環球之旅:帶你走進美國10大怪異奇妙的地方
There is a sense of humor around every corner when you're driving in America. How else to explain those wacky, way-out-in-left-field roadside attractions you'll stumble upon? Muffler men, mystery spots and antigravity hills are just the beginning. Here are our top 10 favorite offbeat spots: what are yours?
當你駕車行駛在美國，你會發現每個角落都飄着一股幽默感。否則怎麼解釋你偶然遇到的出現在路左邊的景點？圍巾男子，神祕景點和反吸引力山只是開始。這裏是我們最喜歡的10大另類景點：看看哪個是你愛的？
1. Roswell, New Mexico: If you believe The Truth is Out There, then the Roswell Incident is already filed away in your memory banks. In 1947, a mysterious object crashed at a nearby ranch. No one would have skipped any sleep over it, but the military made a big to-do of hushing it up, and for a lot of folks, that sealed it: the aliens had landed! International curiosity and local ingenuity have transformed the city into a quirky extraterrestrial-wannabe zone. Bulbous white heads glow atop the downtown street lamps.
Believers and kitsch-seekers must check out the International UFO Museum & Research Center, displaying documents supporting the cover-up as well as lots of far-out art and exhibitions. The annual Roswell UFO Festival beams down over the July 4 weekend, with an otherworldly costume parade, guest speakers, workshops and concerts.
新墨西哥州 羅斯威爾：如果你相信“真理遠在天邊，近在眼前”，那麼羅斯威爾事件就已經從你的記憶裏面消逝了。在1947年，一個神祕物體在附近的一個農場墜毀。沒有人跳過此事去睡覺，但是軍方製造了一場大的騷亂把此事掩蓋起來。對於一些農民來說，此事確實被封殺了：外星人降臨啦！國際的好奇心和當地人的精巧設計把這個城市變成了古怪的外星人選擇的地區。球根狀白色的頭在市區路燈上面散發着紅光。
信徒和媚俗者一定要去查閱國際CFO博物館和研究中心，那裏陳列着支持掩蓋的文件和很多遠古的藝術和展覽品。每年的羅斯威爾UFO節在7月4日週末舉行，同時還有鬼神服裝遊行，演講嘉賓，研討會和音樂會。
2. Salton Sea, California: It's an unexpected sight: California's largest lake in the middle of its biggest desert. After the Colorado River flooded in 1905, it took 1500 workers and half a million tons of rock to put the river back on course. With no natural outlet, the artificial Salton Sea is here to stay. Its surface is 220ft below sea level and its waters 30% saltier than the Pacific.
Another unusual sight near the lake's eastern shore is Salvation Mountain, a 100ft-high hill of concrete and hand-mixed adobe, covered with acrylic paint. With the motto ‘God Never Fails,’ it's the vision of folk artist Leonard Knight. Turn off Hwy 111 at Niland, drive east on Beal Rd and you can't miss it.
加利福尼亞 沙爾頓海：這是意料之外的景象：加利福尼亞最大的湖在最大的沙漠中間。1905年科羅拉多河氾濫後，1500名工作者用了50萬噸石頭才把它歸位。由於沒有天然的出口，人工的沙爾頓海就這樣形成了。其表面比海平面低220英尺，水比太平洋鹹30%。
另一個不尋常的景觀在湖的東岸：救世軍山 一個由混凝土和手工混制的泥磚堆砌的100英尺的山，上面覆蓋着丙烯酸塗料。這是民間藝術家Leonard Knight（譯者注：Leonard Knight是救世軍山的建設者和首席設計師）的視野，他的座右銘是“上帝永不讓我們失望”。沿着111高速公路到Niland，向東行駛至Beal路，你一定不要錯過它哦。
3. Cadillac Ranch, Texas: In 1974 the late, local eccentric millionaire Stanley Marsh planted 10 Cadillacs (vintage 1949 to 1963) headlights down in a deserted stretch of dirt outside Amarillo – and then moved them further out in 1997 because of town encroachment. The reason? He said he constructed what has come to be known as Cadillac Ranch (I-40 between exits 60 & 62) in a salute to Route 66, using cars he considered to represent the golden age of car travel. The accepted practice today is to leave your own mark on the art by drawing on the cars. Bring spray paint in case other visitors haven't left any around. Occasionally the cars get a makeover, like when they were all painted pink in honor of breast-cancer awareness. To get here, park along the south feeder road, a couple of miles west of Loop 335, and walk the well-worn path. As cool as it sounds, there's a sort of forlorn feel to the place.
The ground ̉round here seems to be fertile for growing cars – 18 miles east of Amarillo in Conway, there are five stripped-down VW bugs sprouting on Bug Ranch (Hwy 207 access road). Story goes that in 2002 the owners of a now-defunct convenience-souvenir store at the highway interchange wanted to attract customers and so built the roadside attraction in parody of the classic Cadillac Ranch. It didn't save the store, and the family has moved off, but the slug bugs in the dirt do attract attention. Again, feel free to leave your spray-painted signature. Both sights are visible from the 1-40 and accessible 24/7.
德州 凱迪拉克牧場：在1974年後期，當地一個古怪的百萬富翁Stanley Marsh，在阿馬裏洛外的沙漠裏種下了10個凱迪拉克的頭燈。然後由於鎮子的擴張，在1997年Stanley Marsh把他們轉移到更遠的地方。原因？Stanley Marsh說他建設這個被稱爲凱迪拉克牧場（I-40,在60和62出口之間）的地方是要向66號公路致敬，他認爲這些車代表了汽車旅行的黃金時代。現在公認的慣例是在那些車上畫畫，把自己的標誌留在藝術品上。帶着噴漆過來，以防其他旅客沒有留下。偶爾，這些車會被整個化妝，比如爲了紀念乳腺癌意識把車都塗成粉色。要到這裏，沿着南直線道路，環路335以西幾公里，沿着破舊的路走。像傳聞中那個酷，這地方有一中淒涼的感覺。
這個地方的土似乎很適合種植汽車-在Conway，阿馬裏洛東18公里的地方，有5個無裝飾的大衆車在臭蟲農場(207號高速通道）萌芽。據說在2002年，一個現在已經解散的便利品紀念品商店的主人們爲了吸引顧客，所以模仿經典的凱迪拉克牧場建立了這個路邊景色。這並沒有拯救商店，家搬走了，但這些塵土中的懶蟲確實吸引了注意力。再一次提醒，不用客氣，留下您的噴漆簽名。這兩個景點從1-40和24/7都能看到。
4. World's Largest Ball of Twine, Minnesota: There's much ado about which ball of twine actually holds the record these days. But why not pay your respects to the original that started all the fuss? Behold the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Darwin, 62 miles west of Minneapolis on US 12. To be specific, it's the 'Largest Built by One Person' – Francis A Johnson wrapped the 17,400lb whopper on his farm over the course of 29 years. Gawk at it in the town gazebo. Better yet, visit the museum beside it and buy your own twine ball starter kit in the gift shop.
明尼蘇達 世界上最大的線球：最近關於哪一個線球是記錄有很多紛擾。但是爲什麼不把你的尊重投向這些紛擾開始的起源？在Darwin注視世界最大的線球，Minneapolis以西62公里。具體而言，它是“一個人建造的最大的”——在29年中，Francis A Johnson在他的農場纏了這個17400磅的龐然大物。在城鎮的涼亭裏呆呆的看着它。更好的是，可以參觀它旁邊的博物館，在禮品店裏面買麻線球的入門工具。
5. Wall Drug, South Dakota: A tourist trap par excellence, this drugstore in South Dakota is famous for its roadside billboards that start advertising 'free ice water' several states away but it's a surprisingly worthy stop. They really do have 5¢ coffee, free ice water and enough diversions and come-ons to warm the heart of schlock-lovers everywhere. Don't miss the animatronic dinosaurs.
南達科他州 藥物牆：一個卓越的旅遊陷阱，南達科他州的這個藥店因路邊的廣告牌而出名，它開始在幾個州宣傳免費冰水。但是它的確令人驚訝的值得你停下來。他們確實有5美分的咖啡，免費的冰水和足夠的娛樂節目和誘惑去溫暖每一個地方的便宜貨迷的心。不要錯過這個恐龍哦。
6. Meteor Crater, Arizona: The second most impressive hole in Arizona was formed by a fiery meteor that screamed into the atmosphere about 50,000 years ago, when giant sloths lived in these parts. Meteor Crater, 40 miles east of Flagstaff, is an out-of-this-world site for those with a thimbleful of imagination. Nearly a mile across and 600ft deep, there are lookout points around the crater's edge but no hiking to the bottom. Check out the fun, informative visitor center.
亞利桑那州 隕石坑：亞利桑那州第二大印象深刻的洞是由於流星形成的，5萬年以前流星呼嘯而來到這個地區，當時高大的樹懶住在那裏。隕石坑在Flagstaff東40公里，對於那些沒有太多想象力的人來說是一個世外桃源。將近一公里長，600英尺深，在坑邊有觀景點但沒有去坑底的路。去體驗樂趣，充實遊客中心。
7. Coral Castle, Florida: This favored stop in Homestead is one man's kitschy do-it-yourself testament to lost love: Latvian immigrant Ed Leedskalnin dug up over 2.2 million tons of coral rock to build this mock castle. Its engineering was once a bit of mystery, especially since the broken-hearted Romeo worked secretively at night without using any mortar. Some claim that the marvel has unusual electromagnetic properties.
福羅裏達州 珊瑚城堡：Homestead的這個景點是一個技藝嫺熟的男人自己動手見證失去的愛：拉脫維亞移民Ed Leedskalnin挖了超過220萬噸的珊瑚石建立了這個假的城堡。它的工程曾經是一個謎，特別是這個心碎的羅密歐在晚上祕密的工作，不用任何灰泥。有人聲稱，這個奇觀有不同尋常的電磁性質。
8. Lucy the Margate Elephant, New Jersey: Drive around the beach communities just south of Atlantic City and something massive, gray and kitsch will stop you in your tracks: Lucy the Margate Elephant,a 65ft-high wooden pachyderm constructed in 1881 as a developer's truly weird scheme to attract land buyers to the area. It was variously used as a hotel, beach cottage, private mansion and last, a tavern, but rowdy patrons almost destroyed her. Now recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, Lucy is open for tours during summer, starting every half hour, weather permitting.
新澤西 露西 馬爾蓋特大象：在大西洋城以南的海灘社區附近駕駛，一個巨大的灰色俗氣的東西會讓你停下來：露西 馬爾蓋特大象，1881年建造的一個65英尺高的木質厚皮動物，因爲開發者的古怪計劃是吸引這一地區的土地買家。開始它的用途廣泛，作爲旅店，海邊小木屋，私人府邸。最後變成酒店，但喧鬧的顧客幾乎毀了她。現在，國家歷史名勝註冊，Lucy在夏季對遊客開放，天氣允許的話每半小時開放一次。
9. Lucas, Kansas: 'Outsider art,' meaning works created outside the bounds of traditional culture, has blossomed in tiny Lucas. Samuel Dinsmoor began it all in 1907 by filling his yard with enormous concrete sculptures espousing his eccentric philosophies. His Garden of Eden is visible from the sidewalk, but paid admission lets you hear some wonderful stories and see his remains in a glass-topped coffin.
堪薩斯 盧卡斯：“流外藝術”是指傳統文化界限之外創作的作品。這種藝術在小小的盧卡斯開花了。Samuel Dinsmoor 在1907年開創這種藝術，他把他的院子填滿了無數抽象的雕像，以表現他古怪的哲學。他的伊甸園可以從人行道上看到，但是買入場券的話你就可以聽到一些精彩的故事，可以在一個玻璃罩的棺材裏看到他的遺體。
10. Unclaimed Baggage Center, Alabama: Head into downtown Scottsboro on Hwy 279 and follow the signs to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. that your iPod? The one you left in the seat pocket on that flight from Poughkeepsie? Probably. This Macy's-sized retail space is the end of the line for the majority of unclaimed bags in the US. After 90 days, the airlines send your lost luggage here. It takes thrift shop–level patience, but there is Tumi luggage, Kate Spade bags, Bruno Magli loafers, cameras, laptops, golf clubs – you name it – all for a fraction of retail.
阿拉巴馬州 無人認領的行李中心：從279高速路前往Scottsboro，沿着無人認領的行李中心的標誌走。等等......這是你的iPod嗎？是你在Poughkeepsie的航班上落在口袋裏面的？可能吧。這個梅西家大小的零售空間是大多數無人認領的行李的最終歸宿。90天以後，航空公司把你丟失的行李送到這裏。它廉價舊貨店級別的耐心，但是這裏有Tumi包，Kate Spade包，Bruno Magli便鞋，照相機，電腦，高爾夫球棒，要什麼有什麼。這些都是零售的一小部分。
小編有約：親愛的朋友們，你們想去美國走一走嗎？
