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John the tire guy checks our tire pressure
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We waited at Waite's (get it? - waited...Waite's...never mind)
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Directions were given on how to get there from here
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We're so glad . . .
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We stopped at the Frank Lloyd Wright Vistor Center
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The Infinity Room at House on the Rock from across the valley
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And then we were there
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There are maybe 20 of these huge, fantastical objects d'art - all different, all weird
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A musical ostrich is cool
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Contemplating huge pottery
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Merlin pointed the way at several locations
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One of a zillion automated harps
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There was a full carillon (not operable) under some stairs
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There are at least a dozen "conversation pits" with fireplaces
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The infinity room from the inside
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Many stained glass things scattered about
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And lots and lots of Moroccan screens throughout the entire house
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Some musical figurines in one of the ladies' restrooms
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And model trains in the men's john
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A coffee table made from a huge bellows displaying a collection of glass paperweights
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A collection of genuine Faberge eggs
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There are several hundred model ships
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This is a very rare automated piano-violin, and the guy who ran it for us
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Hand-tossed pizza for lunch
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Talk about harp glitz
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The seemingly endless paper roll at the top ran this music machine
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There were rooms after rooms of automated music machines
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One room houses a complete chamber orchestra
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This one is oriental-themed
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Another automated harp
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Harp Sighting . . . sort of (it's a lyre)
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The world's largest organ console. 15 ranks of keys!
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Inside a ladies' room - each stall decorated to match its door
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Another harp sighting
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There was a bunch of circus stuff
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Several miniature circuses - all authentic to the last detail
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Even a miniature roller coaster
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A room full of jewelry store animated window displays
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One small part of a complete mechanical orchestra
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One animated flute player - each instrument pneumatically operated
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Wonder what they were selling - legs or guns?
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Some really impressive antique ivory carvings
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Over 2000 carousel horses
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Judy says it's a harp sighting. Al had to look twice.
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The Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison on a rainy evening
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Another spectacular sunset
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Same sunset, different angle
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Looking at Taliesin from the uphill side
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Some of the Taliesin gardens
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More views
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Organic architecture seems to grow out of the ground
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Bryan, our tour guide for Taliesin - that uneven stonework is used throughout Wright's many buildings - the "organic" look"
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Sometimes things grow out of the architecture
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We forgot the story about this bell, but it was a good one
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The "Muse of the Garden" was not very weather resistant - cast out of plaster of Paris!!
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One fat swallow fledgling almost ready to fly
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Sometimes it's hard to see the buildings
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Much of Taliesin is being used by student architects and instructors
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Wright liked to build to emphasize the views
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Follow those stairs to the front door. No wheelchair access requirements in those days
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Trees dislocate wall. Much debate on what to do. Trees win.
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Wright liked to put doors in the corners
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Very few buildings bear the red square, official Wright seal of approval
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The house complex has 37,000 square feet under roof."
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This path traces the original main entry path
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Taliesin means "shining brow" in Welsh, and the house is on the brow of the hill
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A wall shaped like a quarter-note
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One last look at the main house
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Hillside is the main architectural school
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These windows make sure the light is just right
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The building was originally a boarding school
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There were so many windows that some parents wouldn't let their kids go there
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The "Romeo & Juliet" windmill has no internal structure
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Most of our tour group (sans Judy)
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The tree and the roof compete - periodically, the roof gets trimmed"
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Another one of those marvelous sight lines
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Bird nests share the architecture outside the visitor center's ladies' room
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The dam that made a reflecting pond
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Unity Chapel - the interior design was Wright's first design project