(upbeat music) - [Will] This week on "Wild Travels," we'll meander to McMinnville, Oregon, to witness the Extraterrestrial Parade and Alien Pet Contest at UFO Fest, examine the exhibits at Salem's Museum of Mental Health, where "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed, try not to crash in a jet simulator at the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, and then marvel at the huge model ships and animated rock band made completely out of...toothpicks?

(upbeat music) (bright music) - [Narrator] Wild Travels is made possible in part by Alaska Railroad, providing year-round transportation to many Alaska destinations, traversing nearly 500 miles of wild landscapes between Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and more.

alaskarailroad.com.

By Sheboygan, Wisconsin, centrally located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to Kohler-Andrae State Park, and outdoor adventures waiting to be discovered.

visitsheboygan.com.

By American Road Magazine.

Get your kicks on Route 66 and everywhere else a two-Lane highway can take you.

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And by the South Shore of Lake Michigan, exploring the Indiana Dunes, unique attractions, festivals, and more, just minutes from downtown Chicago.

alongthesouthshore.com.

(upbeat music) - If you look hard enough, go off the beaten track far enough, you'll find an America teeming with the unusual, the odd, the downright strange.

I'm Will Clinger, and I'm your guide on a package tour we like to call "Wild Travels."

(upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music) For more than two decades, McMinnville, Oregon, has played host to UFO Fest, a convention that explores all things extraterrestrial, and it turns out there's some fascinating theories on what the ETs want and just what they look like.

Hey, what's your name?

- My name's Tim, Tim Hills.

- And this is UFO Fest.

- It is, man.

And it's a little different, but it just ties in with this one case that happened here.

- [Will] That's right, there's a reason why this takes place in McMinnville, Oregon.

- That's right.

- What is it?

- Just outside of McMinnville in, I think, it's Dayton, Paul and Evelyn Trent had a farm.

May 11th, 1950, Mrs. Trent is out taking laundry off the line and something catches her eye up in the sky, and she turns around and she sees this circular thing.

- And she takes a picture, doesn't she?

- Not yet, can't find the camera.

And they finally find it in a drawer somewhere.

Paul Trent got two shots.

He didn't go and tell everybody.

- [Will] He didn't wanna be called a nut bag by anyone.

- Right.

- Because he was responsible for the UFO Fest being here in McMinnville, although technically it should be in Dayton.

- Technically, it should, although he did his banking here.

- It's a tenuous connection, but let's just keep it.

What can we expect to experience at the Fest?

- [Tim] Well, the best thing to experience, the parade, you cannot beat it.

- [Will] There's also a pet costume contest, right?

- There is, that's very strange.

- [Will] And a series of speakers who are gonna talk about various aspects of UFOs.

- We have Whitley Strieber this year.

We've been trying to get him for many years.

- We got to sit down with Mr. Strieber, and initially the conversation was not that illuminating.

Your topic is provocatively titled "Them."

- Yes.

- And who are they?

- I don't know, I don't think anyone does.

- Do they mean us harm or are they coming in peace?

Do you know?

- It's too complicated to answer that question.

- Mhmm, do you think there are aliens among us?

- I don't know if there are any aliens here at all.

I don't even know if that's what this is about.

- Can you tell us a little bit about your experience?

- It's been quite a wonderful and extraordinary experience now, but, at first, it was very difficult.

- A lot of people do report about being abducted and being scanned or probed in different ways.

- Well, that's the big joke of course.

Probed, ha, ha, ha.

But it's not funny.

- Yeah.

You know what is funny?

Pets dressed as aliens and their proud owners.

(upbeat music) Do you think they have pets in space?

Do you think aliens have pets?

- Well, I sure hope they do or they'd be miserable!

(Will laughs) - He is a space spider.

- A space spider.

You don't see those every day.

- Right, he's very rare.

- What is she called?

- Rocket dog?

- Rocket dog!

Yeah, I think this could be a contender.

(Rocket dog barking) - Let's hope.

- [Will] You didn't blow a lot of money on the costume, that's a Coors can.

- I didn't.

Yes.

10 cents, I know.

- Scratch him behind the ears.

Yeah, oh, look how happy you made him.

- I totally buy this is an alien dog, 'cause he's invisible.

- Well, he's got the cloak on, you know.

- The cloak of invisibility.

- That's right.

You wouldn't believe how ugly he is if you take that off.

- Really?

- Scares everybody.

(upbeat music) - This is a lamb, isn't it?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, what's his name?

- It's a girl, her name's Sersy.

- [Will] And you've both been painted green?

- Yeah.

- Is that okay for a lamb?

- Once her hair grows, it's gonna be white again.

- You'll wash this off, right?

- Yeah, if I want to.

- [Will] Maybe he shouldn't wash it off, because he and his green lamb won first prize.

(upbeat music) Do you think these aliens mean us harm or are they coming in peace?

- I have no idea.

And they haven't killed us so far, so far as we know.

- If they meant us harm, we'd probably be dust.

- Well, if they meant us harm, we'd not even know it too, 'cause they may control your minds and things.

- Even at this moment, we both might be controlled.

- Yeah.

(gentle eerie music) - If they wanted to enslave us, they would've done that a long, long time ago.

They do not want to integrate into our society.

That's what most of them say.

- So the aliens mean us no harm?

- Most of them mean no harm.

- Some do.

- There are some who really don't care about humans.

They believe they own this planet and everything on it, but the benevolent ones keep them at bay.

- [Will] Have you had any encounters yourself?

- I have had a close encounter with a craft.

My mother and I were taken and it was terrifying.

- What do you say to skeptics that say, "Oh, come on, it's all in your imagination," that there's no other life forms out there?

- I have to excuse skeptics, because they're ignorant about the information.

And ignorance will lead to misinformation.

- Fear.

- Although, sometimes it leads to bliss.

- (laughs) Yeah, well, in this case, it doesn't seem that ignorance is bliss.

- Bad, ignorance bad.

(upbeat music) Among the convention's attendees, it was hard to tell the skeptics from the believers, but they all seem to enjoy playing dress up.

(upbeat music) So an alien and a ventriloquist?

- This is my child.

He looks just like his father.

- If you're thinking like aliens in general just being off our planet, then that's probably realistic just in the sense that, like, life forms may exist on other planets, but they may not be like this.

They may just be, like, microbacteria, stuff like that.

- That's a heck of a monologue you just gave us.

You seem like you've done some research.

- Not really, I just really love science, and I love space and stuff like that, so.

- And you agree?

- That's legit.

- Go!

- And wow.

- You're an alien within an astronaut?

- Absolutely, aren't we all?

- Based on any truth?

- Wouldn't you like to know?

- [Will] Are aliens among us, do you think?

- Oh, absolutely.

- If you actually met one, would you welcome them or would you obliterate them?

- No, they'd be great.

- We've learned that you have to welcome.

Obliterating them only makes them angrier.

- What if they obliterate you?

- Then we don't really have much chance, do we?

- I can take them.

- Well, you're a tall drink of water, you might be able to.

- Yeah, I think so.

Usually they're like, they always say small, little green men.

- We are from the planet Ti-Core, and we are the silver aliens, so.

- I should have figured that out.

Is this a Wookiee or something?

- No, I'm an inter-dimensional Bigfoot.

- Inter-dimensional Bigfoot.

- Yes, because I think they're inter-dimensional.

- I'm Invader Zane from the planet ErK.

- He's an Erkan, right?

- Yes.

- Yeah, he's an Erkan, from the planet Erk?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- I can tell he's very irked that I didn't know about Erkan.

- Oh, wow.

- He might be a little bit.

(upbeat music) - Is this an alien or a sea anemone?

- As far as I know, it's a sea anemone.

We drift, we just kind of drift with the tides.

- Yeah, you're at the wrong festival.

- But people seem to like it, so.

- It was almost time for the much-anticipated UFO Fest Parade, and palpable excitement was building.

You're the creator of this float.

- I am, I've been doing this since 1978, and this is my fourth Alien Days Parade.

- There's a lot going on here.

- Yes.

- You've got something spinning back here.

- [Float Creator] Yes, we do have that motorized.

We have the lids going up and down.

- Did you base your conception on anything you've experienced?

Have you seen an alien?

- I believe in aliens, but I have not seen one.

I believe in ghosts, I believe in aliens, because I think there's more out there than we know.

(upbeat music) - The queen of something?

- Pleiadians.

- [Will] Well, the parade is starting.

Are you gonna be in it?

- Let me see if I can find my shipmates.

(upbeat music) - I come in peace.

- You can do the thing with the hand.

- Yeah, I come in peace.

- Oh yeah!

- You can too.

- How do you do that?

- It's genetic.

(upbeat music) Are you believers in the whole alien abduction kind of thing?

- A lot of it I do believe, yes.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- You haven't experienced anything?

- Not personally, no.

- 'Cause you look like you might've.

- I feel like I did, and they may have probed me, but I don't really wanna talk about it.

- Nobody can blame you.

(Will and interviewee laughing) Tim, if somebody wants to experience UFO Fest, what do they do?

Come to McMinnville in mid-May.

- Are they among us right now?

- I can see 'em.

Can you?

(gentle bright music) (gentle bright music continues) (gentle upbeat music) - [Will] There's a lot to recommend at the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health.

It showcases the fascinating history of psychiatric treatment, it has a collection of corroded copper cans that you won't soon forget, oh, and it happens to be the setting for one of the most award-winning motion pictures of all time.

(gentle upbeat music) Hi, what's your name?

- My name's Dennie Brooks.

It's good to meet you.

We are here at the Museum of Mental Health in Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon.

- Now, it wasn't always the Oregon State Hospital.

It was the Oregon Insane Asylum, right?

- There were many names for the hospital, and, yes, Insane Asylum was one.

This is an ultraviolet light treatment.

Now we know that UV rays are a bit of a problem from a healthcare standpoint.

Can you see the big tubs?

- Yes.

- And this is another hydrotherapy.

- I like a good soak.

- Yeah, I do too.

- Here's for some of the more dangerous patients, the straight jacket.

- At that time, where there weren't drugs or other means of reaching people, yes, there were these tools that were used.

And this is a surgical table, was this used for lobotomies?

I am not certain that that was true.

Lobotomies were performed here.

- As harsh as that would be, it wasn't as harsh as what they used to do to people that they considered insane, which is chain them to a wall.

- That's correct.

This is a electroshock treatment.

It's external, but this electricity causes a grand mal seizure.

- That doesn't sound good.

- For whatever reason, it works, and we still don't know why.

Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia, swore by it.

- Heck, if she'll do it, I will.

Hook me up!

(Dennie laughs) (gentle music) Dennie, what is this behind us?

- This is the original copper canisters that held cremains of people who lived here and died here.

- [Will] There were How many of these cans total?

- Boy, I don't know.

- I think it's like 5,000.

- Maybe.

- [Will] These are people that have never been claimed by their relatives.

- They have not, but a beautiful project is going on in the State of Oregon, and the names of these people are online and searchable.

- [Will] These cans are now empty.

And the cremains are actually in this wall that surrounds the courtyard.

- That's correct.

- [Will] And their names are on the actual circles.

- [Dennie] The names and dates are on them.

- What about the empty circles?

- Now that the names and people are searchable, families are finding them.

- [Will] Family members are finding out that their relatives are here, and they're coming and taking the cremains?

- [Dennie] That's correct.

(everyone yelling) (laughing) - [Will] The film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

- [Dennie] Yes, a wonderful book, play, and eventually a movie.

- Shot here.

- Shot here at the hospital while it was a functioning hospital.

- [Will] Your father was sort of in charge of the hospital.

Dean Brooks.

- That's right.

- Superintendent.

- Yes.

- [Will] And was in the movie.

- He ended up being in the movie.

That was the way this director was, he wanted people to be natural.

- [Will] And you were here for this whole thing, because you were sort of a location consultant, right?

- Yes, I was a location coordinator for this film.

- [Will] Your father, he did not initially think this is a good idea.

- When the book first came out, and people from all over the country were calling him, "Dean, we've seen this book about your hospital."

So he got it, read it, and hated it.

He misunderstood it, he did not get it.

But, luckily, he did get it when he saw the play.

- [Will] Here's some of the props from the movie you've got.

Here's the Chief's big prop, the broom.

- The broom, this is a historic piece, not just because of the movie, but it literally was what was used to clean and buff these floors.

- [Will] In the corner here, the TV that Jack Nicholson, they're watching the baseball game, and that's the real TV!

- It's a strike, he swings!

It's a long fly ball to deep left center!

(everyone cheering) - Gentlemen, stop this.

(everyone cheering) - [Will] This is the bench that was used in the movie.

- That's correct.

- [Will] In the scene between Jack Nicholson and the Chief, right?

- Important one, where they're awaiting electroshock therapy and Jack hands the big Indian, a piece of Juicy Fruit.

He puts it in his mouth and he says... - Ah, Juicy Fruit.

- [Dennie] For the first time in the film, you understand that he is not deaf and dumb.

- You fooled 'em, Chief.

You fooled 'em, you fooled 'em all.

- And a nice little ad for Juicy Fruit, let's be honest.

- It definitely was that.

Well, this is a prop.

It is the replica of the original hydrotherapy machine.

This is what Will Sampson used to pick up and throw through the window.

(gentle thrilling music) - Dennie, if somebody wants to pay a visit to the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health, where should they go?

- Right here in Salem, Oregon.

- You think I do a pretty good Jack Nicholson?

- Yeah.

(chuckles) - No?

(gentle thrilling music) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle suspenseful music) If you've ever wanted to know what it was like to plan and execute a flight in a fighter jet, the National Flight Academy can simulate that experience in surprising detail.

And even if, like me, you crash land in some woods, nothing gets hurt but your pride.

(gentle playful music) Tell us where we are.

- You are located at the National Flight Academy onboard Ambition in NAS Pensacola.

- [Will] Yeah, it's kind of like we're on an aircraft carrier.

- [Malerie] Yes, it's a virtual aircraft carrier.

- Our programs range from a 3-day cruise to a 5 1/2 day deployment for our students.

- [Will] This is kind of interesting.

What goes on in here?

- So this is our paraloft.

This is where we go over a lot of our survival techniques and our survival exercises with the students.

- [Will] I'm pretty sure this guy didn't survive.

- So what you see here is a lot of our survival gear that the students are able to try on throughout their time in the program here, just to get an idea for what it's like to wear this equipment, how heavy it can be and- - Sorry, Chris, I didn't hear any of that.

Now you got a cool nickname.

- Yeah.

- Right here, Kneecap, how's that?

- So my call sign is Kneecap, that comes from my time in the Marine Corps.

I broke my knee, and that's stuck with me for the last 20 years.

So these here are the Triads.

This is where we're gonna fly the missions in.

We're actually gonna simulate our flight while we're here.

- I'm in the pilot seat.

- Yes, sir.

And I'll be acting as your co-pilot.

- [Will] Lot of buttons here, which one's the ejector seat?

- The ejector seat has actually been disabled.

- Kind of a disappointment.

Okay, let's get this rocket started, huh?

- All right, first thing you gotta do is start your engines.

So we're gonna hit our engine start, watching everything spool up.

Now you're moving.

- Oh, we're moving all right.

- Yep, so take your throttle, push it all the way forward, match throttle.

- [Will] Match throttle.

- All the way up.

Keep the aircraft nose down so that you can see the horizon in the screen, that'll allow you to kind of see where we're going and we won't go to the top with the airplane.

- Whoa, baby, I almost did a roll there.

Is that Pensacola ahead of me?

- That was Pensacola Beach.

- [Will] 3-4-9er, we're flying over Pensacola.

We're going about 575.

- If you'd like, we're welcome to do a fly by.

So nose down and kind of bank to your right a little bit, and we'll fly right by Pensacola Beach.

You're at about 1,000 feet.

- [Will] This is a very detailed simulation.

I can actually see beachgoers there.

- [Chris] See all the people on the beach?

Pull up so we don't hit 'em.

- Whoa, baby!

I almost planted this baby right in the sand!

- Almost.

I want you to bank to the right this time.

Keep rolling, keep rolling, keep rolling.

- Banking right, I'm actually upside down.

- [Chris] See the runway there that we're aiming for?

- No.

- Right there in front of us.

Right here.

- I see it now, Kneecap.

- All right, keep going.

- All right.

- Let's keep going down, we wanna keep going.

We're gonna line ourselves up and have ourselves a nice, slow touchdown.

Nice and easy, go ahead and pull back on the stick so we don't land in the grass.

Nose down, keep your nose down.

- Oh, I guess I should've told you that my call sign is Crash.

(Chris laughs) Oh, there goes the runway.

- So push the throttle all the way forward.

- All the way forward, we're heading for the trees.

- [Chris] All right, go ahead and pull back good and hard.

- Oh gee!

Oh, son of a!

(gentle music) - The next part is gonna be actually landing on the aircraft carrier.

One of the most difficult maneuvers in aviation.

Think you're up for it?

- Is there something you've been smoking?

Because I don't think that's a good idea.

(Chris laughing) At least there won't be any trees though.

- No trees this time.

- I think you've got to admit that I've done really well so far.

- Absolutely, especially for your first try.

You're right about on par with the 14-year-olds when they come in on their first try.

(Chris and Will laughing) - By the way, I'd like my call name now to be Goofball.

- We're gonna put our landing gear down and our tail hook down so that we can actually grab the arresting wire on the carrier.

Otherwise, we'll roll right off the end of the deck.

- Nobody wants that.

- No, nobody wants that.

- Oh, I'm coming in hot.

- Throttle off, pull your throttle off.

- [Will] Throttle off!

(tires squealing) - There you go, you caught it.

- I caught it?

- You caught it, good landing.

- That was kind of a miracle.

- You got it.

- I mean, I landed way better on the aircraft than I did on the runway.

You know what?

We should've gone like this.

(Chris laughing) To make it realistic.

- Absolutely.

- Malerie, if somebody wants to participate in one of your programs, where should they go?

- They should come to see us at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.

- And, Chris, what do you think?

Do I have the right stuff?

- I don't know, Goofball, it was a little shaky.

(gentle upbeat music) - [Will] Coming soon on "Wild Travels," exploring the historic Queen Copper Mine in Bisbee, Arizona, relaxing at the Shady Dell Retro Trailer Park, going nowhere, but up, at the White Mountain Balloon Fest, and dodging flying carp at Redneck Fishing Tournament in Central Illinois.

(gentle upbeat music ends) (gentle bright music) Wayne Kusy's model ships are displayed in museums around the world, primarily, because of their amazingly accurate detail and Wayne's unique building material.

(gentle bright music) Wayne Kusy.

- How you doing?

- Builder of these ships.

- Yes, I am.

- Out of what?

- Toothpicks.

- Toothpicks.

You built these ships from toothpicks.

(gentle bright music) You've been doing this for quite a while, these toothpick ships.

- Yes, since 5th grade.

- This is the America.

- This is the SS America.

- [Will] How many toothpicks did it take?

- [Wayne] 274,000 toothpicks.

- Where's the other half of it?

- It's in the other room.

- [Will] Because it's too big to get out of here.

- [Wayne] Right, I can't get it out the front door.

This is 14-feet long.

- [Will] Is this the longest ever?

- [Wayne] Queen Mary, it's 25-feet long, and that was 815,000 toothpicks.

- So you're saying everything on this ship is toothpicks, right?

- [Wayne] Everything except for the masts, which are made of dowel rod.

Smokestacks are made of toothpicks.

The lifeboats there are made of toothpicks.

These little thingymabobs are made of toothpicks.

- [Will] You've got the hat, but you're not a naval expert.

It's a thingymabob to you.

- Yeah.

I think those are vents.

(gentle bright music) - [Will] Can I ask you how long it took you to make this darn thing?

- [Wayne] I would have to say probably like about two years.

- [Will] How much glue do you go through in it?

- [Wayne] For this one, it was pretty close to 10 gallons of glue.

(gentle bright music) - [Will] How do you do your research to figure out, okay, this is exactly to scale?

- [Wayne] I go to the internet and I find deck plans.

They're pretty available now.

- [Will] Now what is this ship here?

This is much smaller, isn't it?

- [Wayne] Yes, it is.

It's a 3-foot model of the SS United States.

- [Will] Are these the plans for it right here?

- No, they are not.

These are the plans for the SS Bremen, a German liner, which I'm planning to build in the future.

- Wayne, another one of your larger models, the Cutty Sark.

- [Wayne] Yes, the Cutty Sark.

- [Will] Have you ever thought of branching out into something else besides toothpicks, like matchsticks or something?

- [Wayne] I've tried matchsticks, those are pretty cool.

- [Will] What's this guitar you got here?

- [Wayne] Well, I play a guitar every once in a while.

- [Will] Wayne does more than that.

He plays in a rock band called Wood Zeppelin, that he has predictably duplicated in toothpicks.

- That's right, and they move around, and you can see 'em on videos.

- [Will] At Pickapalooza.

- [Wayne] That's where all the cool people hang out.

♪ I think ♪ Therefore I am a wooden man ♪ Staving off death and termites the best I can ♪ ♪ That's my plan - These are models of the actual band members.

That's Chris Wikipix.

That's Hortentz Byrd.

Saul Mills, and I am Burch Reynolds.

Slim Pickin.

- Who's the dog?

- [Wayne] The dog is named Splinters.

- [Will] Now you got the Sears Tower over here, and the Hancock Building from Chicago.

- [Wayne] Eventually, they're gonna be playing blues music.

Those are gonna be the Blues Scrapers.

♪ Here comes mister, Mr. Square ♪ - [Wayne] It takes about two months to build each character, especially the hands.

It's just like the ships, the more detailed they are, the longer it takes to build them.

♪ I think, therefore I am - [Will] So you've combined your musical interests with your toothpick interests and come up with a rather novel idea.

- Yeah.

- You're sort of the Pixar of the toothpick world.

- That's right, I guess.

Yes, Pixar, yes.

- Wayne, if somebody wants to see your toothpick ships, preferably not through toothpick eyes, where should they go?

- They can see the Lusitania at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and Wood Zeppelin at... - WildTravelsTV.com ♪ When you look at me (upbeat music) - [Will] We're always looking for new destinations.

The wilder the better.

So if you've got an idea for our show, let us know, and thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music ends) (bright music) - [Narrator] Wild Travels is made possible in part by Alaska Railroad, providing year-round transportation to many Alaska destinations, traversing nearly 500 miles of wild landscapes between Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and more.

alaskarailroad.com.

By Sheboygan, Wisconsin, centrally located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to Kohler-Andrae State Park, and outdoor adventures waiting to be discovered.

visitsheboygan.com.

By American Road Magazine.

Get your kicks on Route 66 and everywhere else a two-Lane highway can take you.

American Road Magazine fuels your road trip dreams.

And by the South Shore of Lake Michigan, exploring the Indiana Dunes, unique attractions, festivals, and more, just minutes from downtown Chicago.

alongthesouthshore.com.