Rogue Routes: The Road to Sky’s the Limit: Seek out the strange and inspired from L.A. to Twentynine Palms. - Atlas Obscura

Seek out the strange and inspired from L.A. to Twentynine Palms.
Rogue Routes: The Road to Sky’s the Limit

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For all of the images of Hollywood glamour, beach living, and beautiful people, Southern California has a lot of peculiarities that don’t get nearly as much attention. This route from Los Angeles to Twentynine Palms seeks out the strange and novel, providing a refreshing foil to SoCal clichés.

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At Donut Hole, customers enter through the rear doughnut, then gaze upon a spread that spans across windows to the left.
DRIVE-THRU DOUGHNUTS

1. Donut Hole

For a city that has a reputation for trendy health food, Los Angeles is lousy with doughnut shops, mostly the mom-and-pop variety. (Dunkin’ didn’t open here until 2014.) The last remnant of a small regional chain that went out of business decades ago, the Donut Hole has served its signature treat since 1968. 

The novelty of driving through 26-foot fiberglass doughnuts undoubtedly helps. That was the thinking behind the novelty architecture craze that hit Southern California in the early 20th century. As car culture took root in the area, businesses catered to drivers, so why not a drive-thru doughnut shop with giant doughnuts on the ends? (It’s not surprising that the drive-thru itself is a California invention.) 

At Donut Hole, customers enter through the rear doughnut, then gaze upon a spread that spans across windows to the left. The options run the gamut, from classics (chocolate glazed with sprinkles) to sugar bombs (a doughnut bar topped with Fruity Pebbles), along with more restrained selections of croissants and buttery pastries. Customers pay at the last window—cash only—then exit through the other doughnut. There’s also a walk-up window, but where's the fun in that?

15300 Amar Rd., La Puente CA 90026

Tio’s is more art installation than restaurant, but name another museum where customers can eat tacos and drink margaritas next to the exhibits.
ART AL PASTOR

2. Tio’s Taco’s

Social media sparked the phenomenon of people photographing their food at restaurants, but at Tio’s Taco’s, cameras aren’t aimed at the plates. That’s not a knock against the food, which is delicious, but a reflection of the highly grammable environs dominated by folk art made from recycled materials.

Towering palm trees are transformed into giant figures ensconced in chicken wire and shaped with empty bottles, cans, and other recycled materials. A 10-foot skeleton figure rides an enormous bike. Other figures stand atop the roof, including one frozen on a bicycle about to ride off the edge. Across Tio’s Tacos’ half-acre footprint are numerous structures and displays, including a funnel-shaped one with walls made from beer bottles and cement.

Beer bottles are a favorite tool of artist and Tio’s Tacos owner Martin Sanchez, whose found-materials approach was heavily informed by growing up in poverty in Sahuayo, Mexico. It was the kind of place where one man’s trash really was another man’s treasure, and Sanchez still uses only recycled materials 30 years after opening Tio’s Tacos.

Tio’s is more art installation than restaurant, but name another museum where customers can eat tacos and drink margaritas next to the exhibits. The sprawling space—almost all of it outdoors—rewards repeat visits, because there’s always something new to see among the incredibly dense décor.

3948 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside CA 92501

The creation of late owner and beloved local character Bob Carr, the cave is made from spray foam, chicken wire, and all manner of sparkly objects, including amethyst, quartz crystals, porcelain, brightly colored pebbles, glass balls, and more.
SWAP-MEET SPARKLES

3. Bob’s Crystal Cave at Sky Village Outdoor Marketplace

Swap meets tend to offer things like forgotten CDs, random dinner plates, used furniture, and run-down appliances, not sparkling, meditative oases. But at the Sky Village Outdoor Marketplace, visitors can snag an aged VCR and a few minutes of peace, thanks to Bob’s Crystal Cave. 

The creation of late owner and beloved local character Bob Carr, the cave is made from spray foam, chicken wire, and all manner of sparkly objects, including amethyst, quartz crystals, porcelain, brightly colored pebbles, glass balls, and more. The small, enclosed space is currently blocked off because of the pandemic, but visitors can still gaze at its twinkling wonders through circular windows. (Pro tip: Place your camera flush against the glass, and the entire interior becomes clear.) 

What visitors see is Bob’s Crystal Cave 2.0, an expanded and rebuilt version of the original cave Carr made years ago, which he destroyed when it looked like the city was going to take his property via eminent domain. Locals rallied to save the marketplace, and some students eventually helped Carr rebuild his namesake cave.

Even closed off, Bob’s Crystal Cave remains a wonder—which is exactly what Carr intended. When asked by NPR what inspired him to create it, he said, “Just plain old unexacerbated joy.”

7028 Theatre Rd., Yucca Valley CA 92284

Spanning an unassuming hill in Yucca Mesa, Rhythms of Life’s flat stones are stacked into a low barrier that forms graceful curves.
EARTH ART

4. Rhythms of Life and Atlatl

Some art fits neatly inside a frame, and some art spans seven continents and 16 countries. Such is the case with Rhythms of Life by famed Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers, described as “the largest contemporary land art undertaking in the world.” 

Spanning an unassuming hill in Yucca Mesa, Rhythms of Life’s flat stones are stacked into a low barrier that forms graceful curves. The shape looks like a kokopelli at first glance, but this being large-scale art, not a trinket shop in Santa Fe, the resemblance is purely coincidental. Atlatl, a.k.a. Spear Thrower, lies next to Rhythms of Life and consists of a circle bisected by a straight line. Atlatl is the only sculpture of its kind, and this is the only North American location for the globe-spanning Rhythms of Life.

The best way to see them in full is from the vantage of a small dirt lot located directly across SR 247 (also known as Old Woman Springs). But to appreciate all of the work that goes into these pieces, hike up the hill and take a closer look at the many stones that make up Rhythms of Life and Atlatl.

SR 247 Old Aberdeen Rd., Yucca Mesa CA 92284

The Integratron was the brainchild of aviator George Van Tassel, who ran an airport at nearby Giant Rock and had a vision for the building after a purported encounter with aliens from Venus.
ALIEN INSPIRATION

5. The Integratron

One of the biggest curios in an area full of them, the Integratron unites all kinds of fringe subjects: extraterrestrials, time travel, alternative healing, and weird science. And maybe government conspiracy for good measure. 

The Integratron was the brainchild of aviator George Van Tassel, who ran an airport at nearby Giant Rock and had a vision for the building after a purported encounter with aliens from Venus. Van Tassel said the aliens shared with him a formula for rejuvenating cell tissue, and thus the idea for the Integratron was born. As Van Tassel described, “The Integratron is a machine, a high-voltage electrostatic generator that would supply a broad range of frequencies to recharge the cell structure.” He chose the location for the building based on its supposedly powerful geomagnetic properties, which, when amplified by the Integratron’s unique design, could rejuvenate the body—and provide research for time travel. 

That was the theory, anyway. Van Tassel spent 20 years building the Integratron, but died of an apparent heart attack just before its completion. His sister, Margaret Manyo, never believed that was the real cause, and the Integratron’s website says, “Van Tassel’s proprietary electronic equipment, notes, and diagrams disappeared from the property shortly after his death and have not surfaced to date. His FBI file is still classified.” 

These days, people come to the structure for hour-long “sound baths” created by 20 quartz crystal “singing bowls.” The bowls are linked to certain chakras within the body, “where sound is nutrition for the nervous system,” according to the website. If nothing else, the building is an architectural marvel: constructed entirely from wood without any nails, with 16 spines reaching up to form a dome held in place by a one-ton concrete ring.

2477 Belfield Blvd., Landers CA 92285

This seven-story 6,000-square-foot boulder is indeed a giant rock. It’s also a beacon of sorts, having attracted seekers for thousands of years, beginning with Native Americans who considered it a spiritual site. 
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

6. Giant Rock

The most aptly named location on our list, this seven-story 6,000-square-foot boulder is indeed a giant rock. It’s also a beacon of sorts, having attracted seekers for thousands of years, beginning with Native Americans who considered it a spiritual site. 

In 1931, a prospector named Frank Critzer lived beneath the rock in an 864-square-foot apartment he carved out. It’s also where he died under mysterious circumstances 11 years later when local authorities came to investigate a dynamite theft. No one knows how, but Critzer’s own dynamite exploded, killing him and injuring the sheriff’s deputies. (The stolen dynamite was later found elsewhere.) While living there, Critzer opened an airport at Giant Rock, which Integratron creator George Van Tassel took over after his death. It was here that Van Tassel supposedly encountered the aliens who inspired his building. He held UFO conventions at the rock for years, as well as meditation sessions in the space where Critzer had lived.

These days, the rock attracts climbers, off-road enthusiasts who speed around the area on dune buggies and dirt bikes, and curiosity seekers who just want to gaze upon a big-ass rock. In February 2000, an enormous slab inexplicably separated from the rock and nearly crushed an RV, but the rock generally remains as it has for millennia—just with graffiti and lots of broken glass around it.

Landers Lane, Landers CA 92285

Thirty pieces dot the Desert Art Museum’s 10 acres, capturing Purifoy’s work from 1990 until his unexpected death in 2004.
ASTOUNDING ASSEMBLAGE

7. The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum

Something about the desert attracts eccentric artists and rogue spirits, but Noah Purifoy defied tradition long before he relocated to Joshua Tree from Los Angeles in 1989. A pioneer of assemblage sculpture, Purifoy founded the Watts Tower Art Center in the ’60s and earned fame as one of the artists behind 66 Signs of Neon, which transformed detritus from the 1965 Watts Riots into art. 

In the wide-open expanse of the Mojave Desert, Purifoy expanded his creative impulses. Thirty pieces dot the Desert Art Museum’s 10 acres, capturing Purifoy’s work from 1990 until his unexpected death in 2004. They’re both whimsical and pointed, from the immersive, toilet-heavy White House to White/Colored, in which a traditional water fountain lies beneath a “WHITE” sign, but the “COLORED” one is a toilet bowl with a fountain.

As these pieces have sat in the punishing environment of the Mojave Desert for decades, some are considerably worn down or in outright disrepair. (Earth Piece, which features a trench dug into the ground and some rickety bridges, is completely fenced off.) But that was part of the point for Purifoy, who told The Los Angeles Times, “I do assemblage; I don’t do maintenance.” Regardless, his work remains a delight to behold, and his Desert Art Museum a singular location among those on our list.

63030 Blair Ln., Joshua Tree CA 92252

Visitors can get their hair done and gaze upon a large collection of vintage hair products, advertisements, and hair-related bric-à-brac—or “hair-aphernalia,” as owner Jeff Hafler calls it.
KITSCH ON THE STRIP

8. World Famous Crochet Museum / Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum

If local residents were to ever create a “KEEP JOSHUA TREE WEIRD” mural, this rogue spot along a busy strip in Joshua Tree would be a great place for it.

Among the storefronts is the Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum, where visitors can get their hair done and gaze upon a large collection of vintage hair products, advertisements, and hair-related bric-à-brac—or “hair-aphernalia,” as owner Jeff Hafler calls it. The number of hair dryers alone is staggering, including a Polar Club model that dates to the mid-1920s and looks like it would instantly start a fire if ever plugged in. Curiosity seekers don’t need a hair appointment to check out the collection, though it’s gotten a little more restrictive during the pandemic.

Behind the Beauty Bubble is an old photo-processing booth that now houses the self-proclaimed World Famous Crochet Museum. Owner Shari Elf, a local artist, doesn’t know how to crochet, but she collects crocheted items. So when she purchased the old booth, she decided to take her collection out of storage and put it on display inside of the booth, which she painted lime green. The museum is always open, and Elf occasionally posts videos featuring museum “curator” Bunny, a green crochet alligator, and Bunny’s pal Buddy, a crochet dog.

61855 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree CA 92252

If ever there were a place to gaze at the sky while socially distant, Sky’s the Limit is it.
SPACE FOR SPACE

9. Sky’s the Limit Observatory

“Grassroots” seldom describes something like an observatory, but that’s the story of Sky’s the Limit, a fairly recent addition to the Joshua Tree area and testament to the can-do M.O. of the area’s residents.

The idea for the place came from Jerri Hagman, owner of the nearby Homestead Inn in Twentynine Palms. Guests staying at the hotel would gaze at the starry sky and quip that someone should build an observatory there, so Hagman set out to do that. After partnering with a local nonprofit called the Basin Wide Foundation and fundraising, the team found a spot just north of Joshua Tree National Park—perfect for stargazing, because a national park ensures nothing will be built to impede the view of the darkest part of the sky. 

Sky’s the Limit broke ground in 2007, and the nonprofit, volunteer-run observatory has continued expanding ever since. Additions include an astronomical dome and telescope, meditation garden, nature trail, orrery (a model of the solar system), and more. Sculptures dot the campus, which is always open, though regular programs are currently on hold during the pandemic. But if ever there were a place to gaze at the sky while socially distant, Sky’s the Limit is it.

9697 Utah Trail, Twentynine Palms CA 92277

This post is sponsored by Nissan as part of Rogue Routes, a cross-country winter celebration of the rogue spirit --- of iconoclasts, innovators, and daredevils -- and the release of the 2021 Nissan Rogue through once-in-a-lifetime socially-distanced drive-in and livestream experiences. Discover more and check out the event lineup here.

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