Martian Munchies at the Space Aliens Grill and Bar!

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If you’re in North Dakota and looking for something fun to do (and chances are if you’re in North Dakota, you DEFINITELY will be), then make sure to stop by the Space Alien Grill and Bar! It was the tail end of our family road trip and we were joined by my eldest son, Alex, who is stationed in Minot. He’d spend the last two nights of our vacation with us in Bismarck as I planned that Saturday; our only full day together. North Dakota is the least visited state in the US and, since it’s 90% farmland, I can understand why. Another interesting tidbit – if North Dakota ever seceded from the United States, it would be the country with the third most nuclear weapons. Amid all the nukes and cows lies Bismarck, an oasis of sorts with a small zoo, museum, and all the usual stores and chains (including my favorite coffee place, Caribou, which is now extinct from the Midwest) most of us take for granted.  Imagine my happiness when I not only discovered this novelty restaurant but that it was right down the street from our hotel!

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Devil’s Tower & the 40th Anniversary of “Close Encounters!”

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I admit that my love of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind inspired this year’s summer road trip. The Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming had played a pivotal role in the film and, after touring all the great UFO hot-spots in the Southwest last year with the other Dave, seemed like the next logical place to go. This amazing geologic feature is considered sacred to Native Americans and is also this country’s very first National Monument with no short thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt. Despite its history, I don’t think I’m alone when I site Close Encounters as my first introduction to it.

I was seven years old back when the film was released and, at that time, much more enthralled with another 1977 blockbuster, STAR WARS.  My only connection to the film was via a “bendy” alien figure my Grandma bought me (Grandma always understood my interests better than my idiot parents did).

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Countdown to MASK-FEST: Horrorhound Weekend is close at hand!

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One week from today the Indianapolis Marriott East will be bustling with horror fans and celebrities! I’ll be one of those proud fans and can’t wait go shopping in their immense dealer’s room, get a picture with Spike and Drusilla from my all-time favorite TV show, and smell the scent of latex while perusing the masks at MASK-FEST! This our final batch of photos as, this time next week, I’ll be driving out for it. In fact, I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got some packing to do….See you at MASK-FEST! ~Dave Fuentes

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WEIRD USA: Day of the Jackalope!

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While driving through South Dakota, en route to the Badlands National Park, I was reminded of the road trip I’d taken with the other David  last year when we encountered THE THING in Arizona. Once we passed the Dakota line, we were inundated with signs advertising their own region’s tourist trap, the Wall Drug Store. This Great Plains “oasis” promised just about everything including a T-Rex, a five cent cup of coffee, homemade donuts, a splash park, and “free ice water.” The advertisements were unnecessary for me since I’d already made up my mind I was going to stop there weeks before the trip began. A co-worker of mine had taken a similar family vacation to the Dakotas last year and told me all about it. “Dave, you have to go there!” she said. “There’s lots to do and they have the best ice cream!” I feigned interest until she added, “Oh…and they have a giant Jackalope!”

Well…why didn’t she just say that in the first place? Of COURSE I’d be stopping at the Wall Drug Store come hell or high (free) ice water!

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WEIRD USA: King Kong vs Prairie Dogzilla!

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Day two of our WEIRD family vacation was spent at Omaha’s amazing Henry Doorly Zoo – a place that definitely lived up to its reputation as being one of the world’s biggest and best! It signaled a vast improvement from our previous day and the kids seemed a lot happier which is what I was mostly concerned about. Right next to the zoo was a hamburger joint named “King Kong” that featured a loose interpretation of the “8th wonder of the world” on top of it! I really wanted to eat there (just because) but we opted to wait until we arrived in Sioux Falls for a classier dinner.  Being the lone adult traveling with three teens made things rather costly come meal time, but we’d all had it with fast food. We ended up eating at a place called the Roll’n Pin Cafe’ & Grill which was the best food we’d had since the trip began.

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Countdown to MASK-FEST: Raiders of the Lost Argh!!!

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With just a couple of weeks before MASK-FEST 2017 hits Indianapolis, we want to share another group of photos from last year’s show. Now for those of you misguided souls out there who think all masks are created equal and you can get a decent one at Wal-Mart or Target, let these pictures set the record straight! Do you want to make a splash at this year’s Halloween party? Then come on out to MASK-FEST and grab yourself a one-of-a-kind, collectible mask!

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