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Twentynine Palms, CA

Rock formations like this are all over the place of Joshua Tree National Park, and is said to be caused by episode "uprising". More like an episode Flintstone for me - in fact, I kept waiting for Fred and Wilma to come out and introduce themselves.

And speak-namesake park - trees that seem designed by Dr. Seuss. They are not, of course. The species has been around since the Ice Age.

Here is a fact, I wish were Fiction: They're dying off. Global warming is the culprit, suspected, and that overrides my mind.If the ancient trees of the desert are affected, well, it's time to wake up and pay attention.

Rhyolite, NV

Rhyolite is a ghost town on the outskirts of Death Valley. The remaining pieces of the long abandoned buildings are remnants of the gold rush. Since that time, a Belgian artist named Albert Szukalski was transformed into an outdoor museum.

What is particularly surreal about this collection of sculptures, is that you find in the middle of nowhere. Not anywhere, of course, but the expression seems sure to fit.It's 120 miles from Las Vegas with almost no development whatsoever before reaching him.

Chattanooga, TN

Let's face it: Dreams are like the films of David Lynch. And what Lynch film would be complete without munchkins random dwarves?

Chattanooga's Rock City is a nice place to visit. A nature trail takes you easily through the cool rock formations, through a swing bridge and atop a lookout where you can see seven states. And then ... and then you enter Fairyland Caverns, a strange end to such a place. You wind in a cave decorated with black rocks lit scenes of fairy tale in miniature.Pinch me, I know I must be dreaming.