In the Middle of the Desert

Playing: Out of It-Jack's Mannequin
Reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

For my birthday, as I mentioned previously, I went out to the desert to explore and be free with my friend, Sophie. From where we live, it took us over three hours to get to Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Museum, which we found out about from a book called Weird California or something like that. I'm quite surprised that the GPS was able to find it, since we had to go along dirt roads to get to it and my GPS has a hard time finding places even in urban areas.

My parents took one look at it and asked why I had taken them to a junk yard, so they hid out in the car. Not to mention, it was below fifty degrees, so they weren't up for freezing to death with Sophie and me. One of  my favorite pieces from the museum was this TV clump that you see as soon as you drive up to it. It would've been great, if all the TVs had different clips going on, but then again, there's no source for electricity there.

There were some shacks there that reminded me of Lost and/or camping conditions that were just a tad more luxurious than that of Chris McCandless' camp out (Into the Wild allusion? Got it? Just checking). The run down shack was a bit creepy and Sophie agreed with me that this place would be rather scary at night. Translation? We get scared way too easily.

Personally, I don't think this museum was meant to be an art museum. I feel that it's a place for exploration and was meant to be a surrealist playground, where you can be free and run around without having anyone judge you. This was one of my favorite scenes there. It looked like a post-apocalyptic town with nods to alien architecture. This is going to sound beyond ridiculous, but we kept on waiting for something creepy to happen. Something about the vibe and loneliness of the area really made Sophie and I wonder.

Luckily, I had my dad there to protect us, since he's probably the manliest guy in my life. Plus, he doesn't mind photographing Sophie and me, while we danced around the area. Oh, here's something freaky: Sophie and I could've sworn we heard a chainsaw going off, so we freaked out and ran off to the other side of the museum. Then we brought my dad to the area where we heard it and no one was there. It was also odd how we saw two other cars there, but we never ran into the other tourists.

And one last photo for today. Sophie and I were sitting in an igloo in the desert in the middle of nowhere. Fascinating. Overall, Sophie and I agree that this is one of the best things we've done together and that we definitely have to visit more surreal places. Other than the occasional chill we got from being creeped out, I highly recommend visiting this place. It's unlike anything I've seen and the landscape is perfect for photos. And if you're on a quest for beauty like I am, this is a good place to start.