I am notorious for having no sense of direction.   That is why I have my Billy Bob Thornton Karl from Slingblade voice GPS.   When I am driving around town I don’t usually need to use Billy Bob because our town is not all that big.   One day I got all turned around going someplace and I wound up someplace bizarre. I was not sure what to make of it and didn’t stop to investigate because

1) I was alone,

2) there was a pickup truck parked watching my every move as I turned around and

3) I didn’t want to trespass someplace.

Well—imagine my surprise when about a week later I ran across an article about this bizarre place in a local news source.   (North Iowa Today)

Seems former councilman, Max Weaver, has dedicated his time to creating this unusual showplace and named it Rancho Deluxe Z Garden.   It is off the beaten track on 2nd Street Northwest here in Mason City and it is his project now to spend time adding to this unusual but very interesting place.  I took a ton of pictures and plan to do a couple different posts to share some of the interesting items in Mr. Weaver’s garden.

From all that I can gather, Mr. Weaver was always one of the more colorful characters on the city council and I don’t think he would be offended at all to read that.  He often was the one dissenting vote, the one who raised a ruckus over things that others would have let alone, and the one who seemed to thrive on the spotlight.   Now he has this new place where he spends his time meeting and talking with folks as he creates an interesting and unique place on the end of a street that people like me mistakenly go.

I took Chris with me on a sunny Saturday morning and we enjoyed a leisurely walk through this most interesting place.  I would love to hear what your favorite picture is from today.   Tell me in the comments which one tickled your fancy today.