I also love seeing the Vasquez Rocks for the same reason. Had a friend that lived in Antelope Valley and I would drive by them any time I went out to his place.

Same trick is pulled across Africa. If a conference takes place a certain distance from the capital city, you get per diem. So you’ll see clusters of hotels with fancy conference centers just outside the radius. It’s just a day trip but people will play receipt fraud and make it look like they stayed the night and split the price with whoever is selling receipts.