have you ever felt inspired by your laundry? Dryer lint is a medium of choice for northwest artist Elizabeth Barlow.  Located just outside of Forks, a community better known for its chainsaw carvings, Barlow uses colorful dryer lint to create delicately textured pictures that rival any watercolor.  (360-374-6738.  While in Forks, tour the Olympic West Arttrek, a group of 23 stores and art galleries tucked in the heart of the rainforest that feature everything from Native baskets and crafts to art quilts, leather designs and, of course, chainsaw sculptures.

Weird to wonderful can be found at Carr’s One-of-a-kind Museum in Spokane.  Visitors find treatures like a Chinese junk made from 27,000 matchsticks to JFK’s Lincoln Continental, to Elvis’ Lincoln Mark VI and Jackie Gleason’s powder blue limo.  More vintage cars may be see at the Whoop-n-Holler Museum in Bickleton in southeast Washington.  (509-896-2344).

When there's a fair breeze off Lake Washington, eerie sounds resonate from a public-access park in the Sandpoint neighborhood in North Seattle.  This parcel of rough grassland belongs to a federal research center which uses windpipes for scientific experiments.  Visitors enjoy walking the trails just to listen to the unearthly melodies.