Bates Motel
Vale, Oregon
There's a noticeable paucity of offbeat attractions in western Idaho and eastern Oregon, a patch of white when compared to the lush red pushpin fertility of other regions. So the Bates Motel, just over the border in Oregon, gets included as a stop out of desperation. The sign may conjure the murderous motor lodge from Hitchcock's Psycho, but the building doesn't resemble it.
When we drove by years ago, there was a rusting, beater car parked next to the sign, which helped the effect... as if it had just been dragged out of a lake by the cops.