Wanderlust Sunday: Dreams So Real
I've pretty much spent the last couple of days in a NyQuil-induced dream state. Oy, the strange other worlds I've been! I'm feeling great this morning and am bouncing with energy to go somewhere real. Won't be doing any traveling today, but I'm thinking of surreal places. Places I've actually been that felt like I was walking through a dream.
Have you ever found yourself in a spot that seemed like fiction? Would love to hear about it, so by all means, add to the list.
Have you ever found yourself in a spot that seemed like fiction? Would love to hear about it, so by all means, add to the list.
Ten Real Places that Seem Like Dreams Alpha by State | |
 | Painted Desert National Park Petrified Forest, AZ Ever had a dream that took you to another planet? I don't think I've ever been to Mars in my sleep, but I've been somewhere that reminds me of it in real life. The Painted Desert is part of the Petrified Forest, and is unquestionably a trip to another world. Photo: Fundenburg |
 | Joshua Tree National Park Twentynine Palms, CA Rock formations like this one are all over the place in Joshua Tree National Park, and are said to be caused by an "uplift episode." Looks more like a Flintstone's episode to me — in fact, I kept waiting for Fred and Wilma to come out and introduce themselves. And let's talk about the park's namesake — trees that look imagined by Dr. Seuss. They're not, of course. The species has been around since the Ice Age. Here's a fact I wish were fiction: They're dying off. Global Warming is the suspected culprit, and that just blows my mind. If ancient desert trees are affected, well, it's time to wake up and pay attention. Photo: TheWordWire |
 | Sequoia National Park Three Rivers, CA I don't know how to sum it up any better: Wonderland exists! Walk through the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, and you'd swear you had taken a trip down Lewis Carrol's rabbit hole. But you're not Alice on some fantasy trip — you're in a real forest on a Sierra mountainside among the world's largest trees. Photo: TheWordWire |
 | Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World New Orleans, LA Getting to experience the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration is not unlike living a dream, and there's a place you can visit where all the fantasy comes to life. The Blaine Kern studio is where many of the floats are made. A tour lets you walk among the towering figures of fantasy. Photo: Paul Mannix |
 | Lehman Caves, Great Basin NP Baker, NV I wrote about Lehman Caves in an earlier post, The Heart Lights the Dark. It was such a memorable, surreal experience I have to include it here. What an amazing place! Like nothing you'd see on the Earth's surface. If I didn't know better, I'd think that subterranean romp was a product of my subconscious. But this place of science and history is more fascinating than anything I could dream up. Photo: Alaskan Dude |
 | Neon Boneyard Las Vegas, NV I used to think Las Vegas had no "culture" because everything here is shiny and new. It's a city that's constantly re-inventing itself, easily letting go of the past to make way for cutting-edge new. Then it occurred to me that constant change in itself IS a culture. There is a place you can go to see some relics of her history. The Neon Boneyard, toured by appointment only, is a surreal trip through dreams of Sin City's past. Photo: Lee Otis |
 | Goldwell Open Air Museum Rhyolite, NV Rhyolite is a ghost town on the outskirts of Death Valley. Remaining pieces of the long abandoned buildings are relics of the Gold Rush. Since that time, a Belgian artist named Albert Szukalski has turned it into an open air museum. What's particularly surreal about this collection of sculptures, is that you find it in the middle of NO WHERE. It's not no where, of course, but the expression sure seems to fit. It's 120 miles from Vegas with almost no development whatsoever before you come to it. Photo: TheWordWire |
 | Fairyland Caverns in Rock City Chattanooga, TN Let's face it: Dreams are like David Lynch films. And what Lynch flick would be complete without random munchkins and dwarfs? Chattanooga's Rock City is a neat place to visit. An easy nature trail takes you around cool rock formations, across a swing bridge and atop a lookout point where you can see seven states. And then... and then you enter Fairyland Caverns, a weird finale for such a place. You wind through a rock cave adorned with black lit fairytale scenes in miniature. Pinch me, I know I must be dreaming. Photo: Brent and MariLynn |
 | Bread and Puppet Theater Glover, VT Bread and Puppet is one of the coolest, most surreal places I've ever gotten to visit. Located in a rural area of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, it's an enclave of hippies and artists who put on shows and make political art. I didn't see a show there, but the museum of puppets is open to visitors — A huge barn with old props and pieces on display. I hope to someday go back to this dream-like place. Photo: redjar |
 | Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic NP Port Angeles, WA Olympic National Park is an absolutely glorious place to visit. From glacier-topped mountains, to rugged coastline, the peninsula has a lot to offer. One of the most unique features is the Hoh Rain Forest, the only temperate rain forest in the lower 48. I suspect Spielberg walked the trails here before The Empire struck back. This place is like science fiction. No doubt it's inspired many-a creative mind. Photo: TheWordWire |
Posted by TheWordWire at 8/30/2009 7:24 AM 
Categories: Wanderlust, Earth and Sky
Tags: Painted Desert Lehman Caves Great Basin Hoh Rain Forest Sequoia Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World Rhyolite Bread and Puppet Joshua Tree Neon Boneyard Rock City Olympic NP
Categories: Wanderlust, Earth and Sky
Tags: Painted Desert Lehman Caves Great Basin Hoh Rain Forest Sequoia Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World Rhyolite Bread and Puppet Joshua Tree Neon Boneyard Rock City Olympic NP
Can I add Hanauma Bay on northeastern Oahu? Looks like a movie set.
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Great addition -- thank you! Anyplace on Oahu sounds like a dream, for sure.
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The artist who started it was not named Goldwell but Albert Szukalski.
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Oh! Forgive me -- I didn't do my research very carefully! Thank you for correcting the mistake. Appreciate the comment.
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Wow, I'm envious of these cool places! I wish I could travel more. I would have to say the most dream-like place I've ever found myself was on top of Killiney Hill, in Dublin. It had just rained, and there were about a dozen "half" rainbows over the water. Truly magical.
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Wow -- a dozen rainbows in Ireland? This IS pretty surreal -- hope you found the pot of gold at the end! Thanks for your comment!
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