While visiting Louisiana last week, my friend Mike and I visited the Rip Van Winkle Gardens, an estate turned tourism site founded by Joseph Jefferson in 1870, in large part funded by his success in turning the story of Rip Van Winkle into a world-traveling stage play. And that’s where all references to Rip Van Winkle end.
The estate is beautiful, although the weather and time of year conspired to make the gardens a tad underwhelming. That being said, I did manage to grab a few photos.
The trip offered a bonus, however, for my friend Mike, who is into what I call “disaster porn”.
The estate abuts Lake Peigneur, the site of an incredible engineering disaster when an oil rig on the lake drilled accidentally into a salt mine. You have to watch the video below to truly appreciate the scale of the disaster.
-
- Everywhere, you heard the cries of excited peacocks
-
- A beautiful yellow crown adorns the prickly flesh
-
- There were just enough blooms to keep the bees busy
-
- A few frogs hid below the lily pads
-
- The gardens had an Asian flare with gods and bamboo
-
- Distinctly Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors
-
- When you least expected it, geckos would leap from trees and walls
-
- Another god laughs at the tourists
-
- An oddly small mansion adorns the grounds
createdbyrcw 
Another round of awesome shots, Randall. You really do have a wonderful eye for out of the ordinary perspective.
Thank you, my friend…the compliment is very much appreciated. I try to take a similar approach with my writing–professional or creative–looking for undiscovered or unexplored angles. Doesn’t always work, but when it does, it is a great feeling.