2/2/14

THE FLINSTONES AMUSEMENT PARK


Policeman's house at Bedrock City, AZ.  Who knew policemen could be so colorful? - bedrock23x
The soundtrack of Flinstones cartoons broadcast continuously over the park’s tinny loudspeakers, echoing eerily between the dusty, dilapidating houses of Bedrock’s famous residents from a bygone era.  Built over 40 years ago during the Route 66 roadside attraction craze, this lonely concrete replica of a cartoon town has seen better days.
'Yabba Dabba Doo means Welcome' - Welcome Sign on the highway leading to the Grand Canyon, outside the tourist stop at Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock02xy)
You can only wonder how Bedrock City in Arizona even still exists and if was it ever a popular stop for tourists on their way to the Grand Canyon? Isolated in the middle of the Arizona desert, a giant Fred Flintstone cutout prevails over the thirsty landscape.   The park employs a staff of two or three people at best. Infrequent curious visitors drift in and out of multicolor concrete bungalows and survey the neglect that marks the expiration date of a 1960s cult animated series so many grew up with.
Barney’s house: 
Barney Rubble's house at the fading tourist trap of Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock26xy)
An interior decorator's paradise at the beautiful Bedrock City, Arizona - bedrock24x
Inside the Flintstone's house at Bedrock City, Arizona - a little worse for wear (bedrock25xy)

The golf cart stone-age car has taken it’s last tour of the park…
All Aboard!  Flintstones' car and carts at the tourist trap of Bedrock City, AZ (bedrock48xy)
Fred’s House: 
Wilma Flintstone standing in front of Fred's House in the fading sunlight at the tourist trap of Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock32xy)
View inside the Flintstones' residence at the tourist trap Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock33xy)
5 Cent coffee? Dimly lit and selling bizarre souvenirs that might just be straight from the 1960s; the shop clerk is also the diner’s chef.  
Fred's Diner, the entrance to Bedrock City and the chock-a-block gift shop/coffee bar - bedrock04x
The Bedrock Grocery Store: 
Got that shopping list ready?  Head on down to the Flintstones' grocery store at Bedrock City, AZ (bedrock13xy)
Today's Special: Cactus Juice - inside the market at Bedrock City, Arizona - bedrock14x
The Barber Shop: 
The barber shop and salon at the fading tourist stop of Bedrock City, Arizona - bedrock15x
Peek inside the barber shop at Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock17x
Goats:
Goatasaurus!  Live goats in the freezing Arizona tourist trap of Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock09x
The end of my visit to Bedrock City, Arizona as the sun sets - bedrock50x
The yellow school bus: 
School bus parked out front of the schoolhouse at Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock35x
Inside the Bedrock school:
Inside the schoolhouse at Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock36x
Bedrock Boulevard:
Swanky police trikes outside the City Jail at Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock41xy)
Post office: 
Local, UPS, Airmail - your choice at the Bedrock City, Arizona post office - bedrock43x
amateur video of some friends passing through the bizarre Bedrock City:
Giant Purple General Store at Bedrock City, Arizona (bedrock44xy)
Bedrock theatre where they play Flinstones cartoon all day:
Bedrock Theatre, where they show Flintstones cartoons all day at Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock46x
Dinosaur in the waning sunlight at Bedrock City, AZ - bedrock20x
Bedrock city is no doubt a time capsule amusement park from another era, fantastically weird and garishly kitsch. It’s open every day of the year except Christmas day for a $5 entry fee. And you haven’t really lived until you’ve explored a creepy cement clone town of a 1960s cartoon at sunset.
Outside the entrance to Bedrock City, AZ, on the road to the Grand Canyon - bedrock03x
Images thanks to Matt Highview the full set on Flickr.

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