Bedrock City is an homage to the Flintstones. This begs the question, "Why do the Flintstones need an homage?" Located in Valle, Arizona, Bedrock City is the most notable eyesore in this little junction town. Most people passing through Valle are going north to the Grand Canyon and naturally, some will stop at Bedrock City, just to see what the hell is going on.

I've been here twice. Beth and I looked in back in 2004 or so. I was here again in 2011, passing through. The lure was too much to resist, although I did resist paying $5 for the executive tour around back. You can walk the parking lot in front and get a pretty good idea of what the whole place is about. The 20-foot tall Fred is hard to miss.

Were the Flintstones ever this popular, enough to warrant a whole place in their honor, in Valle, Arizona, no less? What were the high-level meetings like back in 1970 or so, when they were dreaming up what to do with the land. "A hotel," said one guy. "No, a gas station," said another. Finally, a man with a vision sat erect, took in a breath and bestowed his genius upon his brethren: "It shall be a Flintstones homage." I'm sure it was something like that.

Everything is made of formed concrete, except for the ply-wood cutouts. The buildings are all "bulgy" like in the cartoon. Whereas the real Flintstones made their buildings out of stone, here it's concrete and wood. They advertise 5 cent coffee and film. Not sure about the 5 cent coffee, but does anyone carry film any more? Is it "brontofilm"? (Har har)

I went inside and peeked into the back, and it's just Flintstone imagery plopped on to the grounds. Worth $5? You decide. You can camp here, but it's right along the highway with no privacy. This is all kind of a shame on one level, since the other main attraction in Valle is a museum devoted to old-time aircraft. That should get all the visitors. Not this screwball place.

We can take solace this place wasn't built in 1985, otherwise we'd have a "Charles in Charge" homage.

(c) 2011 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only.