Unusual/unique places in the US (off the beaten path)

[Steven_Draker]

Recently I saw two documentary films about two unusual and unique places in the US:

 

Marfa, Texas

 

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/03/36/64/03366499c109959a6b02edf584717ee9.jpg

 

 

 

The Burning Man: Black Rock City, Nevada

 

http://i.imgur.com/MbN1OhC.jpg

 

Can you think of any other?

[bootdad]

THE 1st shot of the Prada installation in Marfa, Texas - there was a great editorial piece in American Vanity Fair a year or 2 back on how it all came to be tracing it's history back to the 70's and what an important / significant art community / destination Marfa has become - well worth a visit if that 'arty' thing appeals to you. I own several excellent photo in my collection from various photographers that have shot the Marfa Prada installation. I suspect I am a little to old to fit into 'BURNING Man' LOL !!!

[Newly]

I'm not sure how "unique" it is but I got a huge kick out of Jerome, Arizona. It's an old copper mining town that was almost a ghost town and now has a bunch of artsy type shops in it. That was right after having been in Sedona for a while and for this Easterner the differences in mindsets and attitudes in these towns compared to home was amazing. One last mention would be for Lunenburg, Novia Scotia. (I know it's definitely not the US but it's not too far away). It's the town where the TV show Haven is filmed and besides being incredibly beautiful the people were extremely friendly and nice.

[geoffk]

here's one that i learned about on new years day from my neighbors

 

Helen, Georgia an alpine town

 

http://cityofhelen.org/

 

i would say it's unique.

[Steven_Draker]

Sedona

 

Thanks for mentioning that. Sedona is definitely unique ...

 

http://www.dreamsedona.com/gfx/photos/koopsen/koopsen-16.jpg

[+ honcho]

Well, the Swissness of the Helen seems to have been invented for commercial reasons - I went to the website cited, looked up the

history and the difference between 1969 and 1989 seems quite remarkable.

 

I submit, by comparison, Solvang California, which appears to have been founded by Danish settlers in 1911 and would seem

to me to be more genuinely European than Helen, GA.

 

http://www.elverhoj.org/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvang,_California

 

Some relatives mentioned it to me as worthy of a detour driving back from Los Angeles to San Francisco with a planned

stopover to visit the Hearst Castle, San Simeon, which I would think would be another unusual place in the US.

[jimboivyo]

the country folk in marfa didn't take kindly to that 'store' being built. it was during the invasion years

 

its constantly getting vandalized. prada used to come out and repaint, restock the window, but now they have just let it go. it's an eye sore and better off if they just bulldozed the thing

[+ Charlie]

I spent a wonderful weekend in Solvang, in the center of the Santa Ynez wine country, which offers both wine tasting and Indian casino gambling as well as faux-Danish architecture and shops. There is certainly no place like it in Denmark.

[instudiocity]

I spent a wonderful weekend in Solvang, in the center of the Santa Ynez wine country, which offers both wine tasting and Indian casino gambling as well as faux-Danish architecture and shops. There is certainly no place like it in Denmark.

I go for the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of the Santa Rita Hills and the Beers of Firestone-Walker Brewing Company.

 

Hearst Castle is also nice, with Firestone-Walker Brewing Company's Paso Robles location and the Cypher Winery's ZinBitch wines.

[bigvalboy]

If anyone should venture into Solvang, be advised that a good credit card should be in hand, as well as a good appetite. I personally find the surrounding wine country of San Luis Obispo/and yes Paso Robles, as well as the amazing Ojai Valley to the south to be more interesting.

[bigvalboy]

Coachella Music Festival. This just popped up on Yahoo news and it reminded me of some incredible times with friends. The music alone can be memorable. It's not for the faint-of-heart. It is worth the trip, but be prepared to just go with the flow. It's no "Burning Man".....but then again, few things are.

[+ azdr0710]

the world's largest ball of twine....in Cawker City, KS.....

 

http://www.kansastravel.org/balloftwine.htm

 

http://www.kansastravel.org/13balloftwine5.JPG

[Decatur Guy]

I don't know how genuinely offbeat the following are, but here are some places in the U.S. that have a quiet, pretty or lesser-known charm that I've run across over the years:

 

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA:

 

http://www.seasiderealestatesc.com/images/areas/historic5.jpg

 

GINNIE SPRINGS, FLORIDA:

 

http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/UGC/ItsASnap_0922/Nagy_Christoph/100511_362460_devilspring_ug.grid-6x2.jpg

 

BARTON SPRINGS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS:

 

http://renleigh.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/barton-springs.jpg

 

ABBEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA:

 

http://images.topix.com/gallery/up-BNSCI6V280A1OA0D.jpg

[Decatur Guy]

Here are some more places:

 

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP, SOUTHERN GEORGIA:

 

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/61/66861-004-91782B06.jpg

 

MADISON, GEORGIA:

 

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles3022.jpg

 

HARPER'S FERRY, WEST VIRGINIA:

 

http://www.dcspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Harpers-Ferry.png

 

OLD MESILLA, NEW MEXICO:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/attachments/las-cruces/12179d1198719936-christmas-cruces-mesillaplazaluminlge.jpg

[Decatur Guy]

One last batch of these:

 

UWHARRIE MOUNTAINS, CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA:

(This is not part of the Appalachians; these low, ancient mountains are between Charlotte and Raleigh)

 

http://www.city-data.com/forum/attachments/city-vs-city/77156d1300486915-whats-best-us-state-point-blank-800px-linville_gorge-27527-3.jpg

 

MOUNT ADAMS NEIGHBORHOOD, CINCINNATI:

 

http://www.citydictionary.com/Uploaded/Images/Mt-Adams-Neighborhood-20080726021212.JPG

 

HOMOSASSA, FLORIDA:

 

http://www.ohio.edu/people/cookt/images/travel/key_west_06/homosassa_fl_02.jpg

 

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE:

 

http://www.chattanooga-charm.com/image-files/coolidge4.jpg

[BSR]

If Las Vegas tourists take a day trip, it's usually to the Grand Canyon, which is great, but actually quite far from Vegas (4.5-5 hours to the South Rim, 2.5 hours to the supposedly awful West Rim). If you've already been to the GC or don't want to wake up so ghastly early (the bus tours usually leave pre-dawn), try the Valley of Fire, just a 90-minute drive north of Las Vegas.

 

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/41283/vof-beehive.jpg

 

http://p.im9.eu/fire-wave-at-sunset-valley-of-fire-state-park-nevada.jpg

 

http://www.opentravelinfo.com/files/images/valley-of-fire-ephemeral-arch.preview.jpg

[AdamSmith]

The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo.

 

Pics: http://www.madonnainn.com/

 

Priceless description by Umberto Eco in his Travels in Hyperreality:

 

The poor words with which natural human speech is provided cannot suffice to describe the Madonna Inn. To convey its external appearance, divided into a series of constructions, which you reach by way of a filling station carved from Dolomitic rock, or through the restaurant, the bar, and the cafeteria, we can only venture some analogies. Let’s say that Albert Speer, while leafing through a book on Gaudi, swallowed an overgenerous dose of LSD and began to build a nuptial catacomb for Liza Minnelli. But that doesn’t give you an idea. Let’s say Arcimboldi builds the Sagrada Familia for Dolly Parton. Or: Carmen Miranda designs a Tiffany locale for the Jolly Hotel chain. Or D’Annunzio’s Vittoriale imagined by Bob Cratchit, Calvino’s Invisible Cities described by Judith Krantz and executed by Leonor Fini for the plush-doll industry, Chopin’s Sonata in B flat minor sung by Perry Como in an arrangement by Liberace and accompanied by the Marine Band. No, that still isn’t right. Let’s try telling about the rest rooms. They are an immense underground cavern, something like Altamira and Luray, with Byzantine columns supporting plaster baroque cherubs. The basins are big imitation-mother-of-pearl shells, the urinal is a fireplace carved from the rock, but when the jet of urine (sorry, but I have to explain) touches the bottom, water comes down from the wall of the hood, in a flushing cascade something like the Caves of the Planet Mongo. And on the ground floor, in keeping with the air of Tyrolean chalet and Renaissance castle, a cascade of chandeliers in the form of baskets of flowers, billows of mistletoe surmounted by opalescent bubbles, violet-suffused light among which Victorian dolls swing, while the walls are punctuated by art-nouveau windows with the colors of Chartres and hung with Regency tapestries whose pictures resemble the garish color supplements of the Twenties. The circular sofas are red and gold, the tables gold and glass, and all this amid inventions that turn the whole into a multicolor Jell-O, a box of candied fruit, a Sicilian ice, a land for Hansel and Gretel. Then there are the bedrooms, about two hundred of them, each with a different theme: for a reasonable price (which includes an enormous bed King or Oueen size if you are on your honeymoon) you can have the Prehistoric Room, all cavern and stalactites, the Safari Room (zebra walls and bed shaped like a Bantu idol), the Kona Rock Room (Hawaiian), the California Poppy, the Old-Fashioned Honeymoon, the Irish Hills, the William Tell, the Tall and Short, for mates of different lengths, with the bed in an irregular polygon form, the Imperial Family, the Old Mill.

 

The Madonna Inn is the poor man’s Hearst Castle; it has no artistic or philological pretensions, it appeals to the savage taste for the amazing, the overstuffed, and the absolutely sumptuous at low price. It says to its visitors: “You too can have the incredible, just like a millionaire."

[Racketjock]

I can second the suggestions for Solvang, CA (it can be expensive), Beaufort, South Caroline (wonderful art, food, and the slow life), and Blue ridge, Georgia (artsy town in the mountains, great fly fishing, cheap cabin rentals).

[+ Topseed]

I've been to Marfa, TX, which was the home of the artist Donald Judd. Terrific place. The drive from the El Paso airport alone is worth the trip.

[+ Charlie]

The drive from the El Paso airport alone is worth the trip.

 

+1

[RM]

How old are you? I know a lady about 60 who has gone the last three years and had a great time.

[Epigonos]

I’m one of those people who absolutely adore the Southwest United States. There are three little known parks in the area. The area is centered around Four Corners which is the only place where four states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico) meet. There are great places to stay in Monument Valley and a descent place in Canyon de Chelly. Some wonderful side trips are available to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Hopi Mesas of Arizona and Cortez, New Mexico.

If you are interested here are two informative web sites:

 

http://navajonationparks.org/

 

http://www.nps.gov/cach/planyourvisit/index.htm

 

If anybody is interested in additional information about the area don't hesitate to private me and I will be happy to provide more detailed information

[+ Charlie]

This summer I went back to the Tillamook Cheese factory in Tillamook, Oregon, for the first time in several years, and was amazed to see what a huge tourist attraction it has become. If you happen to be on the northern Oregon coast and are tired of just looking at gorgeous scenery, it's worth a visit.

[nate_sf]

Seaside, Florida - Location for "The Truman Show"

 

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/8b/0d/7c/south-walton-visitors.jpg

http://www.fivestargulfrentals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/truman-show.jpg

[nate_sf]

Two places on the road from LA to PHX I've always found unusual:

 

Trotting Park west of Phoenix - an old abandoned racetrack rotting away next to the highway west of Phoenix: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2011/05/phoenix_trotting_park.php

 

http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/149/896/149896886_640.jpg

 

Then between Blythe and Palm Springs, Desert Center with its slowly dying rings of palm trees and abandoned buildings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Center,_California

 

http://soenyun.com/images/desertcenterpalms1.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3565/3506987562_fe0f079c61.jpg