Rocks that are more than rocks: Must see destinations

When I was in 8th grade, my school bus went past a house with an enormous multicolored map of the United States painted on an even more enormous flat rock in the front yard. Each state was a different color than the ones surrounding it. My bus driver thought it was the coolest artwork ever. She pointed it out each time we passed. My dad has two huge rocks in his front yard. One is as tall as the house. He lives in a region of New York where glaciers left huge boulders and crevices in their wake.

Those rocks have nothing on this collection of mega boulders posted on deputydog. From Japan to Peru, and even Kansas, the boulders have become destinations that tourists go to see. Some are left alone in their natural state. Others have been altered to direct people’s interactions.

The Kaiktiyo Pagoda in Myanmar has certainly one-upped the people who turned their front yard boulder into a map of the the U.S. A pagoda was built on top of it, and both bolder and pagoda were then gilded in gold leaf. To me, the result looks like it’s related to the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz–except it’s gold. Can’t you just imagine someone putting a face on it? I do think it’s wonderful, even though as a female, according to the description, I’m not supposed to touch it. It just reminds me of the Tin Man. I can’t help it.

Along with the spectacular photos deputydog includes a description about the significance of each spot. Quite an interesting read and wonderful idea for a collection. This could be a coffee table book in the making.

One of my favorite boulders, not in this collection, is the one in Copenhagan, Denmark where the statue of the Little Mermaid sits in Hans Christian Anderson Harbor. It’s not that the boulder is all that special, but without it, the mermaid would sink. Do you have any favorite boulders in your life? [This shot of the the pagoda was taken by Yetun and posted on Flickr. Yetun has several kudos on the photo. Great job!]