Joshua Tree National Park is a woman of mystery and intrigue to be sure. But she's got a twisted sister that will turn your mind inside-out and leave you shell-shocked. Just beyond the jumbo rocks and sing-along campsites is a desert wonderland of man-made phantasmagoria; A place where things are not as they seem. Toilets come together to form protest art. Western movie sets hold all night rock-a-billy jam sessions. Salons showcase beauty artifacts of Smithsonian esteem. And of course, there's a space dome for sound therapy.

But it takes stealth navigation to find these oddities amongst the endless sea of tumbleweeds and sand. Even the white-haired ladies at the welcome center, bless their hearts, can't always point the way. Sprinkled across a 25-mile expanse of Highway 62, nary a paved road connects one spot with another.

Face it, you’re going off the grid, and the only way to survive is a preliminary stop at Crossroads Cafe, a no-frills breakfast joint that mixes delicious down-home grub with local artwork. Open up a map and ask the barista to point out four places: Noah Purifoy's Art Garden, the Beauty Bubble Museum, the Integratron, and Pappy and Harriet's.

ONE MAN'S TRASH....

Commodes balance on one another with acrobatic skill. Bicycles on seesaws on houses distract the "Little People" (the lower halves of mannequins dressed in ranch hand couture) who hide in miniature trains and line wooden beams. Crosses loom high above a mock cemetery. Welcome to the world of Noah Purifoy, an expat LA artist and the genuis behind Watts Towers. He fabricated this trippy 7.5 acre garden from notions of social injustice, a warped imagination, and, oh yeah, garbage.

Keep an eye out for Pat. She holds the keys to the little-known jewel of a museum behind the Little People stage.

HAIR HISTORY HEAVEN (and beauty salon)

An Ebay obsession gone awry spawned what is arguably the world’s largest collection of hair and beauty memorabilia (1000+). With a colorful mish-mash of vintage wigs and posters and the craziest tools you’ve ever seen (like a heated hair iron from the 1800s), The Beauty Bubble Museum is the kind of space that would make Willy Wonka trade his candy for a curling iron.

As an added bonus, famed LA jewelry designer Mikal Winn (who lives here with curator and stylist Jeff Hafler), brings a blingin’ element with his fabulous bejeweled taxidermy forms scattered throughout. It’s a don’t-miss!

BEAM ME UP AND BLISS ME OUT

According to the Integratron powers-that-be, this space dome is an “acoustically perfect tabernacle and energy machine sited on a powerful geomagnetic vortex.” Hmmm. And it was originally a cell rejuvenation and time machine built under the divine inspiration of a man abducted by Venutians. You just know some curazzy shizz goes down here. Soak up a sound bath and let the cosmic energy mooove you.

THROW BACK AND HOE DOWN

The only way to wash down the day’s bizzaro encounters is with some strong whiskey at Pappy and Harriet’s , an old juke joint sitting on the edge of PioneerTown (the former movie set made famous by the likes of Gene Autry).

Hippies, cowboys, outlaws and intelligentsia converge here to witness the most prolific rough-and-tumble music scene in the Mojave. LA has lost some of its greatest musicians to this watering hole, and the Thrift Store All Stars bring down the house on Sundays. So kick back with a Johnny Walker Black- straight up, and some homemade BBQ, open your mind and let the music set you free.

Exploring art and oddity in Joshua Tree certainly isn't a color-by-numbers sort of trip.

The people you meet, the things you drink and direction you take will make the journey one to call your own. Anyone who’s ventured through these dusty backwaters has a doozie to share around the campfire. I'll spare you my own personal drama, but don’t be surprised if you step out for an American Spirit and next thing you know you're invited for a night ride in a monster truck by a burly female rancher and her bi-sexual husband.

Final word to the wise: Don't show up on a Tuesday, 'cause the only thing open is that gosh-darn national park.

Story and Images by Jordan Whitley for LA2DAY.com

Info:

Beauty Bubble Salon. Wonder Valley. Call Jeff Hafler for apt 760 361 5617

Pappy and Harriets. www.pappyandharriets.com 53688 Pioneertown Rd.Pioneertown. 760 363 5956

Integratron. www.integratron.com 2477 Belfield Blvd, Landers, Ca. 760 364 3126

Noah Purifoy Art Garden. www.noahpurifoy.com Blair Lane. Joshua Tree. 213 382 7516

Crossroads Cafe. 6175 Rte 62, Joshua Tree. 760 366 5414

IN THE EVENT THE DAYTIP TURNS INTO LATE NIGHT MAYHEM: Crash at Pioneertown Motel . Wonderfully kitsch, and true to its wild west roots, this cabin-like lodge is stumbling distance from Pappy's backyard. Book Room #10-where Gene Autry stayed when he filmed "Barbed Wire." 760 365 4879