What are the niche attractions in the American West?

Do you know what are the niche attractions in the Western United States? Have you ever been there? Below are the niche attractions in the Western United States that I have shared. You are welcome to refer to them!

Famous attractions in the Western United States And the truth

This time my own route started from Texas, passed through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and then returned directly to Texas. I know that no one is interested in seeing the route, so let’s talk about whether the popular attractions that are often recommended by National Geographic Magazine are fun and worth visiting!

Marfa, an art town in the desert

Anyone who is slightly interested in fashion and contemporary art will inevitably have heard of the small town of Marfa. If you can't remember it for a moment, I believe you will feel it looks very familiar when you see this photo.

This isolated pop architecture experiment in the desert is now the most popular Instagram background in the United States. It is located on the side of the road to and from Marfa. This photo of James Evans is very beautiful, and the advertisements in many major magazines are also very stunning, so what does it actually look like? Take a look at the "no makeup photo" taken by my mobile phone ↓

Okay, if the weather is good, if you use a professional camera to take pictures and then do some photoshop, the photos here will still turn out well. And it does feel amazing to drive by a Prada in the middle of nowhere. However, mosquitoes are flying densely inside this building, and spider webs are tightly knotted, making it seem like it has become an insect world. Maybe this is also part of the artistic conception?

Entering the town of Marfa, you will not feel the artistic atmosphere coming to you, but it will be similar to the towns you have seen in western movies before. It's small enough and the roads are narrow enough that it doesn't take an hour to walk the entire town. I chose to stay at El Paisano. With the experience of staying at Hollywood celebrities such as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Elizabeth Taylor, this hotel is the most legendary representative of the town.

Apart from the small rooms, old stuff, and terrible breakfast, this hotel is actually quite interesting to live in, especially since every corner is filled with the drama of passing the ghost of a famous person. (This is my own imagination lol)

This is the night view of the hotel that I took. In the evening, many people wore little dresses and drank cocktails outdoors, which was very old-school.

The Milky Way was not very visible during the season when I went, but if you have a high probability of seeing the Milky Way when you go, it is recommended that you choose to stay at El Cosmico. This is a camping style, and you can book a small tent to stay in, which is very special. Moreover, the starry sky picture taken with the sparkling small tent as the foreground is really beautiful. Here are a few other people's works for everyone to enjoy:

Inside the tent

If I I will go to Marfa again in the future, definitely to go to El Cosmico to shoot the stars.

After solving the problem of accommodation, the next step is to eat. There are not many restaurant choices in Marfa. There is a pretty good American Italian restaurant called Stellina. I even took a picture in front of this store haha

This Stellina has a typical fresh taste. But the ingredients are good, and you can still eat it. After all, there are too few restaurant choices↓

I really like to eat summer seasonal tomatoes with olive oil and vinegar

All by Marfa The breakfast in the hotel was said to be terrible, so I decided to find a place by myself, and I found it! This Café is called Do Your Thing Coffee, and it is said that artists from all over the city come here to have breakfast. Well, I don’t know anyone, but the coffee and donuts are really good!

The entrance looks like this

Inside is a family-style cafe, which is quite comfortable.

The coffee and donuts really exceeded expectations.

If you arrive in Marfa in the evening, you can drive to the nearby railroad tracks to watch the sunset. You can often see fantastic sunsets in this town.

I photographed Will. By the way, I’ll give you a landmark to help you identify the place.

As soon as the sun dropped below the horizon, the red clouds immediately rose up, which was very gorgeous! I asked Will to take a picture for me, and everyone felt that the sky was filled with such an exaggerated pink and gold↓

Although I like the sunset over the railroad tracks the most, most people come to Marfa to visit the Chinati Foundation (the most popular contemporary art center in the United States)

Since I don’t know much about contemporary art, I signed up for a guided tour to visit. The guide will briefly describe the historical background, but let tourists experience it themselves. I'm ashamed, I still can't feel the reason, I even took a photo, without PS, let's reflect the real scene↓

In short, if you really like contemporary art, especially Donald Judd's works, then Marfa is worth a "pilgrimage". If you are like me and can pass by Marfa when arranging your self-driving route, I also recommend spending 2 days and 1 night there.

Pure White Sands Park

After leaving Marfa, the second stop is White Sands National Monument. Many magazines and fashion brands in the United States like to shoot albums in Baisha Park. I didn’t know why until I went there. match

Look at what blockbusters on the Internet look like.

Compared to the perfectly edited photos, the real scene is always a bit different, but Baisha Park is still very shocking, especially when the setting sun slants in the evening and creates waves of light and shadow on the sand dunes. It is so beautiful that it is not like on earth.

Will shot it for me with a SLR, and the picture was very clean without any need for editing. Later I thought it was because the white sand on the ground played a role in filling the light. This is why everyone likes to come here to take portraits: the entire white sand is a natural reflector, and even if you lower your head and backlight, your face will not be darkened!

White Sands National Park in the United States sounds like a big attraction. In fact, it is not very big, and the sand dunes are also very short. The park ticket costs 5 and the beautiful scenery can be played for 7 days. It is really heartbreaking! You can drive in and play without any effort. I wore hiking boots because I was afraid of sand getting into my shoes, but you can actually play with sandals. This is a classic that I feel the real scene is completely in line with the magazine’s recommendations and is well worth a visit.

The world’s largest radio telescope array

On the way to Arizona, we passed the world’s largest radio telescope array—The Very Large Array (VLA). It is said that the discovery of aliens depends on it.

This is a must-visit place for astronomy enthusiasts/Geeks. After all, through these telescopes, the MIT scientific team confirmed the Einstein ring for the first time:

Many science fiction themes Movies have also been filmed here, the most famous one being "Contact" starring Jodie Foster:

Of course, you have to buy a ticket to get as close to the telescope as in the stills, and I have to go on my way. So I bought a set of astronomy knowledge Q&A small cards and took a picture of the standard "Here Is Here" outside, and then set off for the next stop.

Antelope Canyon & Rattlesnake Valley

At the third stop, I stayed at Page, which is also an accommodation often chosen by Chinese tour groups. Even so...it didn’t taste good. The Chinese food here disappoints me! Most of the people who live here are tourists going to Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

In fact, the Antelope Valley is quite beautiful, and it’s quite strange, but! It’s definitely not like this↓

Do you want to mass-produce gourd dolls with this kind of P?

I think many scenic spots in the United States have been ruined by excessive photoshopped photos. Antelope Canyon is a typical example. Everyone must visit these scenic spots with a normal mind. Antelope Canyon and Rattlesnake Canyon both change with the change of light. Generally, the color is mainly seen when the sun is shining slantingly in the morning and evening, while the light beam is seen at noon. It was noon when I went, so the colors were not bright, but I could see the light beam?

The density of tourists in Antelope Canyon is really high, so it is best to go in the off-season.

These valleys are all within the Indian Autonomous Region, so you must join a group to visit them. I signed up for a regular tour, and the price/performance ratio was pretty good. There is also a group of professional photographers, which I feel is not cost-effective and requires a lot. The most important thing about playing in this kind of valley is that there are few people. This is why I prefer Rattlesnake Valley. It is said that there is another valley with fewer tourists called X Canyon. If you want to go there, you can research it. PS. My favorite old movie "Indiana Jones" was also filmed here, but not in the valley, but at the top of the valley.

The chubby "Indiana Jones"

After all, it is a classic attraction, and it does not end with drilling under the canyon. My favorite way to visit Antelope Canyon is - boating. The Antelope Canyon is actually very long, and there is a natural reservoir in the middle. Our family rented a double Kayak, blowing the cool wind from the lake, and paddling a "light boat" through the valley, which was another interesting experience.

Grand Canyon National Park

If there is any scenic spot that exceeds expectations, it is the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is said to be a pain point for American landscape photographers because no one can restore the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. No wonder I didn’t even care about the Grand Canyon before... I really can’t tell the reason from the photo.

This photo is already very good, but the photo I took was even worse. After some research, I realized that the depth of the Grand Canyon cannot be restored by a camera. I looked down into a very deep rift valley, which looks like a hilltop in the photo. Secondly, no matter how wide the angle is, it cannot capture the breadth of the Grand Canyon. There is a lot of sand and dust in the Grand Canyon, and the wind is extremely strong. No matter how you take the picture, It is a gray layer and cannot be clearly photographed.

This is a crappy picture taken by Will on my mobile phone. Don’t underestimate this scenic spot just because I took a bad photo~

Horseshoe Bend & Grand Staircase National Park

In addition to Antelope Canyon, there are many attractions to visit near the Grand Canyon. Let’s talk about the equally famous Horseshoe Bay first. Generally speaking, this picture of Horseshoe Bay on the Internet explains everything.

In fact, I have never seen such an "honest" scenic spot. It is basically exactly the same as the picture on the Internet. The following is what I took:

In fact, Horseshoe Bay, like the Grand Canyon, is a scenic spot that cannot be restored with photos. If you live not far from Horseshoe Bay, don’t miss it. On the day I went, someone was getting married on the cliff. The white wedding dress was floating in the wind, and the guests holding torches in the dusk gave it a very unique romantic atmosphere. It's a pity that the photos are in the film machine and haven't been developed yet.

In addition, there are many outdoor holy places near the Grand Canyon, such as the Grand Staircase National Park, which is highly recommended by locals. Let’s meet each other.

If you rent a four-wheel drive and love off-roading, Then this wild park, which is as big as a city, is definitely your paradise! But I drive my own all-wheel drive SUV, so I can’t go deep into the hinterland, so it doesn’t make much sense.

Mirage of an Alien Planet

When this photo was posted on Weibo, everyone was asking where the background was. It was actually Monument Valley, located at the junction of Utah and Arizona.

The point where I took the photo is called Forrest Gump Point. The name comes from the famous "running scene" in the movie "Forrest Gump":

Along the way where I am standing The road keeps going and you can see the entire Monument Valley, as if the illusion of a different world suddenly appears in front of you, a mirage-like experience. This is why I like self-driving very much. You can often see amazing sights suddenly on boring roads. This kind of rhythm is fascinating.

Speaking of Monument Valley, I think it is a must-visit attraction. It is really unique. No wonder movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey were filmed here. Will and I took some photos together:

Not only do the stone pillars in Monument Valley have strange shapes, but the weather is also strange. We often encounter white clouds mixed with dark clouds, half rainy and half sunny.

We were driving on the broken road of the scenic spot. It was sunny on the left, and a burst of sand and dust mixed with rain came over on the right. It was magical.

This scenic spot is actually very big. If you want to have a good time, it will take at least a whole day. This is currently my number one attraction in America and should not be missed.

Arches National Park - Arches National Park

Arches National Park is the last scenic spot I went to. It can also be driven in all the way, so it is effortless at all. I personally like this park very much because I saw a very interesting scenery and felt that the stone pillars formed a city wall, and the city gate opened to reveal the snow-capped mountains behind it. The photos I took may not have that kind of momentum. The real scene will have the illusion that you are about to enter an ancient civilization