Eliza Turner

The second diorama, "Setting the Stage" Who would have thought a quiet and unassuming neighborhood just off of Venice Boulevard in Culver City, California was hiding one of the most unique museums in Los Angeles? The Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita, or simply the Bhagavad-gita Museum as it is commonly known, is one of those off the beaten path locations that even many locals are unaware of, despite it having been there for nearly forty years. But what is it, exactly? The museum is more of an immersive spiritual experience than a traditional museum. Visitors proceed through a series of unlit rooms, demanding you give your full attention to each of the eleven dioramas. These dioramas are not just three dimensional displays; each one is accompanied by a narration and light show to enhance the effect of each scene. Each of these dioramas portray either a scene from the Bhagavad-gita or explains a concept of the belief system that has sprung it. The Bhagavad-gita is a r...

A few weeks ago, I decided to take my camera out one night and see if I could get some good shots in a nearby cemetery. I enjoy walking through cemeteries at night; there is a peacefulness and quiet that you just don’t find anywhere else, at least not without leaving the city. I ended up parking next to a fairly large mausoleum that I had never explored before, so I checked it out. Most of it was outdoor, but there was an interior that looked like a small chapel on the bottom floor. The doors were already locked for the night, so I was not able to go in. There was a second floor as well, but I couldn’t tell what was in there. As you can see in the video to your left, there was a nice fountain at the far end of the mausoleum; the water from it echoed through building and made it sound like it was raining—a very nice touch. Besides the mausoleum, the rest of the grounds were well kept and pretty standard cemetery look. I walked around a little, but didn’t go too far away fro...

Legend has it that, when passing through the flood tunnels between Charleston  Blvd and Sahara Avenue on Sandhill Road in Las Vegas , you can hear the ghostly whisperings of a long dead couple within them. The couple, according the story, were driving down Olive Street on a motorcycle and crashed into the construction debris from when the tunnels were being built. Their bodies were not found until hours later. The spot has long been a local legend for ages, so I decided to check it out on night. Due to the spiked fence, I did not get to walk into the tunnels. From where I could observe, I did not hear any ethereal whispering and nothing out of the normal occurred during my time there. I took a short video and a few pictures though (the video is at the top of this page; the photos are below). I got a lot of “orbs” in the pics taken around this area; however, I do not think they are anything paranormal. The orbs are likely dust reflected off the flash fr...

Photo by Osie Turner The infamous Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, is one of the area’s most unusual roadside attractions. A clown-themed motel in the historic mining town of Tonopah, right in the middle of nowhere, and located next to an old cemetery to boot seems almost made up. But it is real; in fact you can’t miss it if you drive through the town. I wrote a three-part article on the history and background of the Clown Motel already, so I’m not going to rehash all of the details here (links are provided at the end of this post). What I am going to focus on is my own experience while staying at the motel. If the sign and name don’t scare you away from getting a room here, you will have to enter the lobby—where the bulk of the clown collection is to be found. Hundreds of clown figurines, masks, pictures, and various other mediums of clownery cover the walls and bookshelves. And of course the life-sized doll, Bozo the Clown , spends his days sitting in the corner greeting ...

"Truck Cab in the Desert" by Osie Turner (2014) Abandoned vehicles are a common sight on the backroads of Nevada. This classic truck cab was a great, unexpected find. I found it alongside Nevada State Route 375, also known as the “Extraterrestrial Highway” because of its proximity to Area 51, near the turnoff from US Route 6.   The remains of this truck were too nondescript for me to identify much about it; I don’t know what type of truck it was, what year it is from, or much else. I would guess that it is from about the 1960s or so, but that is, of course, just a guess. What I do know is that this rusting old shell has sat there, a short walk off the highway, for so long that it has become a part of the landscape. It was probably used by some rancher back in the day until it stopped running—possibly where it lies today. I also know that this is not just some lump of slowly decomposing metal; this truck has a story—of that I am certain. How many miles was it...

A few months ago, I got a full-access tour of the historic Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada, and wrote a three page article for Examiner.com about the hotel. It would be redundant to go over the same info again here, so I will post a link to the article at the end of this post. The purpose of this post is to show some of the photos and share some of my personal observations that didn’t fit in with the previous article. As you could probably guess, since the hotel is well over one hundred years old, it is said to be home to a few ghosts. The Lady in Red, the ghost of Senator Pittman, and some impish children are some of the resident spirits of the old hotel. One oddity that I noticed was that my camera had a hard time focusing in certain areas of the hotel. Specifically, the shots taken in the basement and on the 3 rd floor of the hotel all came out strangely blurry. No apparitions or anything like that, but the photos were atypically blurry, sort of like an Orton-ish effect,...

I am not a paranormal investigator. I have no interest in paranormal investigating. I enjoy these types of TV shows as much as anyone else, but that’s about it. I partake of paranormal shows as entertainment. It isn’t that I don’t believe in the supernatural at all, I simply take these types of things with a grain of salt. Earlier this month I wrote an article on examiner.com about the Boulder City Pet Cemetery and got some great pictures in the late afternoon. I decided to return to the pet cemetery at night to see if I could get some good nighttime photos. The setting is perfect; rustic old graves in the middle of the desert make for a very dark, gothic subject. Just the type of pictures I love to take. This is the first photo, unedited. I took a friend with me on this outing. At the time it was mainly for company, but looking back I am glad I was not alone. I did not feel anything macabre at the cemetery during the day. Upon visiting after dark, my main concern was co...

I recently began writing for examiner.com as a freelance journalist. Today, my first article with them went live. I will be focusing on the unique places and people in the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area (my official title is “Las Vegas Places and Faces Examiner”). I have wanted to write about our local oddities and unique history for some time and this seems to be a good medium to do so through. Blame it on the scorching desert sun, but there is never a shortage of eccentrics here; from Howard Hughes to Lonnie Hammargren to Scotty’s Castle in nearby Death Valley, Southern Nevada is a mecca for the bizarre.   The link to my first article is below. It’s about Sloan Canyon, a local spot loaded with Native American petroglyphs, or rock art. Sloan Canyon has one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in North America! I have attached a few photos I took there as well. Here's the link: Sloan Canyon: The Sistine Chapel of rock art

Anyone who has even driven on Sandhill Road between Tropicana and Flamingo could not have missed the one strange wall with all sorts of things barely visible over it. Old casino signs, spaceships (some complete with little green men), and bizarre rickety structures are all visible in short bursts. Who lives there and what is all of that stuff, and—more importantly—who wouldn’t want to go inside and see what else is there? The house, well actually it’s three houses morphed into one, belonging to Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, a retired neurosurgeon and former Nevada Lt. Governor. Yes, he really does live there. The concept of this Las Vegas landmark is to preserve Nevada’s history via Dr. Hammargren’s personal collection. He purchases anything and everything that catches his interest. Some of it may be invaluable to resale, but these are overshadowed by the incredible rare pieces that he has. For instance, the original Batmobile sits in his garage; the roller coaster from the top of the ...