"Only the devil could play golf here."

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

One doctor's retirement plan included opening this award-winning Mexican-Indian eatery on the ground floor of a hospital.

An antique store houses the last operational diner from the defunct department store chain.

With its peeling paint and faded sign, this theater-turned-recycling plant is a nostalgic relic of 1950s Americana.

Wander through desolate oil fields littered with rigs.

Remnants of the United States's largest accidental oil spill still mar a California valley.

Humboldt's human-powered sculptures race across land and sea for days on end in a wacky quest for dominance.

Dioramas and animatronics lead you through the story of Bhagavad-gita, the Indian literary classic.

This ramshackle ghost town is comprised of mining-era buildings collected from around the region.

This sculpture garden in Death Valley makes you feel like you've slipped into some alternate reality.

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

The oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States is a nostalgic jewel.

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

An eccentric folk art landmark made out of discarded bottles by an inspired "grandma."

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

This Hollywood dive houses a mural painted by the artists who animated its namesake film.

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.